Comparison- $37 Ukulele vs $900 Ukulele

https://youtu.be/k9HiypPFzT8

You can also click the link in my signature to see the comparison on my blog.

The intonation and tone on the K is definitely better. 30 times better? Hmmm

I bought a Kala KAATP-CTG-CE for $379, solid cedar top, acacia koa body, paduk binding, slot head and did a comparison to a couple of the $1000 plus ukes and found that they were not 300% better, maybe 20-30% better.

When Caramel starts putting side markers on their ukuleles again (in an e-mail, the goal is to have side markers by June), I will order one of these concerts for myself (the new bridge alone is appealing), drop M600s on them, and do a test.

Here's the deal: this probably won't be an artist's instrument. But it can certainly be a great starter/take anywhere instrument.

I have an Opio Tenor. It doesn't go with me everywhere...and it doesn't cost as much as a full KoAloha.

Only people with perfect pitch hearing would be able to tell the difference between a mid quality uke & a hand built one anyway.
If you're going to strum & sing, it'll get drowned out too, & so to me, it is a total waste of money to buy an expensive uke.
Others may feel differently, that's their prerogative.

uke1950 said:

Only people with perfect pitch hearing would be able to tell the difference between a mid quality uke & a hand built one anyway.

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While I agree that mid range ukuleles are very good and probably have the best price/performance ratio (bang for the buck), I don't feel you need to have perfect pitch in order to hear a difference between a $300 Kala and a $1000+ luthier built one. Intonation, balance of tone up the neck, volume - those are the bigger differences. But the real difference, in my view, is in the playability and the "feel".

the law of diminishing returns . a $3000 uke is not 30 times better than a $100 uke, BUT...

I thought my $300-400 MSRP ukes would be a gateway to the higher end K brand or Blackbird. That was the effect of my $75 -150 range ukuleles - nice, and have their uses, but I wanted more.

But, I find I am happy with my stable of lower price mid-range ukuleles/upper price low-range ukes. I think my playing ability is right where it needs to be with my "good" ukes - sapele Opio, HPL OXK, maple Brueko, mahogany Mainland, and spruce/ovangkol Kala. When new, they were in that $300-400 price range. I think I have about $800 in all of them as they were bought used or discounted.

So, I am still below the $900-1,300 range for a "better" uke. If all my other oddball ukes were added in, I probably would be right there.

Thus, the question becomes - should I have just bought a "better" uke to start with. Many here have done so, and are happy with that decision. However, I am happy with a lot of choices that give me variety, yet still sound good to my untrained ears. Having many lets me spread the love around - some days I want maple, some days I want mahogany, some days I want to play vintage etc. - and I like being able to hand off extra ukuleles to others to play. And, I have two nice ukes for bad conditions (Outdoor Ukulele and OXK). So, instead of one better uke, I have many that to me are really nice ones.

I can definitely tell a difference between my $39 Harmony (which is a blast to play) and my Opio. But, I really don't see much of a build quality difference or sound quality difference, just tonewood difference between the "good" ukes I own. And, quite frankly, except for the sapele Opio (which is out of production), they are all easily replaceable if broken, stolen, dropped etc. I probably wouldn't need to, but could justify it. I could not easily replace a 1k uke.

And, any time I feel like I have spent a lot on ukes, I just go look at guitar prices for comparable build/tonewoods

actadh said:

... they are all easily replaceable if broken, stolen, dropped etc. I probably wouldn't need to, but could justify it. I could not easily replace a 1k uke

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This, to me, is a rather substantial advantage of lower priced ukuleles. My cheapest uke, the €150 Stagg, gets a lot of play because I don't worry about scratches and dings, so it's always sitting around and gets picked up for a few minutes here and there (and yet it has no scratches or dings as it's rather sturdily built). My other ukes live in cases or a stand, and I only get them when I "really" play, and I tend to worry a bit about daminging them. I can't imagine having a $5000+ ukulele as I can't see myself ever playing it, unless I was naked or put a velvet blanket over my clothes, scrubbed my hands and manicured my nails meticulously before even touching it, and I'd live in endless fear of the latches of the case.

I guess the sweet spot is different for everyone. For me it's probably around $400-500 (for a new instrument), where quality and price align well, though I do enjoy my two more expensive ukes (they cost as much as a standard, bling-less K brand uke, at least when I got them, so relatively affordable as far as higher end ukes go), but that enjoyment comes at the cost of some peace of mind. I feel more relaxed, and also have fewer expectations, with cheaper instruments, and that makes playing even more enjoyable. But the playability and the feeling of quality is noticeably higher with the more expensive instruments. There's a world of a difference between the Opio concert I had and the twice as expensive Moon Bird concert, for example. (Then again, I favored my Barron River to the more expensive Blackbird Farallon.)

Mivo said:

While I agree that mid range ukuleles are very good and probably have the best price/performance ratio (bang for the buck), I don't feel you need to have perfect pitch in order to hear a difference between a $300 Kala and a $1000+ luthier built one. Intonation, balance of tone up the neck, volume - those are the bigger differences. But the real difference, in my view, is in the playability and the "feel".

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You hit the nail on the head. Perfectly expressed.

Choirguy said:

When Caramel starts putting side markers on their ukuleles again (in an e-mail, the goal is to have side markers by June), I will order one of these concerts for myself (the new bridge alone is appealing), drop M600s on them, and do a test.

Here's the deal: this probably won't be an artist's instrument. But it can certainly be a great starter/take anywhere instrument.

I have an Opio Tenor. It doesn't go with me everywhere...and it doesn't cost as much as a full KoAloha.

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Many youtube instructional videos on installing them yourself. Quite easy.

PhilUSAFRet said:

Many youtube instructional videos on installing them yourself. Quite easy.

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Not sure if you mean the strings or the side dots. On a $37 concert--a ukulele I don't really need--I can wait for the instruments to ship with them like they did in the past.

If you mean the strings--I have changed all my strings, but we are purposely running Aquila KIDS strings on our ukuleles at school (40 Caramel concerts, 10 Caramel Tenors, 40 Soprano Watermen, 4 Mainlands, 1 Lanikai Soprano Banjolele, and 1 Bonanza Tenor Cherry Ukulele)

Vic
Do you have the same strings on both Ukes? I have a couple of really cheap ukes that sound and feel a lot better with better strings.

delmar500 said:

Vic
Do you have the same strings on both Ukes? I have a couple of really cheap ukes that sound and feel a lot better with better strings.

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Both had factory strings: Aquilla on the Caramel and fluorocarbon on the Koaloha.

uke1950 said:

Only people with perfect pitch hearing would be able to tell the difference between a mid quality uke & a hand built one anyway.
If you're going to strum & sing, it'll get drowned out too, & so to me, it is a total waste of money to buy an expensive uke.
Others may feel differently, that's their prerogative.

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I disagree. I happen to own a Koa Pili Koko which in my opinion is a great sounding uke for around $200, but compared to my KoAloha, it makes me not want to pick up the KPK. Everything to do with sound just blows it away. The only thing I prefer on the KPK is the neck. In the video in the OP, I'd say it's harder to see a HUGE difference because of the song being played and how they are being played. Even something as easy as strumming a quick chord progression, you'd be able to hear a giant difference.

I'm not much of a musician but have played a few different instruments for quite a few years. Yes, the quality of an instrument matters in terms of what it can sound like and the ease with which it can be played but there is a more important factor in the end result and that is player skill. Put something like a Bruko No5 or Ohana Vita in the hands of a skilled player and I'm sure that you'll see the point I'm trying to make. Whilst maybe they are not the very best of instruments money can buy they are affordable and (sufficiently) good instruments that the likes of Phil Doleman, Wilfred Welti ( both have Bruko's) and John Bianchi (Ohana Vita) can make 'sing' ........ beyond a relatively low point it's the player that makes the difference.