RafterGirl
Well-known member
I'm in the market for a new concert. I've been playing since April and I'm seriously hooked. At present I have a Teton laminate concert that was my starter uke, a Bonanza HPL concert that is my outdoor adventure uke, and a nice Islander tenor that I won at a ukulele festival last month. The tenor is solid spruce top/maple.
I was saving money to buy a tenor, so winning one was nice. Now that I have it, I find the concert size to be my happy place. I'm working on getting comfy with the tenor, but I'm not sure if I'll keep it long term? I'm on the verge of paying off my house (yipee) and I want to treat myself to a nice concert ukulele that I will hopefully love and keep for a long time. Once I have it, I'll gift my Teton to a friend who wants to learn to play.
So here's where I'm at.....I'm a female with large hands, but shorter chubby fingers. I'm not sure about nut width, but I don't want a chunky neck. Maybe a 1.5 inch nut if the neck is slim? Solid mahogany or koa. Nice looking, but not a lot of bling. Satin finish is my only absolute requirement, or at minimum a satin neck. Budget - $1000 give or take, would rather go lower. I do not have access to any higher end ukes locally, so I'm going on gut, recommendations, and listening to sound samples. I will probably buy from HMS, Uke Republic, or Mim to ensure a good setup. I might have a MiSi pickup installed?
Some I've considered are....
Kala Elite - however Corey at HMS says they have a thick neck with the 1.5 nut. HMS does have a slim neck 1 3/8 nut Kala Elite Mahogany that sounds nice.
Loprinzi - HMS has a Koa concert. Slim neck, 1 3/8 nut I think?
Kanilea E Silk - 1.5 nut but slimmer neck. Good recommend from Corey at HMS, but a little over budget. I wish someone had a satin finish listed.
Ohana - waiting on a recommend from Mim. I'm not familiar with Ohana. I don't know anything about their nut or neck size.
Ko Aloha - wider nut and slim neck I think? A pikake model just comes in within my budget.
What am I missing? What recommendations do you folks have for me?
Thanks
I was saving money to buy a tenor, so winning one was nice. Now that I have it, I find the concert size to be my happy place. I'm working on getting comfy with the tenor, but I'm not sure if I'll keep it long term? I'm on the verge of paying off my house (yipee) and I want to treat myself to a nice concert ukulele that I will hopefully love and keep for a long time. Once I have it, I'll gift my Teton to a friend who wants to learn to play.
So here's where I'm at.....I'm a female with large hands, but shorter chubby fingers. I'm not sure about nut width, but I don't want a chunky neck. Maybe a 1.5 inch nut if the neck is slim? Solid mahogany or koa. Nice looking, but not a lot of bling. Satin finish is my only absolute requirement, or at minimum a satin neck. Budget - $1000 give or take, would rather go lower. I do not have access to any higher end ukes locally, so I'm going on gut, recommendations, and listening to sound samples. I will probably buy from HMS, Uke Republic, or Mim to ensure a good setup. I might have a MiSi pickup installed?
Some I've considered are....
Kala Elite - however Corey at HMS says they have a thick neck with the 1.5 nut. HMS does have a slim neck 1 3/8 nut Kala Elite Mahogany that sounds nice.
Loprinzi - HMS has a Koa concert. Slim neck, 1 3/8 nut I think?
Kanilea E Silk - 1.5 nut but slimmer neck. Good recommend from Corey at HMS, but a little over budget. I wish someone had a satin finish listed.
Ohana - waiting on a recommend from Mim. I'm not familiar with Ohana. I don't know anything about their nut or neck size.
Ko Aloha - wider nut and slim neck I think? A pikake model just comes in within my budget.
What am I missing? What recommendations do you folks have for me?
Thanks