Sorry, another first Uke thread

My first real uke was a Luna Tenor. Still play it and love it. Just to add to your confusion...Magic Fluke and Outdoors have insane followings and I've seen nothing but good reviews on these two brands. Mind you, I'm relatively new here and still a beginner player but I've window-shopped my tail off and one or both of these are on my short list.
 
I’m on the hunt for my 2nd uke. The Pono AT, Pono MT, Ohana TK-35, and Kala SMHT are all on my short list. FYI, you almost NEED a 2nd uke. One for high G tuning and one for low G tuning (unless you’re okay with changing out strings all the time). Having a 2nd uke is just more fun lol.

My suggestion would be for one solid spruce top and another solid mahogany.
 
Sorry to Hijack this thread.. but i figured id try here first before starting a new one.

I am an intermediate player looking for something on the nicer side. Been learning on an $99 Amazon uke (in retrospect should have just bought one of the models mentioned in this thread). Thinking about getting something from one of the 4Ks.. Questions:

1. What other brands should I be looking at?
2. Koa vs premium koa vs ? Is Koa >> Mahogany? Is Premium curly koa just look cooler?
3. Are premium uke's less durable?
4. What the hell is curly mango?
5. Are there any negatives to going premium (other than price) vs a $250 pp?

Honestly, my $99 uke is kinda crappy (Im not a super talented musician, but i can defiantly tell the tone is so so), so I want to upgrade.

Thanks for the help!
 
Hi, gizzard, I would suggest you get to know what you might want by listening to sound sample of the various ukes.
I always recommend starting with a concert uke, & recommend Kala or Ohana.
If you're in a hurry to get your next uke, look at getting a solid wood, or a solid top uke, you'll notice a big improvement over a cheap uke.
 
The Ukulele Site has very good sound samples.
They also have a great reputation for pro instrument set and business practices.
Koa wood, and super fancy grains in Koa are going to cost you as the supply is limited and demand is huge. I have read that the tone is better on plain koa. I don't have an opinion as any koa instrument is not in my budget.
For collectors Fancy Koa is THE wood.
Obviously, koa and Hawaii built ukuleles have the ultimate satus.
I like the tonal quality of mohagany and you can get an old Martin or Favilla for decent prices sometimes.
High quality modern brands that are not Hawaii made are usually a better value.
Pono, Koaloha, Kiwaya, and used custom made ukulele's bear looking at.
 
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While solid or solid topped instruments may be better than laminate, they may not. A poorly-made solid will sound and play worse than a well-made laminate and a well-made laminate will sound and play as well as, or better than, most solids. So do your research and have fun. There's a good chance whatever you like today will be different than what you like in six months or a year, and that's normal. You can't know everything, ever, and if you buy used, your mistakes won't cost much.

I like high end instruments as much as anyone, but I have a super cheap (I got it free, but they cost $35-40) Chinese laminate soprano that sounds great and plays easy. It's just not very pretty. Buying ukes is fun. Playing them is even more fun.
 
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