Fender ukulele vs Ibanez ukulele

Which ukulele ?

  • Fender ZUMA

    Votes: 1 33.3%
  • IBANEZ UEWT5-OPN

    Votes: 2 66.7%

  • Total voters
    3
For the same.price I would actually buy this:
https://m.thomann.de/gb/kala_ka_c_mahogany_concert.htm?ref=msg_a_0
I have found the Fender Ukuleles to be mostly dead sounding, and that Ibanez looks nice but the wood is laminate and their quality control is not as good as Kala.
As far as size goes, you really need to play both of them and see which is more comfortable for you. I own both sizes. If possible please play as many instruments as you can before purchasing. It is very difficult to make an informed choice online.
 
I went to the grocery store today for some orange juice. They had 19 different brands of the same thing. Some had different shaped bottles, but most of them even had the same. I think ukuleles are that way sometimes.
 
Just because a company makes guitars does not mean that it makes a good uke. ;)

I'd be more likely to buy a Kala or an Ohana. :)

Started out with concert scale, now use tenor scale more, but my hands have loosened up from when I picked up my first uke.

Edit: I'm guessing that you may be looking for your first uke, buy it from a store that does a proper set up on it before sending it out,
 
Last edited:
The bigger question for the OP is why are you choosing between those two ukuleles? What caught your attention to make you think you had to have one of these ukes? Is it price, brand recognition, website affinity? Sharing your thought process will help you get more informed feedback for what you’re particularly after.

As it stands, between the ukes you listed, and as reflected by previous responses, my answer would be neither.
 
I prefer the Ibanez. I've played a few Fenders and find them to be among the most plain-jane cheap instruments. The one Ibanez I've tried was very nice, (though a much higher-end model than the one you're considering).

I play concerts.
 
I have never been the biggest fan of Fender ukes, but clearly had not played them all, as the last one I reviewed (the Montecito) was really rather good. Goes to show that experience with parts of a brand don't make for a full opinion (incidentally, others I played were extremely middle of the road).

On the flip side, I have only reviewed one Ibanez ukulele and that was really terrible. But again - not played others - maybe I would be surprised.

I think what I CAN take from this though is that both brands are really variable.

To be honest, given the choice of either, I can't help thinking WHY? Particularly when there are so many other great brands about. Bear in mind that neither Fender or Ibanez are carried by the real ukulele specialists out there.
 
I love Fender guitars, but the 3-4 Fender ukes I've tried have all been underwhelming. Instead of buying a uke from a uke-wannabe guitar company,why not get a uke from a uke company like Kala, Ohana, Mainland, etc? I can't vote for either of those brands, as far as ukes go, but hope you find a good uke.
 
I prefer SOPRANO uke myself. The larger the scale the higher the tension of the strings I prefer less tension. Since generally at first they are all tuned the same the basic difference is more notes on a larger instrument due to more frets and the larger the body the less like a traditional ukulele and more like a guitar it will sound.

The fraction of an inch added to each fret as you go up in scale tends to make some believe they are much easier to play as they get bigger. I find this quite the opposite.

Out of the two ukes chosen I would not buy either but instead spend my money on a Kala.
 
HMS sells three Fender models.

OK - so that's one specialist that does. Can't think of another though. In UK our specialists are SUS, WOU and Eagle - none of them sell Fender. Back to US, Uke Republic, Elderly, Mims dont

And certainly none, HMS included, sell Ibanez.

All the 'big box' megastores do though...

It might be to do with stock expectation though that smaller dealers cant satisfy.
 
Top Bottom