Ortega RU 10 soprano / RU 11 concert solid mahogany

Schroeder

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I'm in Germany where Ohanas are hard to come by and Ortegas are widespread. Anybody have any experience with the RU 10 or RU 11? They're at a shop here for 169/ 179 euros with gigbag. Decent ukuleles?
 
I'm in Germany where Ohanas are hard to come by and Ortegas are widespread. Anybody have any experience with the RU 10 or RU 11? They're at a shop here for 169/ 179 euros with gigbag. Decent ukuleles?

Sorry, no experience of them as such but I have noticed a few on eBay UK. If you can’t get an Ohana easily in Germany - I assume that you have checked eBay and Amazon in Germany - then I’d be very surprised if the Uke shops in the U.K. weren’t more than happy to take your money and ship one out to you for just a bit more postage than U.K. sales.

For that type of money (€170) I’d rather pay a bit more for shipping, buy a Kala or Ohana and have greater certainty about what was going to arrive. If this is your first Uke I’d be inclined to spend roughly half that amount on something like a Lanika LU 21c - does the job for a couple of years until you have the skills to pick something better.


Good luck.
 
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In the end I might just do that-- something through SUS, but it would be nice to play it a bit first, which I can only do with the Ortega.
 
I do own concert Ortega RU11. I bought it about 3-4 years back - was a replacement for my first, "noname" 30 euro junk ukulele.

Very happy with it - though I cannot compare with other brands/models. I switched about 4 sets of strings on it in total over the years, playing with low to medium frequency/intensity... currently using Aquilla reds. It holds tuning nicely, i need to re-tune it tiny bit about once every other month. Nice sound and tone IMHO.

I managed to bit off a tiny bit - about 0.5x0.2cm of wood/shellac laquer layer on the side - a clumsy unintended bash to a hard wood table two years back, and it still works solid & strong, only an appearance "defect".

Currently I am looking for some tenor model, and am considering Ortega again...
 
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Thanks! It's nice to know there's an option I can buy in the neighborhood instead of buying through the mail.
 
In the end I might just do that-- something through SUS, but it would be nice to play it a bit first, which I can only do with the Ortega.

It’s worthwhile ringing around guitar shops in your area and asking what they have in the way of Ukulele’s, sometimes they do have a useful assortment of the less well known brands for you to go and play, listen to and compare. They are usually a bit dearer than on-line, but if your local shop sets up your Uke properly and you end up selecting just one (‘the right and special one’) that lasts you a couple of years then overall there can still be good value in buying that way.

eBay in Germany has an Ohana Soprano listed (SK14 IIRC) at what I believe to be a bargain price, I’d have thought that a good buy for a beginner or an intermediate player.

The U.K. has several mail order suppliers and I’ve bought more than a few Ukes that way. None of them came set up so I learnt how to do that work for myself.
 
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