Advice on baritone purchase

bsfloyd

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Hello gang!! I'm currently in the market for a soprano and a baritone. I have my eye on a nice soprano I want, but would like some advice on the baritone. I'm currently playing on the trusted, entry level Makala (which I think it a steal for the price they sell for), but would like to add something a bit nicer. I need to go no higher than $300. For that price, what would you choose? I'm not to picky on scale length - 19" ~ 20+-ish" are fine. Thanks.
 
Thanks for the recommendations! Both the Kala and Ohana are certainly contenders. I've read very good things about the Favilla - the poor man's Martin. I certainly fall into this category.

I've also been curious about the Cordoba offerings. They seem to fit this price range I'm in.
 
You could put up a post requesting to buy a used Favilla/Ohana/Pono/Mainland, etc.
A decent used instrument is often a bargain if you're not picky about cosmetic condition.

A decent used Favillas of correct vintage are usually above your price point, people know about them.
You may find one at a yard sale or Craigslist, but I've been looking on the net for a year and can't find a cheap one.
They are not too often sold either, it seems.
Old Harmony/Silvertones are a possibility if you don't mind working the action.
Not advising on this listing, on way or the other, but to get an idea of the market;
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Si...335395?hash=item4b40a88de3:g:dbQAAOSwZula0RK5

Best of luck, you'll find something nice if you keep looking and have cash on hand.
 
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I've also been curious about the Cordoba offerings. They seem to fit this price range I'm in.
Agree. Cordoba has been doing some good things larely. Here are some fairly recent thoughts on that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBraX6hc5Qg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOUKyY2ZbvU
I'd want to find a vendor that did setup though and I don't see any in stock currently at the usual suspects. Here's one coming soon though: https://www.elderly.com/cordoba-24b-baritone-ukulele.htm
I was real pleased with the setup job Elderly did on my Cordoba C1M but I did have to ask for "lower than normal".
 
Same. The setup on my C7 came a bit high but luckily I learned how to do my own setups long ago. I love this guitar.

Sadly, it "looks" like Cordoba doesn't spend as much time with the fit and finish on their ukuleles as they do their guitars. I mean, before my C7 I owned their C5. It was my only classical for a while and I played the heck out of that guitar. When shopping for it I played almost a dozen C5's from music shop to music shop and they were all pretty consistent in terms of fit and finish - straight bridges, straight inner bracings, straight labels, nice neck to body joints, etc... However, when looking at photos of their ukuleles at online sources, I am seeing crooked tuners, bridges not perfectly straight, neck heels not finished symmetrically, crooked headstock logos, crooked interior bracings and labels, etc... Now the C5 is only a $299 guitar, so very much entry level. I'm just not seeing the same attention to detail in their ukuleles. Quite possibly made in a different factory, which would explain the differences perhaps. Oh well, this is just from the selected few I have seen and I'm sure there are good ones out there.
 
Give up on the harmony?

I recently picked up two of the old Harmony baritones. One came ready to play after a restring and sounds great. The other needs a new saddle.
 
I'm always looking at them old Harmony's on Reverb and wondering - thanks for sharing you experience with them!
 
I recently picked up two of the old Harmony baritones. One came ready to play after a restring and sounds great. The other needs a new saddle.

Do you mind me asking what you paid, what condition they were in (cracks).
You can PM me if you want, or of course ignore this post altogether. No hard feelings.
As much as I want a Pono, these old instruments are really appealing.
 
@Maki66, I got one off craigslist for $120. It has one 1" crack on the side from an apparent drop or banging. It has a bunch of other dings and small scratches. The nut looks like a plastic replacement, the saddle is original. It sounds great to me and resonates very nicely and long.

The second I found at a music store via Google. It was $125 plus $10 shipping. The body is in good shape. The nut looks to be original bone, but the saddle looks like it was dug out and shortened. Too short. Strings buzz and it had a shim underneath which does not suffice. I found a good replacement blank and will replace it soon. Both are not perfect. They have finish scratches and wear, but I like their character. I find it relaxing to have an instrument I don't have to baby.

I still look online at them daily. My assessment is that a clean near perfect one should cost $3-400. I see ones on eBay and reverb for $150-200 with cracks and that is too expensive. I see sale history of Favillas with cracks at $1-200. I feel my prices paid were fair for slight condition issues. I think one with some wear and no cracks should be $150-200. One of mine has a dark grain pattern that looks cracked but is not. I'd ask the vendor if they don't mention no cracks. If you can see a good saddle pic, the original has tapered sides that look like they were sanded while in the bridge. The taper is curved and matches the bridge. Just my thoughts.
 

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The standard formula I see is that Harmony is half the cost of Favilla, and Favilla half the cost of Martin. So a nice clean Martin is +/- $1000, clean Favilla $500, and Harmony $250. Of course prices do fluctuate and the trend appears to be rising prices on Favilla and Harmony.
 
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One more thing. The older 50's version with bone nut has a logo without made in USA. The second pic is the later version with plastic nut. The font Harmony is written in is different. The later version has white highlights. The older is only black. Both had a bone saddle.

image.jpgimage.jpg
 
Can I piggyback onto this thread, as I have a Baritone purchasing question?

I'm looking at an online buying decision between Mahogany versions of either the Kala KA-SMHB or a Mainland Baritone. I've played the laminate and solid front versions of the Kala (haven't been able to find an all solid version) and they sounded and felt nice. Perfect string tension and nut width. I've no hope of testing a Mainland, but I'm reading nothing but good reviews about them, with people claiming that they are better quality than the Kala KA-SMHB.

Also, I'm having problems finding out the nut width for either of these ukes, even on the manufacturers websites. Anyone got definitive info? Also, I'm quite liking the idea of the Kala headstock but the Mainland tuners seem to have a good reputation.

Finally, the kind of music I like playing will be bluesy and Spanish guitar style fingerpicking. Not sure if this would affect any potential decision, but the more 'bassey' the better. I know that, having played a Pono baritone (can't remember if it was mahogany mind you), it was a bit too bright and 'jazzy' for my liking.

Any thoughts welcome.
 
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Kala have a good reputation for a reason.
Mainland are mainly an American brand, so is often recommended in America.
I don't think you'd go wrong with either, but I'd take the Kala, because I know it's qualities, I have a cedar top baritone & several other sizes too.
But if you haven't already looked at Ohana, I'd check them out too, I like my mahogany Ohanas.
 
I recently purchased a Kala KA-SMHB. It is well made with excellent fit & finish. The tone is warm, but a bit quiet, with the stock strings (Aquilas, I believe). It has a much richer sound than the laminate baritone that Kala makes. The nut width is 1.5".

I use it for finger picking, mostly slack-key style with the first string lowered to D.
 
Thanks all. Good to know.

Yes, I'd considered Ohana's. I also played a couple of Cordoba's recently, one was very nice.
 
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