what is truly the best ukulele?

Best ukulele

I'm not sjre what you did with the Kanilea you tested but I would suggest you look at Ken Middleton's revieiw of the Kanile'a on You Tube. He is very thorough and just listening to it on You Tube you can hear a beautiful sustain and a very rich full sound.
 
Last year, I was at a uke fest in Oswestry, UK, and there was a little boy (5/6 ish) rushing around with a red Makala "Dolphin" in his hands. He was using it to hit his sister with, and didn't seem to realise it was a musical instrument. I asked him if he could play. He shook his head. I asked if I might play his uke. He handed it to me. I tuned it, played it, and he showed an interest. It was a surprisingly good little uke, for a cheapie.

I told the lad I would be playing on stage later that afternoon, and asked if I could use his uke - if his parents agreed. They did, of course, and it all went very well. I did my full set on the Makala, and it was fine. The boy's face was a picture!

That was definitely the best uke that afternoon.

Ukantor.

What a great story!!!!
 
You can keep all your handmade (by Hawaiian virgins from Bongo Bongo wood) Ukuleles because my Kala Archtop is the best Ukulele in the World...period. This is not open for debate lol.
I Mean, it's got a bl@@dy palm tree on it so you know it's good......
 
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the best ukulele is the one that is too rare or expensive for you to ever have... unless you're bill gates.
 
Solid wood is the only way to go! It will only get better with age.

Like others said before me, knowing you have a good one in your hands is as much about that magical feel as the sound itself.

--Dave E.
 
The best ukulele IMO, would be a custom build by a luthier that knows you and understands what would be the best for you. A collaboration between the musician and luthier. It is a rare occurrence.
 
IMHO, if I had the cash... James Hill Signature model. But I don't have the cash, so I currently have my heart set on an Eleuke and a Fluke surf concert with the upgraded pegs and fingerboard.

the best ukulele is the one that is too rare or expensive for you to ever have... unless you're bill gates.

From what I understand he doesn't play anywhere near as well as Warren Buffett, who plays an Oscar Schmidt, amongst others.

. . . really a good argument for NOT buying instruments over the internet. I know, for some folks it's hard to find places to try instruments, but even with a good return policy those return shipping charges can add up.

Definitely hard here in NZ... I can go to a couple of nearby stores that have a range of: Carlos Sanchez, Mahalo, Makala, Kala, Lanikai, Fender and that's about it. You'll see the odd Applause kicking about. Every so often something like an Eleuke, Pono or an Ohana will show up on Trademe (our version of Ebay)... but for all intents we're a Kala country.

So my attitude is different: buy it, get it into the local uke ecosphere and if I don't like it, I can sell it locally for not much of a loss, if any. I could even potentially use them to trade up/down/sideways at the aforementioned stores...
 
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Whetu - I don't know where they stand in a ranking of the World's great ukes, but the Cole Clark ukes I have heard on YT sound pretty good, and several players I follow seem to think they are a definite upgrade from the usual Ohanas, Kalas etc. They are made in Melborne, Australia. You can find them in NZ here:

http://www.coleclarkguitars.com/dealerfinder/Default.aspx?region=NewZealand&heading=New%20Zealand

The reviews of Cole Clark here on UU seem mixed, but you can probably try them out in Wellington:

http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?3487-Cole-Clark-Ukes
 
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i dont think there is a deffinate answer to this question haha. its a personal choice to be honest. every single instrument is different and they all have unique sounds. its just whatever one fits you.
 
Whetu - I don't know where they stand in a ranking of the World's great ukes, but the Cole Clark ukes I have heard on YT sound pretty good, and several players I follow seem to think they are a definite upgrade from the usual Ohanas, Kalas etc. They are made in Melborne, Australia. You can find them in NZ here:

http://www.coleclarkguitars.com/dealerfinder/Default.aspx?region=NewZealand&heading=New%20Zealand

The reviews of Cole Clark here on UU seem mixed, but you can probably try them out in Wellington:

http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?3487-Cole-Clark-Ukes

Thanks for that! I had actually seen the Cole Clark's at The Rockshop, but The Rockshop guys are your typical metal heads looking down their nose at you and none of the ukes there are properly setup. I had to ask them to bust out a tuner so that I could tune up and sample, and got an indignant look for my troubles. Anecdotally I liked the CC's better than the Fenders I've tried, but really didn't have enough time with them to form a solid opinion.

Bit of a shame... The Rockshop see the uke as a mere sale, we have better local shops that actually do the setup and show a bit of interest or even a passion in the instrument. I bet they turn through more novelty Spongebob ukes than any other uke :(
 
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whetu - reyalpeleluku on YouTube is an Australian player that plays a Cole Clark very well. You might shoot him and email. Also on YouTube, Davideckingham in Christchurch, NZ may have some ideas.
 
I have several ukes, but I always go back to playing my tenor Cordoba. I think the satin finish has a lot to do with it having such a rich sound to it.
 
The best ukulele is the one that you were playing when you realized you love playing ukulele. (The rest of the ukuleles are great, too.)
 
The one in your hands...
 
When you want a new uke, there's no fun that compares with going into a shop full of ukuleles and trying them all out. One may grab you round the throat - that's the one! And it isn't ONLY the sound - it's the look and and the feel as well - the whole sensual experience of it! And beware that foolish heart - it really hurts if the one you love is financially out of your reach........
 
How did a 4 year old thread get revived? Nothing wrong with it just odd.
 
okay, this question isn't to see your opinons (well, it is), but i'm really confused!

so before today, i have never played a k brand ukulele (kamaka, kanilea, koaloha, the sort) so i went to a local ukulele store and got my hands on a kanilea.

you see, i have a beginner's lanikai 21 tenor, and it's fine, but it sounds like a toy now. but when i played the 700 dollar kanilea, it didn't sound significantly better. ?? seriously, it may have had a 15 percent more volume but not much sustain..

now the confusing part is, i went to guitar center and played a concert cordoba ukulele. cordoba makes classical spanish guitars (?). and man, that cordoba just melted me. you see, the cordoba's sound seemed to melt into one beautiful harmony. the kanilea sounded good, but it was like individual strings sounding off, instead of the cordoba, where it sounded one and united.

i'm really confused, cause' i thought the k brands were the top dog.

oh btw, they didn't have a kamaka at the store, so i'll be waiting about a week or so when the shipment of kamakas come in.

are kamakas still good? i'm really nervous about playing them, cause' after listening to the kanilea, i don't know what to expect.

Mine :). .
 
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