In Praise of Cheap Ukes

Makala dolphins for me. unbeatable value, IMHO.

I love 'em.

My Kala KA-SC from MGM cost me $139, but that included the case, the pitchpipe, the chord book and the shipping. It also included the famous MGM set-up and the upgrade to Aquila strings. I'm guessing the uke by itself is under $100.

Great deal for the price, IMHO.

I've got a Lanikai pineapple for sixty bucks. It sounds a dream, the action's good, and the intonation's alright. Mostly, though, it's just adorable. It's like.. Classy in a very subtle, understated sort of way. I've always preferred a matte finish.

Schaepe by Platinum (doesn't exist anymore).


I paid new €12, but Dudelhans did some adjustments and replaced the tuners by real ones (the ones you see on the pictures), so it was a tittle more all in all.

kalmario said:

picked up a makala dolphin as a christmas present. threw on some kala reds and thats some cheap uking. my question is why is there no makala dolphin club to join, this is a grave injustice!!

Click to expand...

It's official: The Makala Dolphin Club has been started under Uke Talk.

Click for the Makala Dolphin UU Group.

Go join.

buddhuu said:

Click for the Makala Dolphin UU Group.

Go join.

Click to expand...

Oh, awesome! I'll post a link under the thread I started in Uke Talk! Thanks, Rick!

Enjoy!

Ha ha - thats most of my ukes.

In order of cheapness

my Makala MK/SN, which cost £20 (IMHO - the best cheap uke out there)

I love my Lanikai LU21 soprano, which cost £40, and travels everywhere with me.
I adore my Ashbury AU60 Oakwood concert, which cost £60

They all sound great, all different. At the moment my favorite is the Ashbury, but next week it will be another no doubt

Sambient said:

I love cheapies, period! But right now I'm especially madly in love with my Mahalo ULP-30 in the vintage sunburst finish. Just wrote a review for it this morning on Amazon.
That's my favoritestestest at this time, but there's much good cheap company for this ukulele here at Casa Sambient.

Click to expand...

OMG, I was looking at getting an all-black one of these! Going back to read your full review later when I have time!

CountryMouse, who LOVES her white Makala Dolphin!

I only have the one uke right now, and it was an absolute bargain - £20 Mahalo:


(This was a photo I sent to a friend when i first bought it... I was a bit excited )

i play my mitchell that i got fixed more than my mainland (personally thinks it sounds better too!!) it was 99.99

UKISOCIETY said:

I love my Makala Dolphin - I take it everywhere. But my faves for under 100, and usually under $50, are my T.V. Pal pals!

Click to expand...

I want a $50 TV pal!

Kamao Pineapple...$99....bought from the UU store.

$40 Triumph (I haven't tried a Makala, but these are the best bang for your buck in my mind)
$80 Dixie banjolele

And those prices INCLUDE shipping! Of course I then spent another 20 bucks on a mylar head for the Dixie and another 60 bucks on pickups and a paint job for the Triumph. But I still love cheap instruments. In fact that's practically all I play. I've got a $100 bass, a $30 violin, a free banjo, and a crap guitar I bought in Scotland for 30 pounds.

pdxuke said:

I want a $50 TV pal!

Click to expand...

I saw a great TV Pal on Ebay that recently went for under $5. Serious.

Makala Concert with aquila strings. Got it for Christmas 2009 and love it!! $65 from MGM

In the soprano size especially cheap ukes rock.

The Kala 15-S (the uke that SOLD the Kala line to the staff at Ritchie's in NJ). I own 2 of them now, his and hers for me and my wife. Frankly, I've come to the conclusion that in the Kala line, the best offerings/values are still around $100 (ex. travel soprano)...with good solid woods there (with still some "issues"). Probably in the next level solid wood "soprano" with the most vibe is the sopranino by Ohana? With Mainland winning in the 'hog soprano category in terms of sustain, construction, a sense of clearly making a soprano at a lower mid-price.

On order: a travel/thinline soprano (tone monster, lol)...and 2 Dolphins...

IMO, most cheap uke sopranos (ex. TV Pal) have more mojo than even the imagined upgrade sopranos in the $200-300 range (the exception of Mele...with the "handmade" vibe)...which most other offerings "competent" at best. Hey, the more recent Made In Mexico S-O Martin's aren't leaving most Martin fans that happy, so what can I say? For myself, I would rather "save up" for a Kamaka, seriously, I've played them...or be a satisified Mainland or Mele soprano owner. I can not recommend with "high honors" most of the solid wood Kala sopranos...or even the Ohanas which seem to lack a degree of tonal balance but still "good"...this is for me the context of why cheap ukes rock especially in the soprano size...

Cheap ukes clearly put the emphasis on playing and enjoyment.

Pukulele Pete said:

I love my vintage Martin style 1 that I bought from Ebay for 66 bucks. It had a bunch of cracks, a hole, was missing the nut ,and someone painted desiigns all over.
It's all fixed and sounds nice.

Click to expand...

Post a Pic if you can. Would love to see a before and after image if possible.

BTW, someone gave me a Makala Km-Srecently and I'm loving playing that also. I'm so happy that I found the ukulele I coudl prbably play a stick connceted to a box with 4 strings and if I can tune it I would love that too.

hilo baritone

kenikas said:

I love my Makala tenor, and I play my grandkids Makala Dolphins quite a bit too. Now I'm not quite as excited about my Hilo baritone, but as soon as I get around to putting the Aquila's I bought for it on that may change.

Click to expand...

i LOVE my hilo baritone. and replacing the crap strings with aquilas and tightening the tuners made a world of difference. for $45, it's great deal.

i like my savannah soprano ($30), too. just not as much.