What's your favorit Beater?

Mele Koa Top, Mahogany Body Tenor. Bought it for $60 with a big crack on the top and a battered finish. Did a cheap fix on the crack and refinish. The thing does not have a case and gets picked up and strummed whenever I see it, just because it's out in the open. Definitely not well taken care of, and has fallen several times, but it hasn't been as damaged as I thought a solid wood ukulele would be. Still plays like a champ. D'addario Pro Arte strings.
 
It's probably really my Flea, but only one of my ukes I actually call a beater and that's because it's named Blue Beater. Though if I get around to changing its look like I want to, it'll have a different name.
The Blue Beater is a High School Musical concert uke with the Washburn name and the tell-tale Oscar Schmidt looking bridge.
 
I don't own any real high end 'ukes, just a few modest ones that I like. Out of them all, my Makala MK-S would be the one I would consider the beater of the lot. The Makala lives in my lab at work and gets played daily during breaks, lunch, and downtime.

I've got a Kala Acacia Tenor with Mi-Si pickup that I play with my band and at home a lot. And I have a Flea soprano that gets played at home and goes where I feel its rugged construction is the best choice. In a few weeks it will be going with me on a week's vacation to the Blue Ridge Mountains in N. Georgia.
 
Makala pineapple.
 
My Fluke with the plastic fretboard is my go everywhere nearly indestructible uke.
 
My Fluke tenor, I really don't beat any instrument.
My Fluke I can carry easily, it is hard to hurt and if something did happen I can easily replace it.
 
50s all-mahog Hilo sop, for which I paid $5. It has been on the floorboards of my car, without a case, for the past three years and still looks and sounds great.

40s (?) Regal all-mahog sop, for which I paid $15. It's my go-to indoor uke, as it is always sitting out (no case) and sounds terrific.

(I had to glue both of these ukes back together after finding them in sad shape at flea markets. Even carved a new nut out of a scrap of wood for the Regal. I have some nice ukes, but I love never having to worry about these two guys.)
 
I keep a Makala dolphin (with $5 radioshack pickup) in my car. My Flea cost ten times what I paid for the Makala, so it's no longer my beater.
 
The uke I generally travel with is my Fluke, in large part becuase it's less prone to getting dinged, scratched and hurt in transit. And it sounds okay, too. I suppose it's my "beater".
 
I suppose the ultimate beater position goes to my bright blue Makala Dolphin, which I use as a demo uke when showing the Uke Leash. I wanted to have something that hadn't become a member of my private herd, but would be able to be handed over to a wide variety of folks without too much stress. But, I am hopeless, since it is such an appealing little uke, I am sure to bond with it too, if I give it half a chance. I normally choose my Kala Kiwi or Mainland Boat uke for bringing to work to play during lunch in my car. I will take my Kala Mango Tenor if I want a low G uke to travel from the cool beach climate to the hot valley climate. The Long neck soprano or the Zebra wood soprano comes to work sometimes too. I have a few more that will come with me to Uke meetings, and a few that stay mostly at home. I treat them all with great care, because I like them so much, so none of them look like beaters.
–Lori
 
Don't really have a beater because I take good care of all of them, but I'm not as concerned about my two KoAlanas. Being made of sapele wood they're much heavier then the KoAlohas and even the Kamaka. ( Interesting that sapele wood is considered an exotic wood. It is pretty.)
My two KoAlohas and Kamaka stay at home most of the time.
 
Don't know if I consider it a "beater", but the one I have just thrown around to grab whenever I want to tinker around is my 1930s Harmony Banjo Uke. I restored it functionally, and never really put it in a safe place, or case. I have guitar hangers all over the house, where I hang it up allot, but if I am not near one, it ends up tossed up against the wall, or floor behind a chair. I love that thing, because it is fun to play, and tough as nails. You can toss it around and it is just a rock solid tank. I am careful not to put it somewhere that will puncture the original goat skin drum head, but other than that, I have bounced this thing around like a step child....

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my archtop sunburst tenor

My kala sunburst archtop tenor is my all around beater. It has a nice feel but is not super expensive. I could replace it. Sometimes when I'm playing it I forget and think I'm on my Kanilea k-1 tenor. It has a nice neck even if the sound is not equal to the Kanilea. It also can be plugged in.
 
Usually my favorite Beater is Paul, but sometimes George. Oh... wait...
 
I have a Kelii koa soprano made in 2000 - the finish shows a little wear, but it still sounds real sweet. Real rich with lots of overtones.
 
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