Best inexpensive uke that plays in tune?

andywergedal

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What is the best inexpensive/beater uke that plays in tune?

I've played for 9 years and am just about to get a new job that will require me to travel 3 days a week.

I only take one bag when I travel. I want to just throw my uke in a gig bag and wrap it some clothes, stuff it in the carry on bag and not worry about it.

I've bought and worked on mahalos, lanakais, and kalas but they all seem to have intonation problems. Most of those ukes I have given away. I have a tenor fluke, but it will not fit into my carry on bag and my koa soprano's case will not fit either. All my other ukes are either too irreplaceable or valuable to be treated this way.

What is the least expensive uke that plays in tune... ie does not have intonation problems?

Here are my requirements:
soprano uke
gig bag
fit in my carry on (redoxx small aviator bag 22x11x8)
replaceable within a week
less than $100.00 (flexable)
 
What is the best inexpensive/beater uke that plays in tune?

I've played for 9 years and am just about to get a new job that will require me to travel 3 days a week.

I only take one bag when I travel. I want to just throw my uke in a gig bag and wrap it some clothes, stuff it in the carry on bag and not worry about it.

I've bought and worked on mahalos, lanakais, and kalas but they all seem to have intonation problems. Most of those ukes I have given away. I have a tenor fluke, but it will not fit into my carry on bag and my koa soprano's case will not fit either. All my other ukes are either too irreplaceable or valuable to be treated this way.

What is the least expensive uke that plays in tune... ie does not have intonation problems?

Here are my requirements:
soprano uke
gig bag
fit in my carry on (redoxx small aviator bag 22x11x8)
replaceable within a week
less than $100.00 (flexable)

Well, my Makala Dolphin has no intonation issues. Buy it from Musicguymic to be sure it's set up right, and give it lead time for the strings to settle in. Also, I've played the entry level makalas and they play in tune.
 
How about a Koa pili koko....thin bodied and I had two with great intonation...about 140.00 solid body arcacia...
 
My Makala Dolphin is fine all the way up the fretboard. Went in my backpack in the overhead locker from Australia to UK and back with no problem. Brilliant!
 
What about the Rogue Sopranos's from Musician's Friend. $24.95!!!!!! Recommended by a number of members here. For the money you can't go wrong!
 
Makala Dolphin or Makala MK-s inexpensive, well crafted and fun.
 
My best inexpensive uke was an Ohana Vita. Great intonation, robust sound.
 
ditto on the dolphin, bought a Rogue baritone and I wasn't impressed , bought a rogue soprano for a gift, it should arrive tm, will give a review
 
Well, my Makala Dolphin has no intonation issues. Buy it from Musicguymic to be sure it's set up right, and give it lead time for the strings to settle in. Also, I've played the entry level makalas and they play in tune.

Have to agree with this. I bought my first uke from Mike and it was really sweet right out of the box. Bought my Dolphin from Sam Ash and it took me a lot of setup tweeking to get it right. I think it's great now, but you can save a lot of headaches letting MGM set it up.

Also If you go with the Dolphin, Aquila strings have been the best on it for me. I tried the stock black strings, worth clears, and fremont clears and non of them sing like the Aquilas.
 
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I would look at a flea. They are great instruments. They would withstand any travel and possibly a bomb blast. They play great right from the box with terrific intonation, action and response. I now folks who have taken them all over the world.
 
Lanikai LU-21 series... Not quite a beater Uke, but entry level.
 
Buy a Flea. I tried a Dolphin, didn't like the neck. The Flea should have perfect intonation.
 
I've bought and worked on mahalos, lanakais, and kalas but they all seem to have intonation problems. Most of those ukes I have given away. . . .

What is the least expensive uke that plays in tune... ie does not have intonation problems?

At first I was going to say that if you already went through Lanikai's and Kala's and you weren't happy, then just get KoAloha or a Kanilea, even a Kamaka - be sure they're rack instruments to keep the price down.

Then I read this:

Here are my requirements:
soprano uke
gig bag
fit in my carry on (redoxx small aviator bag 22x11x8)
replaceable within a week
less than $100.00 (flexable)

How flexible do you want to be for $100, and what do you expect? The instruments you've gone through, and weren't happy with, are already in that price range. And if you've done a full setup on it, then it basically comes down to two things - either the setup wasn't complete, or your ear is too sensitive which would put your price range at about 1/20th of where it should be.
 
Triumph from Empire Music. Indestructible plywood triangle. Sounds eight times better than a Dolphin. 60 bucks.
 
Lanikai LU-11 or LU21 from MGM - the reason so many inexpensive instruments don't play in tune isn't anything inherently wrong with the instrument, it's just that the final touches like adjusting the neck slots isn't done. You have to do it yourself or have a reputable / knowledgeable dealer who will do it for you.

The humble little soprano LU-11 I bought from MGM for my granddaughter is within a cent or two at the first fret, and no more than about ten cents out at the tweflth (getting tweflth fret intonation correct depends very much on the strings - even sets from the same mfr can be different so unless you have adjustable saddles like an electric guitar you pretty much take what you get).

My LU-21 that I bought from Amazon was way off at the first fret but fortunately I have nut files so I can adjust things like that myself (though it's tedious and I'd still rather let somebody else do it if they're willing).

John
 
Triumph from Empire Music. Indestructible plywood triangle. Sounds eight times better than a Dolphin. 60 bucks.

Erm... I agree that the Triumph is indestructible. I have one that I keep in my car all the time because I know the heat won't make the bridge pop off (it's screwed on).

But... sounding better than a Makala?? Not a chance. The Triumph sounds rather bleh, especially farthest up the neck, whereas the Makala dolphins sound sweet.
 
this is a funny thread because the ukulele playing in tune has more to do imo (maybe I am wrong) with the strings than the ukulele. I so far have had a kohala (cheap lanakai) and a pair of dolphins and a makala tenor and a cordoba. The cordoba came with aquilas. The other instruments all came with those brown nylon strings. The Cordoba is the only of the instruments that REALLY stays in tune all the time. It is also, by looking at it, the one with the most attention to detail and looks the nicest of the bunch.

Well I myself am curious about the Makai and the Riptide. Otherwise, having played guitars and mandolin etc... now the uke, I think the strings stretching is just something you have to deal with. The Aquilas have less of this effect than the nylons or the fluorocarbon.

I sure like the look of that riptide and want to get one. Also would like to check out the makais. That being said, I think cordobas and kalas are wonderful intruments as well. Best thing is to go into a store and play them and then buy a pack of aquilas to take home with it if it doesn't have them already.

I read a host of posts about Cordoba Quality Control issues but when I look at the instruments in the store it looks like its the other vendors with the issues so I wonder what those posts are about. Quality control on what? that is sort of a goofy blanket statement, a generality... At guitar center, I found the Cordoba 15cm sounded (to me) better than all the lanakais and fenders and the mitchell they had in there. Thats all they had in there. The soprano expensive cordoba sounded totally awesome as well. I might recommend you check them out at guitar center. Mine is staying in tune even though the machine heads are nothing special.

Hey check out those riptides on Amazon but get u a pack of aquilas to go with it.
 
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