Good Ukulele Under 80 Dollars?

iRockskinnies

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Alrighty, the first time I bought a ukulele I wasn't really careful about the quality. I had bought a Mahalo Ulp 30vs at the time. Well now I want a new one. Prefferibly one under 80 dollars because I'm on a tight budget but I'm willing to stretch another 10 dollars. I've thought about these:
Lanikai LU 21 c
Kala MK tenor
Luna Tattoo
Kala Ka C

I really do not want a Soprano uke, I think their too small and I want something new. A concert or a tenor, no baritones please.

If you could give me tips on good brands and different ukes at a low price, I'd be glad to hear about it.

Thanks!
 
Hi and welcome to UU!


The Makala's are great entry level/budget ukes. I bought the tenor for my newphew from HMS and for the price, it's a great value. I'd also suggest looking at the relatively new Hulala ukes, too.
 
I have the Kala KA-CEM (basically same as KA-C, only different design)---I love it, sounds great! No experience with the others, though I think I've heard mixed things about the Luna tattoo in terms of needing to be set-up prior to play
 
Keep in mind that its an extra $15 shipping from ukerepublic...

I was talking with Mike from UkeRepublic. He recommends the Makai Soprano (the $65 one) and Hulala Ocean Dancer Soprano over the dolphin (and the two former ones come with a gig bag, so the Makai is basically the same as the Dolphin if you were getting a bag anyways). I ended up getting a Makai, I'll let you know how it is once it comes in, prob around Friday-ish..
 
I've had tattoos that cost more than at least two of my ukuleles and my guitalele...lol. Don't underestimate the soprano, I bought a Makala ( dolphin )and beat it up with my playing and it can travel better than my pineapple ( which is higher in tone than my soprano ) and my 8 string. My Kala pineapple is sweet and fun to play, and not as dark and noisy as my Lanakai LU-8. The ones you are thinking about are all good, I have played with the Luna's and they are well made and sound good even out of tune and Kala as well as Lanakai make very nice ones as well.
 
For a better tenor check the scratch and dent ukuleles that Music1233 (Guitar Center) posts on eBay, they just had some baritones for around $60 and usually they just have a tiny bit of cosmetic damage and missing strings. You DO have to look over the photos very carefully, as they will show the damage. If you can be patient you could get a good deal, generally half price or less, therefore getting a higher quality instrument, but you do need to pay attention because they are not returnable. As per my usual disclaimer, I take zero responsibility, psychic or otherwise, for any resulting purchases that may arise from pointing anyone in this direction. :cheers:
 
Not sure there is many....You'd have to get a Gem out of a bunch.... save a little more and you'll bet a better uke... after all you get what you pay for..
Makai, Vineyard are couple to think about..though
 
Hi and welcome to UU!


The Makala's are great entry level/budget ukes. I bought the tenor for my newphew from HMS and for the price, it's a great value. I'd also suggest looking at the relatively new Hulala ukes, too.

I totally second this! I positively love my Makala MK-C. I've had it since December of 2011 and am quite in love with the sound.
 
My wife got an Oscar Schmidt OU2P (concert pineapple) as a Christmas gift from our Daughter and honestly it sounds pretty darn good and was exactly $80 including a few small accessories... Amazon has it for under $70. Does it sound as nice as my Kamaka Tenor...no, but it really is pretty decent. It is a pineapple shape with a 15" scale length, 17 total frets with 12 frets to the body...a really decent sound with reasonable volume... it has a matte finish on Mahogany (laminate I am sure) body. It was purchased at a local music store... I don't see the Oscar Schmidts mentioned often and maybe this one is a fluke and just better than the rest but it is really pretty nice. you can see them here (the picture shows the bottom cut off, it is not flat!) http://www.amazon.com/Oscar-Schmidt-OU2P-Ukulele-Natural/dp/B003XP5N42
 
I have an Oscar schmidt for 60.00 and it one of my favorite players....you need to get a set up though or do it yourself... I bought a few and my first one sounds the best..
it's a fun ukulele and better if you can tune them by ear.. good luck
 
I just picked up my first Uke in Vermont - and it's the Luna Tattoo Concert. I only have experience shopping around for my Mandolin - but I really liked the sound from this little instrument and it was on sale for 79 bucks. For a first uke (and there will be another I'm sure ;) I don't think I made a bad choice - right now, it's making me sound better than I am.....hopefully in time I'll return the favor. Just curious - what did you get?
 
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