First ukulele: Lanikai S-T Tenor or Risa Solid-Acacia Tenor?

Hi. I am looking to buy my first ukulele and have decided to go for a tenor. I live in Denmark, and the ukes here in the shops are very overpriced and there are not really and used ones up for sale, so I have been looking at a german site and found these two in my price range:

Lanikai S-T Tenor

Risa Solid-Acacia Tenor

Do you have any recommendations?

The Lanikai has a solid top and is a bit cheaper, and the Risa is all solid wood. Also I like the look of the Risa better. Does anybody know this brand?

For me, it's no contest.....the Risa. Manitoba Hal uses a solid Risa acoustic on his 16 Tons Bluezified for the Ukulele. Risa makes quality instruments and stand behind them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpG0pEagry8&list=PL5D8D4DE0CDE0182B

Yeah, Risa for sure

PhilUSAFRet said:

For me, it's no contest.....the Risa. Manitoba Hal uses a solid Risa acoustic on his 16 Tons Bluezified for the Ukulele. Risa makes quality instruments and stand behind them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpG0pEagry8&list=PL5D8D4DE0CDE0182B

Click to expand...

What he said.

Go for the Risa.

There is also a used Mainland Mango Tenor up for sale I have been looking at. I read about it HERE and it says it has the sound of a soprano, which is not really what I am looking for. Anyone know anything about it? Would it sound different with Low-G strings?

Also there is a Pono AT Acacia Tenor up for sale. A bit more expensive than the Risa I have been looking at. Anybody who has any recommendations of what to buy?

Although I don't agree with the old saw that a higher priced item is a better quality item, I think the quality levels of the four instruments you've mentioned so far (the Lanikai, Mainland, Risa, and the Pono) are all pretty close to getting what you pay for.

Looking at your two initial choices, they are quite a bit different. The Risa is interesting because the neck joins the body at the 12.5 fret. The Lanikai is typical of most tenors which joins at the 14th fret. I don't have any personal experience with either model but based on the woods (acacia vs. spruce) and design, I would expect the two models to be noticeably different in both sound and playability. Have you tried either or both? If not, I would encourage you to try to go to a store and try as many different models as possible. Depending on what you like, and how you play, it makes it easier for online sellers (and forum members) to recommend something.