any experience of the following (looking to get my first uke)

[6stringconvert]

I've been playing the guitar for years, and fancy getting into the uke.

I fancy a soprano or possibly a concert - anything bigger is too guitary for my liking.

There's a Tanglewood TU4521 that looks nice for around £130 and the Brueko's look good, maybe the no 6 Brueko. I must admit though I would order geared tunners myself as that's what I'm used too.

I like the look of the Lanikai's, Kala's, etc below the £200 mark; but I'm put off with them not being solid wood.

I'd appreciate any recommendations for a decent starter uke for someone with stinged instrument experience. Something with geared tuners and solid wood.

Mahalo,

D

 

[ukeatan]

If you're in Europe, Bruekos are great for the money. And the friction tuners aren't bad (at least they're fine on my Brueko). Friction tuners might take some getting used to, but in general they get a bad rep they don't necessarily deserve.

 

[Kanaka916]

Take a look a this post, it may or may not provide some assistance.

 

[NukeDOC]

dont be put off completely by the fact that many sub$200 ukes are not solid wood. they might not sound as good, of course, but so do sound pretty nice regardless. another option that may keep you below the $200 mark would be something without electronics or a cutaway, but with a solid spruce top. best thing to do is test them out for yourself, of course. but if you cant do that, try listening to some youtube videos. you wont get the pure sound that you would get in person, but it will give you an idea of what to expect.

my favorite sounding ukulele is a zebrawood leolani that i picked up in hawaii for $175. only the soundboard is solid. the rest is laminated over who-knows-what. i prefer the tone of this wood over my $400+ all solid mahogany pono.

good luck with your first ukulele.

 

[FourChordWonder]

£200 is roughly $295 USD according to google. If that's the case then there's quite a few solid wood sopranos in that price range. Kala, Mainland and Ohana all make solid wood ukes for under $300. The Kala acacia ukes are looking really good.

 

[Ahnko Honu]

The solid Australian Blackwood (Acacia) Lehua ukuleles made in Braga, Portugal can be found here in Hawaii for under $150.00 US so I imagine they can be found there for a comparable price. Bounty Music http://www.ukes.com/lehua.html carries Lehuas and they ship internationally.

 

[6stringconvert]

Wow thanks for all the great posts

Yep, I'm based in the UK. I do pop into London on occassion, so I'll try and check out what the Duke of Uke has to offer.

I'll bear in mind the comments on laminate and friction tuners - I guess it's just a departure from what I'm used to on the guitar.

Having said all that - it does sound like there are several solid wood ukes to check out!!!

Mahalo,

Dave

 

[C-roy]

Hmm... I have a baritone lanikai, I really don't like the feel of it. I'd say I would get another lanikai if it wasn't one of the cheaper ones made out of nato.

 

[UkuEroll]

I have a Lanikai Ck-C bought from the duke of Uke, Correct me if I'm wrong but i thought it was a solid Ukulele.

 

[6stringconvert]

Finally made it into a music shop and tried the soprano size uke to start with. I was concerned it was going to be too small, and for me, it is.

I decided to get a £75 Kala KA-C concert. I tried a Lanikai and one other around the same price, the Kala had the best brightness and sound. TBH, it's pretty well put together for the money - just a shame it's not solid wood.

Getting my hands on a uke was very strange an experience, real fish out of water stuff. I mucked about a bit - trying to understand the layout - and really came to the decision that I needed something cheap and cheerful to start.

Mahalo, Dave

 

[buddhuu]

You'll pick it up really quickly, mate. Check out some uke chord charts and the list of video lessons and there will be no stopping you!