European Made Ukuleles

katysax

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With the dollar approaching parity with the Euro, this is a great time to buy a uke from Europe if you are an American. Sometimes it has taken as much as $1.80 per Euro to convert and usually has been $1.30-1.50. At the moment it is $1.09 but has been as low as $1.05 very recently. Some analysts predict it will go as low as $.080 by September but I don't know that I'd bet on that.

At any rate it seems to me if you ever wanted a Bruko or a Risa, now is the best time to get one. I've already got a couple of Brukos, but I'm thinking about a Risa.

When the Euro is this weak, it's a bargain even when you factor in shipping, especially because you don't pay VAT in the US.

Any other European brands of interest. I'm not asking about UK here because the LLB Sterling is not as weak as the Euro.
 
Good thinking.

Probably a good idea to get a Risa stick at those exchange rates but you need to figure out what size is best for you. I have the soprano but it's so wee. A guy I know just bought a tenor and he just loves it.

Petey
 
Stagg (Belgian), Harley Benton/Thomann (German), iUke (Italian) and Lâg (French) are European brands, but have their instruments produced overseas. Still, their prices could now be to your advantage.

Hora (Romanian) is a factory that also makes ukuleles, and Dupont (French) makes selmac style ukukeles. Beside that, you already mentioned the two other big European producers, Risa and Brüko.

Then there's individual luthiers of all sorts, ranging from Sylvain Enjoubaut (Motu ukuleles - very cheap and very nice) to top models (the list is almost endless, from Argapa in Sweden to Carvalho in Portugal, from Ken Timms' traditional designs to Sontag's archtop jazz ukuleles).
 
I just got a Risa Stick (Concert) a couple weeks ago and love it. It's great. And you're exactly right; the Euro is a good rate right now. Risa shipping was quite affordable to the US/Arizona for me, and it quick too. I would consider a Tenor too. I think the Soprano stick would be too small. I fear that the LP's might be harsh on my delicate fingertips!
Bruko shipping is a lot more at 55 Euros, which is almost as much as the Ukulele costs!
 
in France there is a master : Dominique Chevalier : http://dominique-chevalier-luthier.fr/lesukuleles.html
I have one of his all solid mahogany concert, my best ukulele.

(and I own or I've had Koaloha superconcert, soprano, Kamaka soprano, Martin S0 vintage, Cole Clark Ukelady, GG uke, etc.)
 
When I saw the title of this thread, the first two names that popped into my mind was Pete Howlett and Ken Timms, both curiously unmentioned as of yet.

Ken is mentioned in one of the posts, although Rob Collins is not. http://tinguitar.com/
h

As the OP said, the rate of the Euro vs the Dollar is looking good from a US perspective, the same is not true of the Pound vs the Dollar. In fact the advantage is the other way round as the Dollar rate vs the Pound is looking favourable to us here in the UK.
 
As the OP said, the rate of the Euro vs the Dollar is looking good from a US perspective, the same is not true of the Pound vs the Dollar. In fact the advantage is the other way round as the Dollar rate vs the Pound is looking favourable to us here in the UK.

I was hit by this just the other day as I was looking for a mini violin bass (Hofner/Beatles style), which I found being made by a builder in England selling for 295 pounds, which turned out to be $409 US. But it was just a little bigger than I want, so I passed.
 
I am actually planning a trip to Europe this summer. Every time I've gone in the past has been when the exchange rate was in my disfavor. It would be fun to go for once when things were reasonably priced.
 
I am actually planning a trip to Europe this summer. Every time I've gone in the past has been when the exchange rate was in my disfavor. It would be fun to go for once when things were reasonably priced.

Pick up a nice watch!!
 
Pick up a nice watch!!

I have quite a few watches and never wear one any more because I use my cell phone for the time. I just ordered one of the Alic sopranos. It was $55 with shipping.
 
I was hit by this just the other day as I was looking for a mini violin bass (Hofner/Beatles style), which I found being made by a builder in England selling for 295 pounds, which turned out to be $409 US. But it was just a little bigger than I want, so I passed.

In Australia, the conversion of the Pound to our dollar would set the price at almost $600. :(
 
The European sites listed for the most part do not seem to be setup for commerce at this point in time. I could very well be missing something, but a little surprised thought there would be more pricing and ordering information available.
 
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