Need Help Deciding - $500 Range Tenor

Hello everyone! Was hoping to get a little help deciding what ukulele to buy. I never knew there were so many ukulele makes/models out there. That being said, I'm probably missing out on other great options in the $500 price range. I know I want a solid wood tenor ukulele, and I have narrowed it down to 5 models.

Martin - K1-T (Koa)
Pono - AT (Acacia)
Kala - KA-ASAC-T (Acacia)
KoAloha - KTO-10 (Sapele)
Lanikai - NK-T (Koa) or SMP-T (Monkey Pod)

I have a Martin guitar, but how do their lower end ukulele's compare with the others in the list? Am I just paying for the name?
I'm not familiar with Acacia or Sapele, and I know Monkey Pod trees are pretty, but how do they sound?

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. The only place within 500 miles of me that sells ukuleles, is Guitar Center and they have a very small selection of cheaper entry level ukuleles. So, I will not be able to play any of these before I buy one.

Cheers,
Brian

Welcome! $500 is a fine number for a first quality instrument. My personal preferences based on your list for me would be the koaloha opio sapele tenor. I just really like the sound, bright and cheery, but LOUD.

I'd cut the Lanikai and the Kala right off the list. The others are first rate ukuleles. Like Recstar24, of those on your list, I'd get the Opio for sure.

I agree, forget the Kala and the Lanikai ukes. I would lean very strongly to the KoAloha......great uke!!

This was posted very recently to youtube...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C60shBkfltc

Is this what you are looking for?

Recstar24 said:

Welcome! $500 is a fine number for a first quality instrument. My personal preferences based on your list for me would be the koaloha opio sapele tenor. I just really like the sound, bright and cheery, but LOUD.

Click to expand...

+1! Out of this list I would go for the KoAloha also...

The KoAloha and Pono were my top two choices. After posting this thread, I discovered the Marketplace thread and found a nice Kamaka HF-3 that was slightly over my budget. So.... I bit the bullet and am now the proud owner of a Kamaka! It should be here on Friday, and I cannot wait!

Thank you to everyone that took the time to give me advice.

BCP said:

The KoAloha and Pono were my top two choices. After posting this thread, I discovered the Marketplace thread and found a nice Kamaka HF-3 that was slightly over my budget. So.... I bit the bullet and am now the proud owner of a Kamaka! It should be here on Friday, and I cannot wait!

Thank you to everyone that took the time to give me advice.

Click to expand...

Woot! Enjoy your Kamaka.

Congratulations! You made a good choice. Wow,you are going to really love it. No comparison to the ukes you were looking at, Kamaka is light years ahead of them.

Quite a leap. Congratulations. I wish you many years of beautiful music with your new world-class ukulele. (and you were thinking about Lanikais and Kalas)

I love this place...someone comes in asking about kala and lanikai and we get them to just go for top end kamaka

In all seriousness, if you have the funds and the interest, I always advocate going for the best instrument you can get!

Wow! Talk about kicking it up a level! You made a great choice with the Kamaka! You will no doubt be so thankful you went for the Kamaka even if it exceeded your initial budget by a few dollars...

Enjoy!