On first ukes and quality comparison

Hi UUers!

As of today, I can say that I am a proud owner of a Lanikai LU-21 soprano uke. I can also say, however, that I have learned my lesson regarding ukulele craftsmanship.

After stumbling upon some really great sounding covers done on the uke, I ordered the Lanikai from Amazon on a whim. I placed the order Sunday. I waited anxiously until I ran out of patience on Wednesday. On my break from work, I headed over to the local music shop to see what they could offer. I ended up buying some nameless uke just to get started on. I can post pics of them tomorrow, but for now you will have to trust that it is not a masterpiece.

I played my new all of wednesday and thursday. I even took it to work with me today and played a little during downtime. I learned as much as I could in the short time that I played. I did find, unfortunately, that I had to retune it very frequently, and I also had trouble getting it properly tuned to begin with.

However, when I got home tonight after work, I saw that there was a uke-sized box waiting for me at my door. I quickly scooped it up, ran inside, and squealed with delight. Not only does the Lanikai look much better than my other uke, it feels better. I quickly tuned it, did a little strumming, and was promptly blown away by the difference in quality.

I am in every way satisfied with this new little uke, and I can't wait to tackle some of the UU lessons!

(also, hi, I'm new)

I'll probably be experiencing something similar later next week or so.
Got myself a cheap Mahalo Soprano to play on (impatient) before getting a solid mahogany tenor (Kala) from MGM.

I'm somewhat happy with the cheap Soprano, and can only expect much more quality from the new Tenor to arrive later.

As with strings going out of tune easily on the cheaper ukulele. Could it be because the strings were wound for the first time, so they're still stretching? Newly wound strings often go out of tune easily for a few days or so apparently.

Otherwise, just crappy tuning mechanism on the no-name cheapo

Prepare to be blown away once more whe you fellas make the jump from Kala/Lanikai up to like a Kanilea (My choice ) or a Kamaka. I have reached the point where nothing feels or sounds quite right. Good choice on the solid wood you can hear the difference. Either way...enjoy!

I only started on the ukulele a few weeks back,with a Mahalo.Having read the forums,I set to and lowered the action at both nut and saddle,put some Aquilas on,to replace the joke fishing line that came as standard,and what a difference!
I then went and got a Kauai,which is a concert size,and has a solid top (cedar) and a plastic soundbowl! What a difference in quality. Although the Kauai is considered a 'cheapie' I love it.Still play both mind you,as the Mahalo is now more or less as 'good as it will ever get',and it has a distinct sound of its own!
But the Kauai is my favourite,a fuller,richer sound somehow,which must be because of the solid top and the slightly larger body size. I bought the Mahalo on impulse I suppose, and just wish that I had found this forum,before making the buy! Would have saved me a lot of faffing about in the long run!

The Journey of Me

I bought a Kala KA-S two weeks ago for retail price at $85. It sounded decent for its price but it had buzzing issues on some of the frets. I returned it and also ordered a Lanikai LU-21 online two days ago, and it should be arriving in the next couple of days...

But the greatest reward is my MAINLAND Soprano Mahogany Matte finish ukulele with Sealed Gold Ebony tuners coming in the end of May! Why so long? Because it's backordered until May 10th or so, and Mike custom makes every single one his ukes for his customers! I talked to Mike several times on the phone and he's a great guy... plus he threw in a free gig bag because of the long wait period for my uke.

Basically my Lanikai LU-21 is going to be the uke that I "toss" around and let other people play with, but my Mainland uke is going to be for my hands only... or for someone else who has a passion for the uke as well.

Bought a Lanikai hard case as well and I'm looking into buying a Humistat humidifier.

In conclusion... I bought a lot of stuff at once but the Ukulele is too fun. I did a lot of research and even that was a blast to do- learning all about a new instrument keeps me occupied for hours easily. I did play the ukulele a few years back as well, but wasn't as serious as I am today.

My first uke was a Mahalo U-30 (right?) about a year and a half ago I think. The intonation is pretty bad, but I think my brain cleaned it up and I just got used to it.

About six months later I got a concert Flea. MUCH better. The intonation is just about perfect and it just sounds better altogether. Now when I pick up the Mahalo I wonder how I was ever able to play the thing.

Now, I've got a Mainland concert on the way (yay!) that should be here today or tomorrow. I'm anxious to hear the difference between the plastic/laminate Flea vs. the solid mahogany Mainland.

Jason

First ukes often are something of the El Cheapo variety for obvious reasons. Why spend hundreds of dollars to learn that you don't like to play, don't like the sound, don't want to be doing this? Get something adequate and test the waters. Then UAS sets in and off you go!

My first was a Vineyard concert with GHS strings for about $25. The second was a Vineyard soprano with Aquila strings for $60. The difference in sound is amazing so I changed the strings on my concert. It now sounds much better than before.

I recently did a comparo of two mid-cost ($200) instruments http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12213 and you can see there is a big difference from these to the El Cheapo brand. The sound file illustrates how the sound can vary between two similar instruments.

Biggest things are: get something that sounds good to your ears; get something you like to look at; give in to the UAS. Oh man, that almost sounds like marriage advice.

dude. mahogany is awesome!! your mainland uke will show you that the uke should sound like a hawaiian sound... and plastic to wood is def a big jump. tell me how it goes! i have a soprano matte mahogany mainland uke w/ sealed gold and ebony tuning coming in a month! (long delay i know... it's cause it's back ordered!) but i am excited nonetheless... make sure to get a humidifier for your mainland uke so that it doesn't crack. wood is a living thing bro!

Choboy said:

But the greatest reward is my MAINLAND Soprano Mahogany Matte finish ukulele with Sealed Gold Ebony tuners coming in the end of May! Why so long? Because it's backordered until May 10th or so, and Mike custom makes every single one his ukes for his customers!

Click to expand...

Mainland ukes are awesome - just look at the reviews here - but no way are they "custom made" for each customer! They're made overseas and set up by Mainland, but at their price, nothing is custom made!