Uke buying help

bornagainjeeper

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I'm looking to get a new uke! I want a concert in the 250-300 range I was certainly looking into mainland heavily and don't know if i want cedar or mahogany. Also been looking at bushman and a few others...any suggestions...i tend to like my uke loud, bassy and full rather than trebley, and i really really want one with the fewest tuning issues possible for 300

heres what i sound like, and generally how i play if you don't know me....
and i hate this uke... tuning issues,quiet and tinny

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNc2M8DpEhc&feature=channel_page

not my best performance...but i tend to play my baritone because the soprano issues frustrate me
 
I'm kinda new so I can only speak from my experience. That being said, my main Uke right now is a Tenor Pili Koko. I love the sound that it has. I know it's not real Koa, but for the price that I paid and the quality I got I am pretty impressed. It's loud and I have not had to tune it for a couple of weeks. I know you can get a concert for under $250.00.

I know it does not answer any of your questions but I thought I might give you a different option.:rolleyes:
 
i tend to like my uke loud, bassy and full rather than trebley, and i really really want one with the fewest tuning issues possible

This probably isn't what you were looking for, from a visual standpoint, but you basically just described Fleas and Flukes. :D

JJ
 
good luck with the search

I was in the same boat a few months ago. I ended up going with a cordoba. I had to do like 3 exchanges before I found one that was perfect but I am uber happy with my decision. It's solid koa (prob the cheapest solid koa on the market). If you check them out make sure to wiggle the tuners and check inside the sound hole for cracks on the side bends. Once you find a winner strum it out.
btw, i have a jeep to if you can't tell from the name.:shaka:
 
Dude, you made your crappy uke sound pretty good!

Personally, I like cedar the bestest... even though I haven't bought one yet. Of the concert cedars I have looked at, I like:

Lanikai's LCD
http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/items/LCDC.htm
Pretty sweet lookin! Sounds great and if the set up is right, its a righteous uke. But being a Lanikai, some of 'em have 'issues'. Definitely a uke to be played prior to purchase.

I do have a Lanikai solid mahogany concert though and I love it! $95!!

However, just recently I dealt with Waverly Street Ukes and so far I'm very impressed with Dave. I told him what I was looking for, he told me what he had available as far as materials, I selected what I wanted and he went to work!! Very soon, I'll have my very own custom ukulele! I know he's done a concert or two in the past, and his prices are VERY reasonable.
www.wsukes.com
 
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Bushman

...Also been looking at bushman and a few others...any suggestions...

Cali and I once owned a Bushman tenor. It's the only instrument that I've ever been tempted to smash into pieces....and not for fun, ala, "The Who."
 
Last month, Bushman sold my buddy a concert, telling him it had a barely noticeable crack. It ended up being a crack across the entire top. Looked like someone hit it with an axe.

I will never buy anything from Bushman.
 
i like mahogany over the cedar. i feel like the mahogany gives the ukulele a more hawaiian sound.

and great job w/ the vid! i forgot it was on youtube and instead thought it was a song off of my itunes.
 
My first (and only, so far) uke is the Kala KA-SC mentioned above. I like it a lot, and it is definitely loud enough.

Someone suggested that it is too "bright", but due to my inexperience I don't know what that means in this context. How would you define "bright" as it applies to ukuleles?

Not sure of the price range, but have you seen the Kala Solid Accacia? Beautiful uke!
 
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Someone suggested that it is too "bright", but due to my inexperience I don't know what that means in this context. How would you define "bright" as it applies to ukuleles?

Other terms used for Bright: crisp, sharp, snappy. Opposites: mellow, full, bass, warm.
 
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