First Post =] Need Help

I have a birthday coming up, and my parents have been kind enough to help me upgrade my current ukulele status =]

Right now i have Mitchell MU-70 which I got as a gift for christmas (seems to be a pretty popular christmas gift around here). While I love the ukulele because it got me started, I would like to upgrade, and also get something that I could use in my band (meaning better projection/ electronics)

My price range is about 300, and I can't really go for any more than that because that's already pushing it as it is =x

The three ukulele's I'm considering are the

Kala Flametop Maple Tenor ::
http://cgi.ebay.com/KALA-KA-FMTE-C-...ryZ16224QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The Lanikai Curly Koa Tenor Electric ::
http://cgi.ebay.com/Lanikai-Curly-K...ryZ16224QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Or the Kala Koa Tenor
http://cgi.ebay.com/KALA-KA-KTE-Koa...ryZ16224QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Does anybody experience with either of these three?? It would be very much appreciated =]

Those two koas are not solid koa they are laminate just to give u the heads up. I've tried the lanikai electric cutaway, its decent. The sounds is quite bright and the playability is very nice, but I wouldn't really like to get one.

The other not too sure of but i've always liked kala ukuleles they have their flaws, but good for an intermediate player. I have two as of now a black mahogany tenor and a mango tenor. If you dont want to spend much and still have a great ukulele try lookin at the mahogany series ukuleles the ones with pickup range from $175-200 and the ones without pickup range from $115-140. I have the review of mine on the front page of ukuleleunderground.com. Hope this helped and good luck with your search.

I have the Kala KTEC (electronics and cutaway) just like in your third link. I'm happy with it for the price. Kala ukulele aren't incredible or anything but they are pretty good. I was disappointed when I found out that it wasn't solid koa, but the it still sounds good. Decent projection, good action, good intonation.

Plugged in it sounds decent. I haven't really played or performed using amplification though because I don't have an amp. Again, for the price, I think its a pretty good deal.

I actually play my Kala in a few of the tutorials that I entered into the ukulele review contest. My youtube link is in my sig. the videos will help you check out the ukulele in action and get an idea of how it sounds. I don't jam out on my uke in any of them though, sorry lol.

you should check out the tenor applause...
the thing with Kala and Lanikai ukes is that they are mass produced and the quality isn't that great.
i got my tenor applause (it's acoustic and electric) for about $350....
you should see if aldrine is still trying to sell his....
if you get the natrual or black one it should be about $300 because the one i got was made out of koa wood.

i've never seen a lanikai with curly wood like that
because their mass produced lol

but the sound of the lanikai or kala tenor is pretty good considering the price

Hey Doug,

Of the three choices your listed for your criteria, I'd lean towards the Kala Maple. Good maker, that solid spruce top should project nicely and you're set to plug in. The seller (MGM/Michael) is a great guy and has served many on this forum with great prices, delivery and service. I recommend calling him as he may have something more attractive to you that he has not yet listed on ebay.

Have fun!

ooh. thats a tough desicion. I'm torn between the maple and the lanikai.