Electric Ukuleles

Misguided Musician

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 1, 2007
Messages
615
Reaction score
1
Location
Long Beach/Carson, California
I was thinking about purchasing an acoustic/electric ukulele, but I'm not sure what the best choice would be. I'm looking for something with a good tone and the perfect price to match it. Any suggestions?
 
Last edited:
depends on how much you like spend and wat preference on sound. some people like a bright sound and some warm.
 
if you are trying to stay fairly inexpensive, yet still decent quality, take a look at lanikai and kala ukuleles. the guy who started kala actually used to work for lanikai, so you might see a lot of similarities. but i just feel like kala is a little more for your money. but for the money, as long as you stay a little above the lower end models, i dont think you can go wrong.

just to give you an idea though:
leolani zebrawood tenor (good luck finding one of these)... very warm sound. the best sounding one i have whether plugged in or acoustic. cost me $170 with a case at the flea market at aloha stadium.
lanikai O-6 tenor spruce top 6 string... very bright sound. high tone. no pickup in it yet, but it should arrive tomorrow for me to install it. cost me $160 at musiciansfriend.com
kala KA-K6EC tenor koa 6 string cutaway... much warmer than the lanikai, but brighter than the leolani. $335 with case from musicguymic on ebay.
friend has lanikai LU-21 tenor... a little brighter than my kala. doesnt sustain as well as my leolani, but it sounds decent and is easy to play. they go for about $140 on musiciansfriend.com
 
I would say $300 or $500 and a somewhat of a warm sound.

ok you wrote this reply while i was writing my last one hahaha. anyway, $500 is a pretty big budget. for warmer sound, i would stick with solid mahogany or koa if you can get it in that price range.
 
Perfect! Thanx Nuke. Sounds pretty good but I don't think I'll be able to find those kind of prices in my area, but from ur description I'll try to find these ukes. I'm especially intirested in the leolani.
 
how are applauses?
 
I heard applauses are pretty good. They have one at Sam Ash. I think Danyo has one.
 

Attachments

  • DSC_0952.jpg
    DSC_0952.jpg
    91.9 KB · Views: 112
  • DSC_0953.jpg
    DSC_0953.jpg
    92.8 KB · Views: 39
  • DSC_0941.jpg
    DSC_0941.jpg
    94.5 KB · Views: 114
  • DSC_0948.jpg
    DSC_0948.jpg
    95.5 KB · Views: 443
  • DSC_0945.jpg
    DSC_0945.jpg
    92.8 KB · Views: 121
so i went to new york a month or so ago and was gutted at how little ukuleles they had there, even on music row with more music shops on one street ive ever seen they had nothing good

but i heard of a place called mandolin bros on staton island, so after getting some dodgy looks on the bus with my british accent and risking life and limb to get there (...or not!), i was kinda disappointed with the lack of choice.

this is a roundabout way of saying that i have tried the applause ukulele and i loved it and for the money def worth it. but for me it just wasnt a big enough upgrade to what i wanted. but dude if u have $350 to spend i'd recommend it.
 

Attachments

  • Ursticker.jpg
    Ursticker.jpg
    40.5 KB · Views: 8
so i went to new york a month or so ago and was gutted at how little ukuleles they had there, even on music row with more music shops on one street ive ever seen they had nothing good

but i heard of a place called mandolin bros on staton island, so after getting some dodgy looks on the bus with my british accent and risking life and limb to get there (...or not!), i was kinda disappointed with the lack of choice.

this is a roundabout way of saying that i have tried the applause ukulele and i loved it and for the money def worth it. but for me it just wasnt a big enough upgrade to what i wanted. but dude if u have $350 to spend i'd recommend it.

that sucks bro...yeah i am just looking for something to hold me over till i get my Kanile'a Super Tenor
 
Top Bottom