I have the Takamine GUC1 concert ukulele which I bought locally on eBay (in Australia AU$179 or US$125) and then fitted a pickup with off-board electrics myself for the exact same reason Barry gave in his review - I didn’t want the weight and appearance of the on-board electrics.
Why did I buy it? I wanted something built with laminate to use as a travel ukulele. I also figured the Takamine would be well built and have good intonation going up the neck, given the excellent reputation of their guitars. And the all up cost was about AU$220 or US$150.
Like Gochugogi observed, mine arrived sounding very muffled. Fremont fluorocarbon strings, a couple of weeks playing and it now sounds crisp, bright but warm - I’m certainly very happy with the sound now. It’s certainly well built. Depending on how you play Fm etc, the wide flare to the machine head may annoy, and some of the timber edges could have been rounded over a little - it feels slightly unfinished.
I’ve travelled extensively with it in a soft bag under the airline seat in front of me. I’ve dropped it numerous times with no damage, it stays in tune and sounds excellent. In short, for me it was a good choice, because the setup cost nothing. And the intonation is excellent btw.
I have attached two video clips - one plugged in busking, and another using it acoustically.
I hope that helps!
https://youtu.be/cLh_CsDKIGA
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuOQsFSnpQr/?igshid=1hl3pmii26e1l