Suddenly Interested.

CitizenSnips

CitizenSnips

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So I've been playing Electric guitar for about a year now and have learned alot. But today I saw and heard someone playing a Ukulele for the first time and instantly just fell in love with the sound and look of it. I'm very interested in buying my first Uke and this place looks like the best place to ask some questions I have.

I've done some research and I'm pretty content on purchasing a "Concert" sized Uke. The Soprano just seemed too small and the Tenor too big so I thought this middle ground was perfect.

So my first question would be what brand of Ukulele's are great for beginners and at an affordable price? My budget would be $200. Secondly I need to know where I can buy the Ukulele from. Where I'm living in Florida the closest music store with a Ukulele is hours away, so I'd need an online retailer. I've been searching around and you guys seem to be pretty happy ordering from "musicguymic" on Ebay. I was orginally looking at a Mitchell Koa MU-100 for $150 from Guitarcenter but they are currently out of stock and I have no idea if It would sound decent.

Basically, I'm not sure if the Mitchell Ukulele is worth it or if I should order on Ebay from this musicguymic. I would have no idea which Uke to buy from him though.

Any help is appreciated and thanks in advance.
 
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musicguymic has a few concerts from Kala that would be a good choice. I'd look there -- if you want a pickup and can press the budget to the hi 200's, then he's got one in a solid mahogany that would do well for you too. have a look and give him a call -- you'll be surprised at how helpful he is even over the phone.


have fun
 
I think Hamano is doing a H-100 in concert size..... It might be a little bit more expensive than the 200$..... But I think you might consider this uke...... I think musicguymic have some...you can check with him....
 
I'd say get a Kala from MGM. You can't go wrong there.
 
yeh ukulele is good stuff.
 
I recommend playing different ukes that you are interested in. The one that entices you to play will keep you coming back for more. The sound is the most important thing, playability is important too and since you have some guitar experience you will have some preferences already. Good luck.
 
you might be interested in a lanikai... if you look around you might get one with a pick-up included for $200.
 
Lanikai has some great ukes that are for beginners.

i have one myself and i use it all the time.

try to get a koa body.

im sorry i always recomend this, but i just love the look and sound that the koa makes.

lanikai, kala, or even go bushman if your serious about playing.
 
I live on the east coast of central FL. I haven't been able to find a music store that carries any decent Ukes from Winter Haven to Daytona Beach. If you end up finding one I've missed please let me know.

I have purchased a Kala tenor off of musicguymic from ebay and I can report quality on both the Kala and musciguymic. The transaction was fast, shipping didn't take long at all, i was satisfied with the service.

My Kala sounds beautiful and I'm extremely happy with it. Of course that's a tenor though. I would expect the same craftsmanship from a concert.

Good Luck!
 
Thanks for the help so far guys, I've narrowed it down to these two Ukulele's.

Either this Kala KA-C for about $120.

Or

Either this Lanikai for about $100.

Right now I'm leaning towards the Kala, but both Ukuleles look identical to me but maybe you guys know which one is the better value?
 
im usually a kala guy when it comes down to choosing between them and lanikai, but at this level, youre not going see much difference. i would choose the lanikai in this case, simply because it is cheaper and free shipping.

nato (on the lanikai) apparently is supposed to be a fairly inexpensive wood, but very similar in sound quality to mahogany. but then again, id be willing to bet that both of these are laminated anyway.

so the last thing is price. kala = ~$135 after shipping... lanikai <$100 with free shipping.
 
lanikai makes a tenor w/pickup for $130. i would say to just get it and then upgrade if you need to later. chances are, this won't be the last time you buy a ukulele. once you've had a taste, you can have a better idea of what to look for on future ukes. then you can have a rad collection or give away your old ukes as hand-me-downs to friends. help spread the gospel.

good luck!
 
im going to go ahead and agree with everyone else
and say either kala or lanikai
i would go with the koa wood one
but there is also the mahogany wood
which is less expensive
 
ah, flip a coin, either one will make you happy -- from what I understand, the Kala owner has roots at Lanikai, and spread out on his own to create Kala Brand -- personally, I'd lean towards the Kala, only because in my opinion, it looks nicer -- but I'd bet they sound nearly identical

just noticed, the Kala comes with Aquila strings, the Lanikai gets you the stock strings (Hilo's?) -- here again, just my preference, if I were to get the Lanikai, I'd get some Aquila or Worth CD strings added to the order and shipped with it

yer in great shape either way -- have fun!
 
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I vote for Kala, and you might consider one that's a little over $200. Ask musicguymic if it's enough better to make it worth just that little extra money. I have a Kala Tenor and Concert and after playing all sizes, I've grown to love the Concert size the best. My goal is to have two really nice Concerts, one tuned with low G, as songs like Over the Rainbow and White Sandy Beach sound 100% better with the low G. But I also want that all high ukie sound, so the other Concert would have the high-g.

I sooooo much wish there was such a think as a DOUBLE-CONCERT-CASE. They have nice double-Tenor cases, but none for the Concert size. I wonder why not?j
 
I have been looking for an upgrade my self and MGM recommended KALA sticka spruce top the plus there is that its a solid top and that makes for a nice sound. I have a uke that is all laminated now, and have had laminated guitar before. I just dont like the way they sound. Kala makes one in concert size with the spruce top. I think its around 120-130 bucks. Another bonus with MGM is that he setuo the uke for you with nice strings and all, and though I havent bought one from him yet, I have bug him quite a bit and he is superfast in replying by email, or calling you back on the phone.
 
I'm in Florida too (unfortunately - cause I'm originally from Hawaii. LOL) Ukuleles are really hard to come by around here unless you find one of those touristy "Mickey Mouse" set-ups around Orlando (Disney World). LOL

I buy about 90% of my uke stuff from Musicguymic! Even though Florida is thousands of miles from da 'aina - he gets your stuff to you lickity-split-no-s**t!

As for what these guys are recommending! Hell yeah!! They know what they're talkin' about! However, I'm pretty biased in that I LOVE the sound of a Koa uke. I won't go back to Mohagony or Zebra Wood watchamacallit kinda stuff. LOL It's worth the extra dough IMHO.
 
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