buyers guide

I've been lucky enough to visit Hawaii four times in my lifetime and have always had a fascination for the culture, and of course the ukulele. I've got a crappy one I picked up from an airport when I was fairly young, and managed to get hold of a very basic £25 (roughly $40) ukulele for my Dad but since haven't been able to find anything for myself. It was a local guitar shop that gets in random stock as it comes rather than reselling specific brands.

I've played guitar most of my life and am very familiar with stringed instruments (can play a bit of banjo too) so am looking for a good mid-range ukulele. I'm more about vocals than playing and am looking for a nice ukulele to sit around in the park with friends and jam a few tunes, maybe play it on an open mic night as something a bit different.

I live in the UK and finding a ukulele beyond a plastic Spongebob Squarepants job, so will have to order online most likely, so I have to keep shipment costs in mind as well but was looking to spend roughly $80-$100 but with barely any idea as to how much a good ukulele would cost I need some sound advice.

After a little research a soprano ukulele, the more traditional ones, seemed like the best bet but if the consensus is that a deeper model would be better... you get the idea.

Try this thread regarding entry level instruments. All the references are linked for easier access.

thanks very much, Lanikai LU-21 is looking good

petergiblin said:

thanks very much, Lanikai LU-21 is looking good

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Hey you can't go wrong with that uke, it was my first uke and I still love it.

There are a few places you can get ukes from in the UK. Where are you based?

P.S. welcome to the forum

Aldrine did a uke minutes on what to buy.

petergiblin said:

I live in the UK and finding a ukulele beyond a plastic Spongebob Squarepants job, so will have to order online most likely, so I have to keep shipment costs in mind as well but was looking to spend roughly $80-$100 but with barely any idea as to how much a good ukulele would cost I need some sound advice.

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Not sure where in the UK you are, but if you're ever headed towards London, check out the Duke of Uke store

http://www.dukeofuke.co.uk/about_duke.php

I stumbled across that after the morning markets, they had a good laugh at my nose pressed hard against the window

(Pity I only had a wallet full of Euros :wallbash: )

i actually go to uni in London, cheers whetu i'll go there tomorrow and see what they have

I can heartily recommend the Kala ukes, some of which should fall in your price range. Even the laminate bodies are quite good if the soundboard is solid wood. My first uke was a Kala KA-SC, which is a laminate model in concert size with a solid spruce top. I still have it, and enjoy it still....

I have large hands, and find I like the concert size better than the soprano I bought later. It just feels cramped. I had the opportunity to play a tenor the other day in a music shop....wow, what a difference! There's definitely a tenor in my future! I'd LOVE one of the new Kala solid Acacia tenors....

I have long fingers and arms so I play the concert. My first 'ukulele that I bought is a Kala KA-SC and I like it because of the ease of playing it. I am getting my second 'ukulele this coming Wednesday... crossing fingers which will be a Pono Concert 'ukulele. Its all in your preference.

yea i use my uke for singing andi have a soprano.
it's so small and is travel friendly... plus all the ladies think it's cute and fun!
HUBBA HUBBA!
hahahaha.

but lanikai lu-21 is a great uke to start out with. it's not the BEST sounding, but for it's price it's good. for 80-100 i think the kala ka-s is a great choice. i had that uke for awhile and liked it a lot more than the lanikai lu-21.
hope that helps!

Can't do better than a KALA mahogany series tenor for that money.

Since you are looking at entry level ukes, I would recommend getting one with geared tuners instead of friction tuners. The frictions are easier to use for beginners and will prevent further frustration in keeping your uke in tune. The Lanikai and Kala models in the same price range are virtually identical and would make a good first ukulele.