Which ukulele brand is better mahalo,ashton,blue moon, vintage or stagg?

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oncloudnine

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How about adding Makala and Lanikai to your list of brands? From what I've read you'd be safer with one of those.
 
Seriously consider the Makala...that's my go to ukulele for gifting to promising kiddos, best bang for the buck I've found and the way MGM sets them up, Wow! I mean, you wouldn't mistake them for a Kamaka or something in that price range...but they do sound awful sweet! LOL, the only problem I've ever had with the kids who get them is picking the color!
:music:
 
IMHO, I would say pay the little extra and get a Lanikai. I got a soprano with Aquilas for £45 (in Macaris on Charing Cross Rd) and it sounds really great. I'm not sure if it's a one off fluke, or they've just found a way to get a good sound, but I am really pleased with it.

I wish I'd known that before I wasted money on a Mahalo :D
 
AnnaUK said:
I'm not sure if it's a one off fluke, or they've just found a way to get a good sound, but I am really pleased with it.
Click to expand...

I think it's your awesome playing skills. :love:
 
another thing to consider All those brands are imports including Lanikai and Kala however Kala is the only one owned by a solely focused ukulele company and player with facilities in Hawaii and California. Consider the warranty work if needed...which do you think would be the easiest to get a problem fixed......
 
Get yourself a Makala. They are o.k. for their price tag. Stringed with Aquilas they actually sound surprisingly good.
As you seem to reside in the UK, you may consider http://www.ukulele.de/menu/. They got the Makala Dolphin for €29 and the regular Makala for €45. Bag included with both, but if you ask them kindly, you can damp prices when abandoning the bag. The dealer also has got an awesome reputation for safe packaging and fair customer services.
 
I don't think there's much between them all. As others have suggested you might want to add Makala to the top of your list. I saw Ashton and Blue Moon (I think) when I bought my Mahalo and they were so similar that I thought they were probably all made in the same factory. Stagg was another option for me (I liked it because it was natural wood rather than a garish colour) but at the time it only had friction tuners and I think the geared ones are better. If Bonner's is local to you then you should go in and look at them.

I find it quite difficult to switch between ukulele and guitar - the guitar seems huge by comparison and I can't get my fingers to work properly. It might not be a good idea to learn both at once - if you're already learning guitar it might be better to stick with that for a while.

Having said that, £20 isn't much to spend. Cheap works for me.
 
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oncloudnine said:
Hey :)
I realize that they all kind of suck, but I want a cheap first one, and these all kind of cost the same:
Click to expand...
Can I add "none of the above" to that list?

Look into Mainland, Kala, Ohana and Lanikai as other options.​
 
I bought a cheap mahalo first which came with a hard case for about £40, the case is probably worth more than the uke. I think I just copped for a bad one but it really is rubbish

I now have an Ashbury that I got from Johnny Roadhouse in Manchester. They fitted a pick up for me and threw in some strings and a gigbag. All for £100. I love it.

The Ashbury on its own is about £70 to £80 I think
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ashbury-AU-60-Concert-Ukulele_W0QQitemZ310129503492QQcmdZViewItem
The Mahalo is getting smashed up on stage next month :rock:
 
oncloudnine said:
Hey :)


ps - i'm learning guitar, it wont affect that at all will it?


Thanks
Click to expand...
You might get a little confused learning uke and guitar at the same time. And the difference in size might throw you at first. I suggest you learn about "chord shapes", since you can use that info on both instruments. I have never tried learning two similar instruments at the same time. Good luck.

The Makala Dophin is an excellent entry level uke! I have no experience with the others listed.
–Lori
 
I have the exact Mahalo that you posted the link to.
It's okay. After about 5 weeks I splurged for a better one, and then didn't play it for a while. I picked it up a couple days ago and realized how bad the strings were. I think if you re-stringed it it could be half-decent, but in it's original condition it's not the greatest.
However, for the money ($15, I'm guessing 30 pounds) it's playable and not bad for a beginner.
 
Go for the Makala. I started with one, got UAS but still kept my Makala for the car. Then my mother-in-law borrowed it. I've since bought another two - one as a beater, the other to decorate. With Aquila strings on, you can't get a better cheaper starter uke, IMO. Despite now having some real beauties to play, the Makalas are the ones that lie around on the sofa or in the kitchen for anyone to pick up and have a go. And they both get played by me regularly. Just so easy!
 
Thanks everybody!....

Hey,

Thanks everybody for your replies, I really appreciate it. Everybody who plays the ukulele seems so nice:)

I'm gonna have a further look at Makalas(and Lanikais), and then convince my mum to let me buy a ukulele, whilst i'm learning the guitar. I've been playing for over a year, so i'm not really a beginner, but i'm way to eager on learning anything and everything. It's a curse :p .

Also,What ukulele should i start with? A Soprano,concert,tenor or baritone? What are the differences in sound?

Is the Makala Dolphin appropriate for 15-year-olds, it's not a 3/4 size ukulele is it? Or am I better off with the Makala Soprano?

Thanks again:)
 
The makala dolphin is as perfect for 15 year olds as it is for 51 year olds. It is a standard scale soprano with a dolphin shaped bridge and funny colours. I -personally- dislike the design, but I like them for their playability and their adequate sound. Since you asked, I would advice you to start with the soprano size. Why? I don´t know! Probably the sopranos provide the most "ukey" sound of all sizes, probably because they are easier affordable than than concerts, tenors and baris and they are not THAT close to the guitar that you play anyway. But thats just me.

When it comes to a decision between the makala dolphin and the makala standard, go for the standard model. They sound even better than the dolphins and they look more -errr- traditional. Absolutely worth the higher price!
 
A Makala is a perfectly good first ukulele.

The only thing you may find is that it is hard to get the ukulele to stay and play in tune when you first get it. You need to understand a few things that will keep you from worrying:

1) Uke strings are very stretchy, and they can take up to a couple of weeks to settle down to hold tuning (depending on variables like how often you play/tune the uke).

2) Ukes can be fiddley to tune, but it comes with practice.

3) Many inexpensive ukes come with high action (the height of the strings above the frets). This can make them a little difficult to play, but more importantly it makes the uke sound a bit out of tune when you play - even if the strings are in perfect tune when played open.

If you find any of those things happens with your new uke, don't panic. It doesn't mean there's something wrong with the instrument. It is more likely to mean that a) the strings need to settle into their tuning, b) you need more practice at tuning your uke, or c) the action would benefit from a bit of adjusting (not difficult).

See how you get on. If anything causes concern then come back and ask here on UU. You'll have all these lovely helpful people queuing up to help you out. ;) :shaka:
 
I think these are all basically ok for you to dip your toes in the water. I got a Blue Moon a few weeks back because it was very cheap and wanted to see if I enjoyed the instrument. It is certainly functional, sounds just about ok and isn't too shoddy. That said, you're going to become aware of the limitations of these ukes really quickly and start thinking about an upgrade. But that's ok, think about when you got your first guitar, I bet that was cheap and shoddy too; and then when you started to notice the difference between the sound of decent and not-decent guitars you upgraded, right? It's the way it works.
 
On learning the guitar and ukulele at the same time, it shouldn't present you with too much of a problem. Just note that the chord structures are obviously different, but there are a lot of transferable skills; especially when it comes to the right hand with fingerpicking and strumming patterns, etc. Try not to use a guitar pick on a ukulele, that's the only thing.

Having played the guitar for years I've actually found the ukulele has really improved my playing; with a smaller neck you have to be much more careful with your chord changes, going back to the guitar seems really easy after that.
 
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