From just these features, which ones best?

O

oncloudnine

Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2009
Messages
18
Reaction score
0
Location
Somewhere tiny, that feels like the whole world to
Hey,
Which ukes best?
I'm not gonna tell you the makes of them (to avoid bias :p).

There's uke 1:
# Agathis Body
# 12 Frets
# Rosewood Fingerboard and Bridge
# Mahogany Neck
# Satin Finish
# 13-5/8 Inch Concert Scale
# 21 Inch Overall Body Length
# 9 1/4 Inch Body Length
# 5 3/16 Inch Upper Bout
# 7 Inch Lower Bout
# 4 3/4 Inch Waist
# 2-3/8 Inch Body depth
# 1-3/8 Inches At Nut
# Geared Tuners

and uke 2:
#Top: nato
#Back & Sides: nato -
# Neck & Headstock: nato -
# Fingerboard & Bridge: nato -
# Tuners: geared pegs w/ "antique white" plastic knobs -
#Scale length: 349 mm, (13.74 in.) -
#Fingerboard Dim. 177 mm (7 in.), 12 frets -
#Neck & Head: 300 mm (12 in.) - Body: 240 mm, (9.3 in.)-
# Total length: 540 mm, (21.25 in.) -
# Finish: natural

From these features,which ones better?
 
Problem is, you can't really guess a uke's qualities based on these dimensions alone. I mean, you can figure out what size it is (soprano, tenor, etc) and thus its tone quality from that, but neither is good or bad, just down to personal preference. I'm guessing both are laminate, so their tone quality is probably similar. We'd have to hear it to know, since your specs bely little about the build quality and the like.
 
I agree that specs really don't say anything about the instrument, I think a sound sample of each playing the same song would be a better comparison like what MGM did. You're buying for sound and playability, unless you're buying for aesthetics.
 
You really need to go out and buy any uke and start playing and having fun, instead of putting up useless quizzes where you could be getting good advice. You do not want us to be biased? Really, what's going on?
Can you go to a store? Play a few and pick one you like, regardless of make, size, and what else. If not, order a low end Kala, Mainland, Kamoa (from the UU store), or Ohana budget uke that you like and off you go.
 
UkeNinja said:
You really need to go out and buy any uke and start playing and having fun, instead of putting up useless quizzes where you could be getting good advice. You do not want us to be biased? Really, what's going on?
Can you go to a store? Play a few and pick one you like, regardless of make, size, and what else. If not, order a low end Kala, Mainland, Kamoa (from the UU store), or Ohana budget uke that you like and off you go.
Click to expand...

I think it's fair that he doesn't want us to be biased towards an instrument we have or whatever, and it's understandable if he thought his dimensions could tell us something reasonable about the instruments.

To oncloudnine, go to the beginner's forum or use the search, there are a bunch of good threads on what's a good beginner's uke, depending on your budget.
 
sleepsinashoe said:
I think it's fair that he doesn't want us to be biased towards an instrument we have or whatever, and it's understandable if he thought his dimensions could tell us something reasonable about the instruments.
Click to expand...

I'm a girl but thank you very much :) , The reason I asked is because I don't have any local shops, I live in a tiny country called Luxembourg, with maybe 2 music shops, both selling Ortega ukuleles, which don't seem to be popular. Also, I thought geared tuners were better,and I thought dimension and size was important for ukuleles.
I decided to show you the sound of them both. I'm determined to see if one is worth the extra money!!
Uke 1:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CMiftRMrvk
Uke 2:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udr607c-A-Q

(kinda gives the whole anonymous thing away....)

Oh and i'll also give the forum a thorough search :)
Thanks again
 
Search for a recent post by fellow member Ken Middleton from the UK, he mentioned a few good European shops. There is Rigk Sauer in Germany, some guy in France and probably a decent store in the UK as well. I believe postage within the EU should not be that big a problem. Get a brand you read about here (Kala, Lanikai, Ohana etc) and chances are you will end up with a fine uke. No ukulele scnene in Luxembourg is there :)
 
Here it is. There is also ukulele.de, with 10 euro shipping if I checked correctly. They have a lot of cheaper models as well, so check it out.
 
The low-end models by stagg are crap. You shouldn´t go under a US-60 if you are seriously considering a stagg. In your price-range you should get yourself a makala. That will do the job. BTW: Don´t rely on youtube-videos concerning an instruments sound. They don´t tell you about setup and/or modifications that (sometimes) where made to the instruments. Especially the low-end staggs are known for high action and poor intonation when played straight from the box. An experienced uker will adjust string heigth and lower high frets when playing a cheap uke. This will sound way better in a video than the one you will get from the store.

Since you are europe-based, www.ukulele.de is good advice for buying your first uke.
 
oncloudnine said:
I'm a girl but thank you very much :) , The reason I asked is because I don't have any local shops, I live in a tiny country called Luxembourg, with maybe 2 music shops, both selling Ortega ukuleles, which don't seem to be popular. Also, I thought geared tuners were better,and I thought dimension and size was important for ukuleles.
I decided to show you the sound of them both. I'm determined to see if one is worth the extra money!!
Click to expand...

Heh, sorry about the mixup mademoiselle. But I agree, I think geared tuners are better for beginners since they're easier to work with at first. Once you have experience, you can decide between friction and geared.
You're also right about dimensions being important, it's just they only have to do with complexity and depth of sound, which is based on personal preference. Traditional uke sound, go for a smaller instrument. More complex, bigger. There's also the size of the fretboard. But as a beginner I assume you want to mostly strum along?
So the killer question is, which of those sounds do you like better? Everyone here will have their opinion based on what they have and what they prefer. If the more expensive one doesn't sound better to you at all, then go for the cheaper one and you'll be very happy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

TimWilson
  • Locked
Admin New themes, new site features, and more
Replies
0
Views
233
TimWilson
TimWilson
TimWilson
New New themes, new features, sneak previews!
2
Replies
26
Views
1K
Mark Suszko
Mark Suszko
Rkrout
Sold Price Drop! 2011 Kamaka Custom Order Baritone Outrageous Koa and Special Features with Pickup
Replies
2
Views
569
Rkrout
Rkrout
TimWilson
Admin Update on New Features, and The Name of That Thread
2
Replies
27
Views
1K
Pixiegod
Pixiegod
MentalAtom
Koa upgrade vs "fancy" features
2
Replies
22
Views
2K
kkimura
kkimura
Top Bottom