Baritone Ukulele advice?

Hey all!

So, I am planning on using my Christmas money and my "Emergency Ukulele Fund" stash to purchase a baritone ukulele in a few months. However, I am having a much more difficult time than I anticipated finding reviews for the ukuleles that are out there. Since I live nowhere near a store that sells quality ukuleles, I really depend on the reviews of other ukers when it comes to making this kind of purchase.

I'm planning on being able to spend between $400 and $500 on a ukulele and hard shell case (though if I were able to spend a smaller amount that would be great). I'm looking for a solid body instrument (though I would be open to exploring a quality instrument with a solid top and laminate sides and back) with geared tuners. Nothing really special or fancy! Just a quality, but mid-range instrument.

I'm hoping that some of you UUers might be able to point me in the direction of some baritone ukulele reviews, or maybe have some positive (or negative) experiences to share regarding a particular instrument!

Thanks!

Sam Love

im in the same situation and i was looking at the pono baritone that is 350 with a pickup and a free $115 case. i was just wondering if anyone had any videos or reviews of it.

Hi Sam;

You might want to give Mainland a look. Hoosierhiver has just added a bari to their lineup. I haven't played or heard one yet...but if it's the same quality as their other ukes, it should be a real winner. I have a mahogany concert and a Honeybee and think very highly of both.

http://shop.mainlandukuleles.com/product.sc?productId=42&categoryId=3

Hey there Welcome to UU and good luck in your search.

One thing to remember about reviews is that folks maybe justifying their purchace!!!!

I have played around with some of the Kala Bari's and was just as satisfied as with their Tenors which I own a few of.

One of the things you have to decide is what is the sound/tone you want from your Bari, I noticed a huge difference in the sound from the ones I was messin with.

There is a link in my signature for Ukulele Player Magazine. We have reviewed two different baritone ukes, both made by Ohana. One had a pickup and cut-away body style. The other was a solid mahogany figure-8 style. They were the BK-20CE and BK-32 and both are nice instruments. I really loved the BK-32, sweet tone, beautiful player, and it looks fantastic.

That should give you a starting point.

I have a Pono Baritone and I REALLY like it.

I got it over at Bounty Music and the price was very very good.

I now play it daily and my guitars just sit, that must say something.

david: can you please post a video of you playing a strumming song? i am interested in buying a pono baritone and i don't do picking only strumming so i was just curious how it sounded

brad32593 said:

david: can you please post a video of you playing a strumming song? i am interested in buying a pono baritone and i don't do picking only strumming so i was just curious how it sounded

Click to expand...

sorry, video not my thing....

Samlove, I second the Mainlaind suggestion. I haven't played one, but I bet they are sweet. Looks like it is only 9 hours and 45 minutes from Decorah, IA to Nashville, IN. Drive down and check one out.

On second thought, call Mike and see if he knows of a store closer to you that might have one you can check out...

KC8AFW said:

Hi Sam;

You might want to give Mainland a look. Hoosierhiver has just added a bari to their lineup. I haven't played or heard one yet...but if it's the same quality as their other ukes, it should be a real winner. I have a mahogany concert and a Honeybee and think very highly of both.

http://shop.mainlandukuleles.com/product.sc?productId=42&categoryId=3

Click to expand...

DeG said:

Samlove, I second the Mainlaind suggestion. I haven't played one, but I bet they are sweet. Looks like it is only 9 hours and 45 minutes from Decorah, IA to Nashville, IN. Drive down and check one out.

On second thought, call Mike and see if he knows of a store closer to you that might have one you can check out...

Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback on the Mainlands! My current ukulele, Buttercup, is a Mainland Cedar concert. But I haven't been back to the site since I ordered it, so I didn't know they had added a baritone to their line-up! I am very pleased with my concert-sized uke from Mainland, so I know it's a quality instrument!

Thanks again!

Sam Love

Pippin said:

There is a link in my signature for Ukulele Player Magazine. We have reviewed two different baritone ukes, both made by Ohana. One had a pickup and cut-away body style. The other was a solid mahogany figure-8 style. They were the BK-20CE and BK-32 and both are nice instruments. I really loved the BK-32, sweet tone, beautiful player, and it looks fantastic.

That should give you a starting point.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up! Those reviews were very detailed and very much appreciated! I'll definitely be taking a harder look at those!

Sam Love