First Uke a no-go.

Vroom

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 6, 2008
Messages
225
Reaction score
3
Location
Canada
So the first uke i ordered from the big music store here in my city ... well, I found out today its backordered for another 6 weeks. and i had already been waiting over 3 weeks... even though they said it WAS NOT on backorder. So, i got my deposit back, bought myself a prepaid mastercard, and now I'm going to buy a tenor online. I recently bought a concert for 20 dollars on ebay and it was a steal, i did a thread about it already so I am not going to go on about it.

Anyways, I was looking at some ukulele's that fit my price range and this one seems absolutely perfect, because it is acoustic-electric for when i want to start using an amp.

Anyways, here is the link. I know its backordered until may 1st but I don't really care. Can anyone tell me if this is a good deal / will be a good sounding uke?

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Lanikai-LU21TE-Tenor-Ukulele-AcousticElectric?sku=512524



EDIT: decided not to go with the one above, but Does anyone have any recommendations for a tenor ukulele for under 150 dollars INCLUDING S&H?
 
Last edited:
bummer about your backorder.

here's some more bad news. i'd been eyeing that lanikai 21TE myself for months. the backorder date keeps changing as it reaches the date they list. i kept on waiting and waiting and they kept pushing the date back each time so i ended up buying one on ebay. not the same model but close enough. you might want to call musiciansfriend customer service and see if they can give you a solid estimate of the availability on that lanikai.

don't trust the date!! i fell for it a few times already.

good luck and i hope you find one soon. hey, there's always MGM and Kalas, right?
 
Thanks for that info! I was 50 50 on buying it, but now i know i'll be looking for something else.

I'm trying to find a decent tenor ukulele for under 150 dollars including shipping (because thats all i could afford to put on the prepaid mastercard)
 
The lanikai is okay, quiet acoustically, but decent plugged in.

For $150, I'd see if I could find a used Bushman or a concert Fluke.
 
if u can ebay it i'd recommend that better than waiting on a backorder from musiciansfriend.com. I actually had an issue with them, i bought a pack of Pro Arte D'addario strings and the backorder changed every day to the date of the next day, for maybe a good 3 weeks.

What i believe though is lanikai discontinued making that model, because I use to see them alot at a music store i go to now i don't see them being sold there.

BTW the lanikai they produce a lot of with those shadow active PUs are the CK-TEQ about 200+ i think
 
I was thinking about this one, or do you think I should hold out for the Kala?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/MAKALA-TENOR-UKU...ryZ16224QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

also I had already purchased a sampler pack off ebay for the one that ended up being backordered.... hilo aquila koolau, and something else

From what I hear, anything you get from MGM is gonna be good quality. I am seriously considering getting a Concert from him if I don't find anything at the Uke Festival on Sunday.
 
that makala looks like a fine uke for the price. i've only heard good things about them. played one at a local store and didn't see any obvious problems. you just need to get one in hand and see for yourself. chances are, this won't be your first uke. you're going to catch that crazy UAS like most of the people on this forum. sounds like you already have since you ordered two at a time for your first!
 
this is over ur limit also but i've heard kau'wela ukuleles are made under kanilea, so u know it'll be pretty good

kinda like makalas are made under kala

but its a really nice ukulele with inlay zebra wood and its a super concert and you'll only see super concerts in high end brands like koaloha.

http://cgi.ebay.com/KAU-WELA-Super-...ryZ16224QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

or even this, only thing is that it's a concert
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-KALA-KA-CTW...ryZ16224QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
Last edited:
that makala looks like a fine uke for the price. i've only heard good things about them. played one at a local store and didn't see any obvious problems. you just need to get one in hand and see for yourself. chances are, this won't be your first uke. you're going to catch that crazy UAS like most of the people on this forum. sounds like you already have since you ordered two at a time for your first!


Yeah I'm definitely feeling the UAS!!! I can't decide!! but I will probably start with the makala since i already have that other concert off ebay coming, I don't want to go too over the top.

Ukulele Junkie: Not a big fan of the look of the kala concert.. But the concert with the zebrawood looks downright sexy! I could go for something like that! I especially love the side! the wood is very beautiful. But... It is above my price range. Maybe one day I will buy a uke like that. Thank you though!
 
usually MGM has different prices on the same item, probably the way he feels that day or sumtin, but everything is identical from the size to the free stuff he throws into it, jus email him cuz its quicker than getting him here on the forums and ask if 18.95 applies to canada.
 
usually MGM has different prices on the same item, probably the way he feels that day or sumtin, but everything is identical from the size to the free stuff he throws into it, jus email him cuz its quicker than getting him here on the forums and ask if 18.95 applies to canada.

Oh, thats right i was on ebay.com when I copied those links. Don't worry, Ebay.ca gives me all the shipping info to where i live. its 35.00 ..... haha... which kind of blows but what can I do
 
I was thinking about this one, or do you think I should hold out for the Kala?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/MAKALA-TENOR-UKU...ryZ16224QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

also I had already purchased a sampler pack off ebay for the one that ended up being backordered.... hilo aquila koolau, and something else
I'd go with the makala, I just got my concert size and it is awesome (even though I have nothing to compare it to) no intonation issues at the higher end of the fretboard, nothing obviously messed up, and it stays in tune nicely.
good luck
 
I ended up buying the makala. after all said and done it cost me 151.50 with fees and whatnot. plus paypal ripped me off with conversion.. at 95 cents canadian to every american dollar when it should have been more.. and then i got double ripped by mastercard that took 2.75% that they didnt tell me about... ahhh...

But its all good cause its coming!~
 
Right on! I know how much the wait was killing you on the other uke... this will be the goods right here..

Let us know how it goes..
 
this is over ur limit also but i've heard kau'wela ukuleles are made under kanilea, so u know it'll be pretty good

kinda like makalas are made under kala

but its a really nice ukulele with inlay zebra wood and its a super concert and you'll only see super concerts in high end brands like koaloha.

http://cgi.ebay.com/KAU-WELA-Super-...ryZ16224QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

or even this, only thing is that it's a concert
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-KALA-KA-CTW...ryZ16224QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


I pretty sure Kau'welas aren't actually associated with Kanile'a...the guy that owns Kau'wela (I think his name was Nardo) runs a uke shop and also sells at the swap meet, I talked to him a few times and he mentioned his partner, but I don't think he was talking about Joe Souza. I think that Kauwela may have commissioned Kanilea to build a few "special" models (similar to the special Lanikai ukes that were built by Kanilea)

That said, Kauwelas are a pretty good import uke (especially for the price)...my first tenor was an early zebrawood laminate and I still play it pretty often (it's my beach uke now). The action and intonation are good, and playability is good. I've looked at the newer ones and they seem to have made a few improvements over the years.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom