First Uke - Looking for some advice or input

So I'm looking to purchase my first uke. My price range is up to, say 250$ Canadian. I have no idea where to start, but I do have some general criteria to fill:

-Must be durable/reliable (I like to play prettymuch everywhere, quite often)
-Preferably some sort of opal or pearl inlay in it
-Preferably fret markers that arn't round
-Not a tiny one (I forget which variety of uke it's called, but either way bigger is likely better).

Also, are there any sort of rain-proof or rain-resistant ukes? And in my local music shop, there was a baritone uke strung like a guitar, and another strung with the small strings on the outside, and two big ones inside. Kinda curious about that, if anyone knows.

Thanks for your help


p.s. I thought I saw some Ukes in the "uke pron" thread that had convex bodies - and info on this? I thought they looked amazing.

I've never owned one, but the Fleas and Flukes are highly recomended and look to be almost indestructable. I'm pretty sure they come in either concert or tenor sizes and sell on ebay for the price range you are looking at.

Thin strings on the outside means that the uke is strung in a way that is known as "re-entrant". Where the bass string would be on most fretted instruments, that string is tuned up an octave so that the next string is actually the lowest in pitch.

This is a traditional uke tuning, and it's the way many prefer. Strung the other way, with the lowest pitched string where you might expect to find it (i.e. on the fourth string) is also an accepted tuning, but somehow it is often seen as not bringing out the best of the unique uke character.

Baritone is tuned to the same notes as the "top" (highest pitch) four strings of a guitar. Sopranino, soprano, concert and tenor are most often tuned GCEA. Same intervals as Baritone/guitar, but at different pitch.

Concert size.....Ovation Style round back polymer...solid spruce top, MGM 4 point set up....gig bag all for 159.00 shipped from Hawaii!!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ohana-CONCERT-s...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item56376aa78b

:agree: I agree with Kenikas and Dentuke a concert size Fluke would be a good first choice. While not indestructable, it is very rugged. Plus it is loud and sounds good. I have a Fluke amongst some other brands.

mainland concert. its a winner every time.