First post from the UK

davetherave

Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2009
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Hi everyone, I've been lurking for a while, and have a few newbie questions, but I think it would be rude to post them without introducing myself.

I like to frequent friendly forums (fora?) and UU seems to be extraordinary! (maybe it has something to do with the instrument?)

Anyhoo, I'm in the UK and a musician (jack of all trades, master of none!) and I've become smitten by the Uke over the last few months. I've been playing silly Ukes for a while (you know he ones that you can change the chord you're playing by pressing harder!!!!)

I hope to continue to learn some good stuff over the coming months/years!!!

Great forum!
 
Welcome! What part of the UK are you from? North, South, Midlands etc.? I'm gonna send you an invite to a UK Ukers social group called UK.lele :)
 
Welcome, I'm from Leeds, there's quite a few English members on here :)
 
It's unbelievable isn't it? So many members/player in the UK, but try to buy a decent Uke.... ?!
 
It's unbelievable isn't it? So many members/player in the UK, but try to buy a decent Uke.... ?!

You could raid my house, but there are plenty of good shops too. The Southern Ukulele Store is probably the biggest outside the US. Fould's of Derby stocks some great instruments. How far north are you?
 
You could raid my house, but there are plenty of good shops too. The Southern Ukulele Store is probably the biggest outside the US. Fould's of Derby stocks some great instruments. How far north are you?

Yorkshire north ken.

The southern Ukulele shop (whilst probably having the best stock in the Uk) don't exactly have great stock!

I don't know if that's symptomatic of the fact that the UK market hasn't woken up the the Uke yet, or it just isn't economically viable to bring quality Ukes over? :eek:
 
SUS do have some top quality ukes for sale. Obviously no K brands like Kanile'a, Kamaka etc. but other than that I don't think they could stock much better than they already have. The customer service is also top notch. You really can't go wrong. I just ordered some strings etc. from there myself. If you go the UK.lele social group then you'll find a list of all UK Ukulele stores and dealers :)
 
Yorkshire north ken.

The southern Ukulele shop (whilst probably having the best stock in the Uk) don't exactly have great stock!

I don't know if that's symptomatic of the fact that the UK market hasn't woken up the the Uke yet, or it just isn't economically viable to bring quality Ukes over? :eek:

Apart from the "K" brands, I think they stock pretty much everything else. Very few shops in the world stock Kanile'as, Kamakas, etc.

What sort of uke are you looking for?
 
Woah , I haven't started a fight have I??

I was more musing that if SUS is our best Ukulele shop in the country, (I don't know that of course) there may be a gap in the market.

Now if someone would like to open up a ukulele shop in Yorkshire that stock mid range to premium ukes........;)

Ken, at the moment I'm toying up a few tenor Ukes in the £200-300 range, and pickings are a bit slim over here
 
Hi Dave
Welcome to the UU, looks like you've settled in nicely.
If you're after a nice solid Uke, you won't go far wrong with a Mainland, I know they are in the US, but I imported one, and Mike at Mainland is a top notch feller and I had no problems what so ever, he is also a member on here (Hoosierhiver).
All the best
Leroy.....a soft southerner :)
 
Woah , I haven't started a fight have I??

I was more musing that if SUS is our best Ukulele shop in the country, (I don't know that of course) there may be a gap in the market.

Now if someone would like to open up a ukulele shop in Yorkshire that stock mid range to premium ukes........;)

Ken, at the moment I'm toying up a few tenor Ukes in the £200-300 range, and pickings are a bit slim over here


In the UK we are far better off for ukulele shops than most places in the USA (Hawaii being the exception). Only France or Japan come close.

No-one is going to open a ukulele shop in Yorkshire to sell premium quality ukes. The outlay is too great and they are difficult to get. The Ukulele Shop that used to be based in Berlin had difficulty keeping a supply in stock.

I would advise only importing from the US if you cant buy it in Europe e.g. vintage ukes, Kamaka or other top makes. Remember that you have costly shipping, VAT, import duty and a Parcelforce admin fee (£8-£16) on top of the cost of the uke if you buy in the States.

There are countless ukes at the £200-£300 price range that can be bought in the UK or Europe. But the only ones at that price will be made in China, Germany or Vietnam. I don't know of any US ukes that are within that price range.
 
No-one is going to open a ukulele shop in Yorkshire to sell premium quality ukes. The outlay is too great and they are difficult to get. The Ukulele Shop that used to be based in Berlin had difficulty keeping a supply in stock.

I was kind of joking :)

Eagle music now have mainland tenors @ £229

http://www.eaglemusicshop.com/details1.asp/ProductID/6330/sid/23/mainland-cedar-tenor.htm

and SUS have told me they can soon get a Ohana TK50 MG at around the same price (their Ohana stock is a bit low at the mo, which led me to post about the "stock" they have)

Those two are my current favourites as I love the sound of cedar tops.

Any thoughts? I'm going to post on the buying tips section.

Dave
 
I was kind of joking :)

Eagle music now have mainland tenors @ £229

http://www.eaglemusicshop.com/details1.asp/ProductID/6330/sid/23/mainland-cedar-tenor.htm

and SUS have told me they can soon get a Ohana TK50 MG at around the same price (their Ohana stock is a bit low at the mo, which led me to post about the "stock" they have)

Those two are my current favourites as I love the sound of cedar tops.

Any thoughts? I'm going to post on the buying tips section.

Dave


I work for Ohana, so that's the uke I would advise. We have a huge range to choose form. Everyone is a little low on stock at the moment because they are selling so well in Europe.

If you like cedar tops, I personally would go for the TK-50G. All solid wood, beautiful mahogany binding. I have the concert version. This is the uke that Yan Yalego has chosen to take on next year's Bosko and Honey Oz Safari. it sounds fantastic.
 
Welcome to the site, davetherave! :shaka:
 
Hi Dave,
I'm Paul from the Southern Ukulele Store, If there is something you think we should be stocking, let us know and we will try are best to get it. We already have Ohana, Pono, Kiwaya, Risa, Honu, Hamano, Flea and Fluke as well as the Kala and Lanikai which most shops seem to have.
 
Top Bottom