first ukulele?

hi, i am looking for a beginners uke, im from Australia, so the range is not very wide. i am looking for cheap uke under $100. i was looking at the mahalo, and the makala/ but i dont know which one to go for? help please?

Out of those two, personally I'd favour the makala. If you can stretch the budget a little further, you may be able to get a basic kala or lanikai, for example the lanikai pineapple shown here:

http://www.guitarfactory.net/Folk/Ukuleles.htm

If it's between those two, definitely go for the Makala.

I can heartily recommend the Makala, my first uke was the MK-T and it still gets a lot of play time. My grandkids each have a Makala Dolphin soprano and they are all nice playing good sounding ukes. I'd definetly recommend getting it from someone who sets them up properly, we've bought all of ours from MusicGuyMic on eBay he's a member here and will take good care of you.

Don't get the Mahalo. That's what I first bought and right now it's the only uke I own. It's more of a toy than anything.

Go for the Makala.

Makala.....or step up just a bit like whetu suggests.

If you are in Melbourne, check out Melmusic in Ormond, they have a resonable range of Ukuleles and you can hear the differences, it may prompt you to buy the cheapest uke so you can ascertain if you wish to play it. Also a chromatic chord tuner is virtually essential, so that is a further 20 or so dollars you will need to factor in. A real cheap ukulele with a set of Aquila strings may be the go, at least that way you will have a set of strings to put on a better quality uke if you wish to upgrade, also the aquila's are tougher than the cheap nylon strings on cheap ukes,

A lot of people will recommend getting a uke from musicguymic's eBay store:
http://stores.shop.ebay.com.au/Musicguymics-Room
(goto the later pages for more affordable ukes).

Inexpensive ukes around the $100 mark often come with a bad set-up from the factory. The string height may be too high and the intonation may be off, which needs some experienced hands to adjust.
The reason why Musicguymic is so popular, even for overseas customers, is that he "sets up" each uke professionally, so that even the cheap ukes are well set up and comfortable to play. This is very much worth it - it is very annoying to learn on a poorly setup uke.
But for a beginner living in Australia, the shipping prices may be daunting.

Within Australia, I have found one inexpensive line of ukes that have a great set-up out-of-the-box. Keep an eye out for the Legacy brand ukes with spruce tops (either solid or laminate).
Every music store I have visited so far was able to order one in from their catalogue (if they don't already have it in stock.), and they are very good value. Comfortable and low action, and good sound.
Here's their website: http://legacymusic.com.au/products/?id=6
Their "premium" series are very good quality. And since you're ordering through a music store, no shipping charges to pay!

Their "premium" soprano with laminate spruce top is just $99.99
http://legacymusic.com.au/products/index.cfm?action=view&id=59
Just about $49 more for a solid-top... and a bit more to add an active pickup.
Or if you want a Tenor:
http://legacymusic.com.au/products/index.cfm?action=view&id=60

If you're settling for a cheap $30 uke, the Legacy coloured sopranos are much better quality than Mahalo's $30 uke.
http://legacymusic.com.au/products/index.cfm?action=view&id=58
These are like the Australian's Dolphin substitute

One recommendation is to change the strings once u get it (Aquilas are good, its often cheaper to order Aquilas online if you're in Australia). They come with GHS strings, which don't bring out the best tone in most ukes.
They're very light on the fingers though, which could be a good thing for a beginner


As they're an Australian-run brand (though made in China), it is easier to get warranty/replacements within Australia.
I did when my Legacy Baritone had faulty tuners last year - I just returned it to the music store and they ordered in a brand new one for me
No problems since!

whetu said:

Out of those two, personally I'd favour the makala. If you can stretch the budget a little further, you may be able to get a basic kala or lanikai, for example the lanikai pineapple shown here:

http://www.guitarfactory.net/Folk/Ukuleles.htm

Click to expand...

Hi Peter,

If you are anywhere near Sydney, call Steve at Gladesville or drop in he will have a Uke in your price range and is great in helping out newbes.

depends on what kind of mahalo tho. lol. i got a mahalo baritone, and i alternate between the guitar strings,(top 2) and regular nylon. haha.fun either way. sorry, just tryna rep for mahalo ukez, ya digg=]

My two cents sez....go with the Makala. I have a Concert that I got from MGM with his great set up and it plays great. It cost around $55 i believe.

I got a cheap makala pineapple, and to my ears it sounds pretty good, I lowered the action at the saddle a touch, and put some aquilas on it.

Go makala you can always UAS later

i want to learn to play ukulele and i am looking at buying my first one, i found a Makala Dolphin for $40 and i found a Hilo ukulele with a soft case for $50 (it didn't say what kind it was). which one should i get?

thanks!

ryan

I don't have one, but I think the recommendations for the Makala dolphins are really when they come from MGM (musicguymic on eBay). He takes the time to set them up and puts Aquila strings on them - basically makes sure they're playable before shipping them out. He usually sells them for around $40 (plus shipping).

The point is, if you want the dolphin uke that people on this forum like, get it from MGM. I think Uke Republic does a set up too, but it looks like he charges for the string upgrade.

I don't see Hilo ukes recommended much. I've played a few in local music stores and wasn't too impressed.

Jason

thanks for your help, jason. i checked out MGM's stuff and i found this (link below), i don't think it is a dolphin (i don't know much about ukuleles yet so i don't know what i'm supposed to get) but is this what i want? it has the set up and aquila strings like you said.

http://cgi.ebay.com/MAKALA-SOPRANO-...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a5a231ea9

It's the same maker, so it's probably pretty similar, just plain wood rather than painted. He has a video on that page.

Bear in mind that these are still roughly $40 ukuleles. So, there may be some slight intonation imperfections, or other minor things. The point of these is to help you get an idea if you like playing the uke well enough to get a good instrument. Coming from MGM though, they will be as playable as you can get for the price. Just this week I got a Kala KA-S from MGM ($69.99 with a gigbag I think), and am happy with it.

Also, MGM is very approachable. I've sent him a few questions by email before and I've always gotten a reply within 30 minutes or so. He's also got his phone number there. He'll help you make the right choice. But if your budget is about $40, I'll bet that most on this forum will recommend a Makala from MGM, whether it's a dolphin or the one you linked to above.

Hope that helps,
Jason

thanks for all your help!
since i've never played i probably won't be able to tell any intonation imperfections or anything yet so it will be good for getting me started and if i keep playing then i will probably sell it and upgrade to a nicer one

ryanOriley said:

thanks for all your help!
since i've never played i probably won't be able to tell any intonation imperfections or anything yet so it will be good for getting me started and if i keep playing then i will probably sell it and upgrade to a nicer one

Click to expand...

You will keep it as a beater uke or pass it aliong to someone else.