please help me in buying my very first ukulele... pls...

Hi! i am from the Philippines.

I went to a local shop this afternoon. i saw one. it costs Php 800 (around $16, when converted to dollars). the seller said that it was made from plywood. he doesn't know to what kind (soprano, concert, tenor or baritone) the ukulele belongs. is that a good buy?

I saw in the internet that LazerMusic(in the Philippines) has ukulele. has anyone tried one? is it good? what about the price?

Is samick greg bennett a good brand?...

I am looking for a good ukulele but comes in cheap price...

Sorry for my too many questions. I just want to have a quality ukulele that could last for years. hope you could help me.

Most people who buy a cheap ukulele quickly want to buy another one that sounds better.

I know other UU members are in the Philippines, and have commented on the poor choices in ukuleles there. I would be concerned if the uke was only $16. Usually that level of ukulele is too cheaply made to be fun. One of the main things to check for is does it stay in tune? The way to check that is to play one, but if it has new strings it will go out of tune quickly too. If the tuning keys slip out of tune quickly, you will be driven crazy by it, and it will just be a wall hanger.

If you can get something from eBay, I recommend Makala Dolphin Bridge by Kala Ukulele. eBay – MusicGuyMic is in Hawaii, and could ship it to you. I have had good luck with TheUkeKing on eBay as well.

Good Luck

–Lori

Hi there. I also had the same problem shopping around for a ukulele in Malaysia. In all the stores I checked out, they were either unbranded or so poorly made. In the end I walked away with a Samick Greg Bennett UK70 which is all laminated. The uke wasn't that bad, it was playable, but the action was too high, the neck was too wide, the strings were crappy. I did buy a set of strings at the store but it was meant for a soprano, not meant for the uke I bought as it was a concert. (Typical mistake for a noob hehe)

I suggest you do what I did - I ordered a ukulele from MGM at ebay. Check out his store at http://stores.ebay.com/Musicguymics-Room

I ordered a Kala Acacia Tenor and the first time I played it... only THEN did I know how bad the Samick uke was lol. The package arrived safely, was very well packed and arrived pretty fast. I placed my order via email on a Wednesday, paid the invoice on Thursday, MGM shipped it that same day and it arrived my doorstep on Monday morning. Of course, it also depends on how fast your customs clear the package. If you're under a tight budget, I highly suggest the Makalas, they're also made by Kala and I heard that they're very decent for the price.

Just do it - you won't regret it!

I have played a Makala Dolphin and was really impressed with it for the money. And the one I played had crappy strings and had a factory set up. I would not hesitate to order one (or a different Makala or Kala) from MGM. I've ordered 3 Kalas from him and love them all. He sets them up nicely and puts good strings on them (Aquilas), so they come out of the box ready to play. A Makala Dolphin would be a little more than twice the cost of the plywood thing you looked at, and would be a MUCH better instrument in all probability.

thanks for all the information. they are of great help. i'll check this music guy mic...

can i ask another question?

What kind (soprano, concert, tenor, baritone) would you recommend for a beginner like me?

Sopranos tend to be less expensive, and they probably have that more uke-like sound because of the size. Concert size gives your fingers more room to play, and Tenors a bit more. The tenor tends to sound more like a guitar. If you plan to play mostly chords on the 1-5th frets, you probably have no problem with the soprano. If you expect to go higher on the neck, then you might like the Concert or Tenor size. Baritones are even larger and are tuned like 4 string guitars, and have more of a guitar sound. So, it depends on what you're looking for. Do you want a plucky small portable instrument, or a larger more guitar like instrument? Sometimes you have to own a few before you figure out what's best for you. But, that's the fun part.
–Lori

Best thing I can suggest is... go back to the shop that had the Samick uke. Try out the UK70 model which is a concert, and try out the soprano-sized UK50 (if I recall correctly, that's the model number.. in any case it should be shorter than UK70). As for tenor, try to visualize that concert being 5cm longer on overall length.

That's kinda what I did.. I didn't know what size I should go after and tenors are non-existent in this country, so I bought the UK70 to see if I like the size, or if I'd want to go shorter or longer. But I am NOT suggesting you buy any of the Samicks, they're really not worth the money if you can order a real ukulele. I suggested MusicGuyMic in my earlier post. There is also a ukulele store closer to home - in Singapore called Ukulele Movement.

@sasasa1: do Ukelele Movement can ship to Philippines? how much is it? do they have makalas? what brand would suggest to me?...
thanks for the info.
I visited another local shop and they have a samick greg bennett. their UK50 costs almost Php 2000 ($40, when converted to US dollars)...

Yub, I see Makalas on Ukulele Movement's site - soprano (around USD64), concert (around USD84) and tenor (around USD107). FYI, SGP1 = USD0.7145 (I just base rates off http://xe.com). I don't know if they ship to the Philippines but I don't see why not. Try emailing them at ask@ukulelemovement.com - I dealt with Glynn there and she's very nice and helpful! I only bought strings though, I didn't know the existence of their store before I ordered from MGM. But I was also very happy with MGM's setup and service.

Alternatively, if you're really unsure still, you can just get the Samick and order a set of Aquila strings. That is, if you're really really wanting to play now and can't wait. I totally understand your situation, it's the same here.

@sasasa1: thank you very much. yeah, it's hard to look for a decent ukulele here. i am newbie in this field (stringed instruments), so i really don't know what to look for in a good instrument. i have never learned to play a stringed instrument before. i only play a bamboo flute and the lire...

@sasasa1: thanks for all the help. i'm still trying to find a ukulele better than the samick... thanks again...

If money is tight or you are unsure you'll take to it, go makala dolphin every time. If you have more to play with, I'd vote kala over the samick , and kala have huge range from cheap to some real beauties.

And no, I don't work for kala! In fact my first decent uke was a flea.. But I'm jonesing for a few kalas right now!

@pauljmuk: Thank you for the advice, sir. I'll take note of that...

Sir, if you won't mind, where did you buy your makala dolphin? I saw under your comment that you bought yours for only 25 pounds (Is that UK pounds?).