Days reading yields chagrin. Help with 2nd uke choice!

I've been playing around with guitars for a while, but a camping trip with a friend and his ukulele sent me on the path toward the acquisition of yet another musical instrument.

I later bought a cheap uke so that I could: test it out, learn how to maintain/work on them, be able to travel with it, share it with others (without much worry), etc. Unfortunately, my ultimate purchase was a lemon; it soured me.

It was a Lanikai Kohala, which I think is Hawaiian for 'turd with strings,' also known as an U.S.O. All strings buzzed and the frets did not match the positions suggested by my handy fret spreadsheet. Impossible to tune. Totally unplayable and not worth a stick of gum.

Anyway, long story short: I am now in the market for a replacement. I am willing to pay what it takes to know that I have a good instrument of real value and potential to please.

I've read some people state that there is no difference between a $50 and $150, and from my experience there is not much difference between a $30 and a $50 uke. Following that logic, it is implied that anybody who is buying an uke $150 or under should spend no more than $30, because otherwise they are wasting their money. Well I've already had that $30 experience, so I would love some help in selecting my next uke without being a spendthrift.

Keep in mind that I am a beginner and not a connoisseur. I realize that while one made with koa is "authentic" that does not mean that it is "superior," and that authenticity comes with an inflated price. I do appreciate instruments that are pretty, but I tend towards a purist mentality (I want it to sound/look like it is supposed to). I suppose that I merely want to be fully satisfied in knowing that I have a quality instrument that sounds great, will last, and will retain value. That in mind, I can't imagine the need to spend more than $350 to satisfy my requirements, and I would hope/expect that there are quality instruments significantly under this price.

I have seen people suggest a variety of options, but there doesn't seem to be a consensus. I have compiled a small list of people's suggestions, shown below. I welcome any constructive feedback you all have to offer. BTW, I am looking for a concert uke of traditional shape.

KoAloha's Koalana, $165
Friction pegs, solid sapele (whatever that is). Simple in design, maybe lower end?

Ohana's CK-50, $250
Rosewood with cedar top, Friction Pegs. (some mentions of flat notes on lower frets). Very pretty instrument.

Mitchell's MU-100, $160
Geared tuners, koa laminate (less likelihood of cracking, is this a common problem?)
Many people say to steer clear from this mass produced offshoot of a major distributor (unfortunately, most companies are no different)

Kala's Mango, $240
Geared tuners. This might be a premium price for a pretty wood, instead of more money for better setup.

Kala's Koa/cedartop $236
Geared tuners. An interesting/attractive mix of wood. Good looking instrument.

Pono's Mahogany, $299
Geared tuners. This might be overboard for a beginner, I don't want to constantly worry about scuffing it.

Koa Pili Koko $259
Funny looking head cap w/geared tuners. Supposedly resembles Koa in sound and appearance.

So which one would you get? Are the more expensive ones worth the extra dough, or only for the ultra picky? I would love to hear from people who own these specific instruments, and would share any problems/complaints they have of them.

I've also noticed that MGM gives some of these tuneups, while he does not on others. Is this because it is necessary on some, and not necessary on the others? That might be an indicator of quality construction, if no alterations are necessary.

Perhaps you can give him a call referring to this thread, ask his opinion, decide which one you like for looks, and then go for it. Rumour has it that MGM will play a bit for you over the phone, but try contacting him. It looks like the slightly more expensive ones are pretty much in the "very nice to have" range.
You already went cheap once and regretted it, so save up a bit and get a uke that you will pick up several times a day because you just can't keep your hands off it.

Lanikai and Kala are VERY similar in design and construction, so if you have a bad taste for Lanikai, you might not like Kala.

Personally, I'd go with the Pono. I have a satin-finish mahogany tenor Pono (first generation) and I absolutely love it. Great tone, accurate intonation, low action.

I ordered a Koalana Concert from Mike yesterday and am eagerly awaiting it.
I did a bit of research and talked to Mike (by all means, give him a call) and decided on this as my first Uke.

Aloha from the Redneck Riviera,

Paul

I've heard some of those Koa Pili Kokos. They sound great. One of the founders of this site has a review of it up on YouTube. I think you should get that one.

Okay, so you've got a great uke for the car. Perfect for practicing at stop lights. There is a big difference between a $30 uke and a $100 uke. For a beginner, you are very selective. I really recommend you play several ukes in person instead of buying one on the internet. Where are you located? Can you get to a location where they sell several different brands? Remember, a new ones with new strings has to be broke in before it will stay in tune. Take your time picking one out....get to know it and how it feels in your hands. Some are heavier, some have better action, some just sing to you when you strum them. Stop looking at the price tag and brand and just pick the one that's right for you.

Too many choices. First of peanut butter, now this. Ugh

Thanks for all of the input so far. This site has been an excellent resource.

I'll definitely give MGM a call when I've narrowed down my preference a bit. He seems to be the authority on quality internet uke sales, lucky him. I've been saving up already and have only to choose my poison, I'm just having a terrible time making up my mind. I think the term "very nice to have" is exactly what I hope to end up with.

I have a confession. Before I posted this, and before I had discovered this forum, I had already chosen and ordered from the Musiciansfriend (a Mitchell MU-100). Since I pressed submit, I've been remorseful and will probably return the instrument (which I haven't received yet) for something I'll cherish more. I'll check it out when it gets here, but I have a feeling most other choices are superior. I have a Washburn steel string guitar that is excellent, and I'm pretty sure Mitchell, Oscar Schmidt, Washburn (among others) are made by the same people. But this isn't a guitar I'm looking for, after all, and I don't want to take any chances.

When I bought the Lanikai, I purchased a pretty cheap version, so I'm not sure if I should discount their pricier options. On the other hand, I don't want to support a company that is willing to distribute a wooden disappointment. Seeing that I am looking to narrow my options, I will take the advice and nix the Kala from my list.

As for the Koalana, I get a good impression from what I've seen written, but I've read a few complaints as well. I think there have been several generations, so maybe they have worked out initial kinks, but I remain wary. If the Koalana is a great musical instrument, only lacking bells and whistles, then is probably what I want. On the other hand, if a *much* better instrument could be had for 100-150$ more then I want to take that leap now instead of later (just a little better wouldn't make sense for a beginner).

I laughed out loud at the mention of playing at the stop lights. I thought I was weird for doing that.

I tried some local shops but they only had extremely cheap and extremely expensive options. There is another shop a bit farther away that I have been meaning to visit, but I am oh so eager and the internet calls to me. While my area (san francisco) has many shops, the selection so far has been poor and driving around sucks for many reasons.

After much pondering, I think I might go for the mahogany pono or the cedar ohana. I really like the way the ohana looks, but I'm not sure if the rosewood/cedar combo is a good one or whether it justifies the cost. I watched a youtube video that has nearly sold me on the Pono, but I get thinking again that because I am somewhat new to this, I would be spending more than is reasonable. In that case, maybe I should go for the Koalana... or maybe just go for a Flea... or keep the Mitchell... Aaaarrgghhh!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hrgyu0MJdEI

i have a lanikai concert and a kala 6-string tenor and i love playing them both. i think for the price, you won't go wrong with a kala or lanikai. i don't know the price u paid for your first lanikai, but i've also heard some bad cheap ukes. i always say u get what u pay for. good luck on your choice.:music::rock::nana:

So I received the new Mitchell yesterday and have been tuning it since. Today it has started to hold its notes so I can officially start to criticize it.

It definitely sounds much better than my $30 Kohala in terms of coherent notes. The sound is dampened; due the heavy gloss finish, I presume. My previous uke, while also made of plywood, was un-finished and very thin and allowed ugly sound to spew about with ease. This one is a bit quieter and less alive sounding, while much more pleasant to the ears.

Yet something irks me. If I use an electronic tuner and tune the strings open, then go to check if the strings are tuned to each-other, I find that they are not . The E string matches perfectly with the A and G strings, but when I play an E on my C sting (4rd fret C to open E) the C string plays sharp. I applaud the extra $120 I spent for getting me 3 good stings, but is the 4th asking too much? I'm wonder if the saddle is filed inappropriately. Hrumph.

Please tell me I am doing something wrong, ukes can't be that hard to make.

What brand of strings did it come with?

A tag hanging from the neck indicated "GHS" strings. Could the string type affect the tuning? I would have thought that would make more of an impression on the overall brightness, response, tension, durability etc.

GHS is sort of the standard string a lot of ukes seem to come with. I have changed all my ukes over to Aquillas and after they go flat I'm going to try Worths. There are a lot more knowledgeable people here than me so wait for another answer before acting. Also, you seem to have a very sensitive ear.....don't be too picky....it's a uke. It's suppose to sound a little twangy. It' not a guitar. It took me a while before I got used to that. Going and playing with large groups of uke players solved my critical ear.

salukulady said:

....it's a uke. It's suppose to sound a little twangy...It took me a while before I got used to that. Going and playing with large groups of uke players solved my critical ear.

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Sorry salukulady, but that's just plain wrong.

My Glyph has a throaty, contralto sounding voice. It is not twangy at all. Cheaper ukes sound twangy (really, "plinky" is my term of art for that). In my experience, large groups of uke players have a large percentage of the cheaper ukes.

Just to be clear, plinky is not necessarily a bad thing. I always seem to pick on him for these sort of threads, but if you listen to Hot Time Harv you'll see that his sort of material requires the plinkier sounding ukes. And I love his stuff.

But ukulele can sound rich and full too.

Just because a lot of the general public has lowered expectations from ukuleles does not mean that those of us who play the little thing should.

I really didn't mean twangy as a bad thing, I meant it in comparison to a guitar. A few guitar players I've been around want a deeper fuller sound and end up picking up my tenor or baritone that are both strung with a low G. My experience with traditional Hawaiian players is it's suppose to sound plinky, especially the 20's and 30's haole type music.

Also, it's kinda relative to the owner, what's the definition of a cheap uke. My least expensive one was my first, it was $100 Ohana concert. It's probably my least favorite one now, but a decent uke. Most of the groups I play with have at least that level of uke.

And if you wanna hear a really cool little uke with great sound, Stompest, Check out this, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqskh0HgQ1Q And it's played by a really cool guy, too!
I'm still saving my pennies to get one, and they're very reasonably priced.

salukulady said:

And if you wanna hear a really cool little uke with great sound, Stompest, Check out this, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqskh0HgQ1Q And it's played by a really cool guy, too!
I'm still saving my pennies to get one, and they're very reasonably priced.

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That is the cheapest uke I play. Also the plinkiest. But it's not near as plinky as the legions of Mahalos and such like that I run across.

After a bit of searching I found ol' Harv and J. Boy on YouTube doing Harv's song Lesbians on a couple really plinky ukes.

WARNING: Highly non-PC and NSFW content. (aka Harv's normal stuff.) Humorless sorts should probably just not click that link at all.

Yeah, there's a difference between clear and bright, not-at-all-guitarlike, and just plain plinky. That's a good word. And there's a place for plinky depending on the song, like above.

My Koaloha soprano? Not at all-guitarlike, very clear, no roll-off of complete lack of intonation. No toy-like sound. My koa concert flea - More of a ringing tone to it, a little more guitar like but not really, intonation is still great, very different sound than the Koaloha, but they play in the same ballpark depending on what you want, and not plinky.

The concert uklectic - no point in even bringing that up, it'll do what I want it to.

And the reason for posting this quick comparsion - the above ukes completely spoiled me. My Kala aqua tenor, the one I use as decoation and for autographs - it's got a laminate body and sounds completely plinky. It doesn't sound like a real instrument at all. It doesn't sound guitarlike, it doesn't sound like anything. It's got a plink to the sound, and sometimes that's appropriate.

Of the ukes I've had, my Pono mahogany tenor with Low G Worth's was the most "guitar like." - but that's not the only standard to judge a uke I don't think.

Getting back the OP's post, the Ohana cedar top would interest me, as would the Koa Pili Koko and Koalana. I have an electric uke with a spanish cedar body and it just owns.

I can't speak for how Mitchell is as a brand, but if you don't plan to return it, it could be worth changing the strings. I've never had the issue where the tuner said they were in tune but the strings weren't in tune with each other. That must be aggrivating!

I have the Kala Koa/solid cedar top mentioned in the original post. It has a really beautiful tone. I can't compare it with any of the others mentioned as I haven't tried them, but can say that I'm really happy with it. A friend heard it and instantly wanted to buy the concert size of it (mine's tenor) after just one listen. I hope she does cause I want to try that one too!

Stompest said:

If I use an electronic tuner and tune the strings open,

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Ghs certainly aren't the nicest strings on the market but I'd like to add that electronic tuners have their limitations too. Maybe use it as a benchmark and then fine tune by ear?