Need recommendation on a good beater uke with wide string spacing?

ukuDaily

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I have done the unthinkable and gotten used to playing my Kanilea that has really wide nut and saddle string spacing and my 8 string Lanikai that is about the same. As a result, when I pick up a Kala that has very standard spacing, it feels way too tight for my pudgy fingers.

Now I am getting ready to go to a disc golf tournament at which I will be camping and I clearly want to have a uke along to pass the time. I certainly don't want to bring either of my primary players, so I find myself in search of something a bit more durable with wide string spacing. Ideally, I would love it to be laminate as I will have to worry about temperature and humidity swings a bit less.

Any suggestions? BTW, a fluke or flea doesn't qualify as they are about as narrow as a Kala.
 
Have you played a Flea or Fluke? Just curious because I find the fretboard to be much roomier than a Kala. I know technically it's only slightly bigger, but in your hands there's a noticable difference (maybe because of the thicker neck?), in my opinion.
 
I had a fluke and a flea. I know that they do feel a bit wider, but I think it is because the saddle string spacing is a bit wider. The nut on them is 1.4" which seems to be pretty darn close to 35mm.
 
The Lanikai Zebrawood and Monkeypod ukes have 37mm nut width (same as my Kanile'a super-soprano). They are solid wood ukes though. I can't think of any laminated factory ukes with wide nut widths.
 
The tenor necks are 1.45", which you probably already know. I never tried a tenor necked Fluke, but that's a little closer to 1.5" anyway. I remember people saying that some Oscar Schmidt and Ohana models have wider nuts and spacing, but I have no experience with either. Maybe someone who owns one of those could chime in. Good luck.
 
I snooped around a bit and found a new brand on eBay that I hadn't heard of before. The Kanaloas look like budget all laminate ukes, but boast a 1.5" nut. Has anyone tried one of them? I see Elderly carries them too.
 
My suggestion would be to buy pdxuke's Kiwaya KS-1. High quality laminate and the strings are spaced wider than any of my other sopranos. Nut width is comparable, but the fret board is roomy. $150 bucks is a great deal. I have the KS-1 as my beater.
 
Maybe the solution is bought a kala laminated baritone and put standart strings (GCEA). Fretboard big size and laminated wood. Great sound and cheap price. If it broke, you could buy another, haha.
 
The Kiwaya sounds a little interesting. I would be interested in hearing for certain what the string width is g-a at the nut and saddle. If it is wide enough, I might be willing to overlook the friction tuners.
 
I have an Amigo tenor that I just love. The spacing isn't super wide, but as beaters go, a person could do a lot worse. I paid about $45 bucks for mine, new. It has a solid pine top and laminate back & sides. The top is rather thick and doesn't seem to be too subject to swings in humidity, as I have taken mine from the rainy Pacific Northwest to the desert many times without it being affected. The Amigo has decent action, pretty good intonation for a cheapie, a loud voice, and good tone. It took a few years of looking before I could find anything comparable in this price range (or even TRIPLE it, for that matter.) I'll always hold on to this uke for a beater.
 
The Kiwaya sounds a little interesting. I would be interested in hearing for certain what the string width is g-a at the nut and saddle. If it is wide enough, I might be willing to overlook the friction tuners.
Mine measures 1 3/16" at the nut and 1 11/16" at the saddle.
 
The difference in width between the "wide" and "normal" is pretty small. I wonder if you could buy a nut blank and just space the strings wider...
 
ukuDaily, were you successful in your search?
 
My first uke was a "Greg Bennett" Samich concert - great sounding uke, moderate price - it is now my beater - I have the same issue with you, and I find an easy transition from my Kanilea to the GB.
 
The widest necks I know on ukes belong to Oscar Schmidt. The OU5LCE is a nice laminated koa instrument with a cut-away and a UK-2000 pickup that is a solid performer. The uke is a concert-bodied, tenor-necked instrument that is well-balanced and fun to play.
 
The widest necks I know on ukes belong to Oscar Schmidt.
How wide are they?

EDIT: BTW, Drew over at Lanikai informed me that the LKP-C and upcoming LKP-T (the ukes in their bundled packs) have 37mm nut widths. That might be wide enough for some folks.
 
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