best bang for buck tenor around $200-$300?

third · Jul 23, 2008

hi all. new and interested in this little world of yours.

i realize this question is highly subjective. just want to get some general opinions and see if there are any standouts among the rest.

side question, i'm semi interested in an option to plug in, but would mostly use it unplugged. is it possible to get a plug-in uke that sounds just as good unplugged as an all accousic uke or are you sacrificing a bit of sound quality for the plug-in option?

any feedback appreciated.

experimentjon · Jul 23, 2008

Hey this describes my past weekend. Craigslist is your best friend if you want to find a good deal on an instrument locally. Not sure about your area, but lucky for me, in Hawaii, there are tons of ukes floating around on craigslist. I got a used (amazing condition...not a single nick or scratch...just a few fingerprints on the gloss) Applause Tenor with active pickup, case, and free amp (with cable) for only $250. It was a great deal.

Unfortunately, it doesn't meet your criteria for sounding as good unplugged as plugged. I mean, the tone is way better than i expected when it is unplugged. But the projection is rather poor. It meets my needs for a uke that I can play quietly, but when you plug it in, it sounds like a monster. So steer clear of the Applause tenor if you want something that sounds good acoustically...although finding one at $250 would be rather difficult, as it stickers for $350 to $400.

Your best choice would probably be a Kala tenor. I have tried a handful of their acoustic-electrics back to back with their identical acoustic models, and the pickup makes no noticible difference in tone. My friend owns a kala tenor with a pickup and is very satisfied with it. And it is absolutly possible to get a plug-in that sounds good acoustically. Happy hunting!

Dino · Jul 23, 2008

experimentjon said:
Hey this describes my past weekend. Craigslist is your best friend if you want to find a good deal on an instrument locally. Not sure about your area, but lucky for me, in Hawaii, there are tons of ukes floating around on craigslist. I got a used (amazing condition...not a single nick or scratch...just a few fingerprints on the gloss) Applause Tenor with active pickup, case, and free amp (with cable) for only $250. It was a great deal.

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH. You were the one who beat me to the deal!!!!!!! Man, I thought I was quick enough for that one but you beat me to it!

UkeNinja · Jul 23, 2008

Actually this little world may be bigger than you imagine.
Quick answer: good experiences have been reported for Kala, Lanikai, Ohana, and what have you not. Check this site's review section as well for more detail. Your budget seems to be what a lot of folks consider to be a reasonable limit, so be sure to check the forum search ("budget tenor", "beginner tenor", strings like that), some very useful threads have come by in the last months.
(I'll edit/add to this post if I come by any useful info)

experimentjon · Jul 23, 2008

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH. You were the one who beat me to the deal!!!!!!! Man, I thought I was quick enough for that one but you beat me to it!

Haha. Yup. That would be me. I came home from Mililani Mauka that night in fact, and went on craigslist at like 2AM and saw that beauty, did a bit of research on the instrument, and emailed him immediately. He met me at Ala Moana the next day to deliver it. Winner!

Hate to make you more jealous, but it really was a steal. There are more of these floating around on the Oahu craigslist at higher prices and without the amp, but it really is a great uke. I absolutely love it. Rugged, has a nice but quiet tone, and sounds great on an amp. The only problem I had with the one that I got was that the battery was dead.

Dino · Jul 23, 2008

experimentjon said:
Haha. Yup. That would be me. I came home from Mililani Mauka that night in fact, and went on craigslist at like 2AM and saw that beauty, did a bit of research on the instrument, and emailed him immediately. He met me at Ala Moana the next day to deliver it. Winner!

Hate to make you more jealous, but it really was a steal. There are more of these floating around on the Oahu craigslist at higher prices and without the amp, but it really is a great uke. I absolutely love it. Rugged, has a nice but quiet tone, and sounds great on an amp. The only problem I had with the one that I got was that the battery was dead.

Go ahead. Rub it in. :-( I know what kind of steal it was...and more worse, we live in the same area. Hey, you going come to a UU get together in Mililani, looking to organize one for August.

experimentjon · Jul 23, 2008

Dino said:
Go ahead. Rub it in. :-( I know what kind of steal it was...and more worse, we live in the same area. Hey, you going come to a UU get together in Mililani, looking to organize one for August.

Haha, I don't live in Mililani, but a lot of my friends do. It's too far away from everything. But I'm only 30 min away from it when the traffic is good. And if I don't have anything I would probably go to a meetup there. I hear that Aldrine is going to be on the island in August too, so maybe it would all work out. The good news is that Mililani is equidistant from everything on the island...the bad news is that its also far from every place on the island. XD

ichadwick · Jul 23, 2008

I've bought most of my ukes through eBay sellers, Musicguymic taking the most of my money.

For $200-$300 you can get a Kala solid spruce top tenor, cutaway design, with pickup and case. Good choice. It was my first uke and I still like to play it: crisp, sweet sound. My notes and pics about this and other ukes are on my uke review page:

deach · Jul 23, 2008

ichadwick said:
...
For $200-$300 you can get a Kala solid spruce top tenor, cutaway design, . ...

What strings are you using?

ukemike · Jul 23, 2008

consider a Fluke.

ichadwick · Jul 24, 2008

deach said:
What strings are you using?

Aquilas. I think just about every uke I own has a different set on it... GHS, Hilo, Ko-olau (wound and not), Aquila and some unidentified strings... I like tha Aquilas and the Ko'olau golds.

ichadwick · Jul 24, 2008

ukemike said:
consider a Fluke.

Another good choice. I have two, but prefer the tenor length over the concert. If you're buying from Flea Market Music direct, get the strap button put on.

Even if you don't get a Fluke as the very first uke, it should certainly be one of the many you will own.

experimentjon · Jul 24, 2008

ichadwick said:
I've bought most of my ukes through eBay sellers, Musicguymic taking the most of my money.

For $200-$300 you can get a Kala solid spruce top tenor, cutaway design, with pickup and case. Good choice. It was my first uke and I still like to play it: crisp, sweet sound. My notes and pics about this and other ukes are on my uke review page:

I had no idea that the person who wrote that great page was actually on these forums. That uke review page was a thoroughly good read. I'd have to disagree with you on the Applause battery replacement, took all of 3 min for me to do it, but maybe I'm just more into that kind of fix-it-up stuff. But still, that was an awesome page. Thanks for putting all that effort into it!

best bang for buck tenor around $200-$300?

third

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