Want an inexpensive ($100 or so) Car Ukulele

MoreUke

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Seems like I'm doing a good job of getting stuck in my car waiting periodically and unexpectedly. Would be kind of nice to be able to pluck on a Ukulele while waiting.

Thinking it would be good to have an Ukulele that I could keep in the car. Unfortunately I don't think non-steel strings could take the temperatures that build up in a car during the summer. Seems like a steel string Ukulele with probably a laminate top and reinforced neck would be able to take the rigor of being left stored in a car.

Have a Great Day,
Jim
 
I keep a Dolphin in the trunk. I'm not crazy about the sound but $30 and plastic seemed like a good combo for keeping in a trunk that gets hot and might get broken into.
 
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Get the best uke you can afford, and keep it as your favorite passenger. Why go with cheap lipsick and rouge when you can have the real thing?
 
Get the best uke you can afford, and keep it as your favorite passenger. Why go with cheap lipsick and rouge when you can have the real thing?

Seriously? I'm pretty darn sure it would be bad to keep a wood uke in a hot trunk wouldn't it?
 
I am not aware of any glue that can take the heat that builds up in a car during a hot day. I have a CBU I put together with no glue except the fretboard and it does fine, but I would say that if you get temperatures in the eighties where you live, it will be rough in the car on a uke. I do take one everywhere, but I also carry it when I leave the car- that is the beauty of these things, they travel easy.
 
I second the dolphin... Mine hardly ever needs tuning as long as I leave it in the car!!! And I don't mind when I bumb it on the dashboard, window, etc or throw stuff on it accidentally!
 
+1 Makala Dolphin. Cheap enough to replace even if it did go ping. I keep one in my car!
 

That was my interpretation too, though I didn't realise they actually exited :D



But in response to this topic, I wouldn't leave any stringed instrument in the car.
Hot car is not a good condition for any ukulele. Even if you got a cheap beater like the Dolphin, I think it'll just end up getting warped and unplayable eventually anyway.

Although that carbon fibre Blackbird uke could work.. if you want to spend that much on a car uke :)
(But an expensive uke like that... I'd be more inclined to look after it, even if it is built like a tank)
 
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Makala dolphin +1.

I crashed my wife's car and wrote it off a couple of years back: rolled it right over on an icy hill. The only thing that emerged intact was my car uke - a Makala dolphin.

I emerged almost intact, just a few cuts and bruises.
 
Although that carbon fibre Blackbird uke could work.. if you want to spend that much on a car uke :) (But an expensive uke like that... I'd be more inclined to look after it, even if it is built like a tank)

+1 for that! I wouldn't leave a uke in the car that would be painful to lose (stolen, accident etc) so a $1000+ carbon fiber "beater" is out of the question.
 
Save up a few more bucks and get a flea!
 
I would get a really thin travel uke, like the Kala thinline soprano, and carry it everywhere. It is so small and comes with a nice padded case, that it would be easy to carry it around. Or maybe one of those new Eleuke Peanuts that Mim is selling, but you would need to use headphones with that (unless you can pipe it through your car speakers).
–Lori
 
I would get a really thin travel uke, like the Kala thinline soprano, and carry it everywhere. It is so small and comes with a nice padded case, that it would be easy to carry it around. Or maybe one of those new Eleuke Peanuts that Mim is selling, but you would need to use headphones with that (unless you can pipe it through your car speakers).
–Lori

Wow, I had never thought about doing that. If you had a mega-watt system, it would sound great. But, in most states, I suspect it is not legal to drive using headphones.
 
Or maybe one of those new Eleuke Peanuts that Mim is selling, but you would need to use headphones with that (unless you can pipe it through your car speakers).
–Lori

I think a peanut would be a great idea. You could actually pipe the uke through the car speakers- get one of those cassette adapters with the stereo mini plug, or for a newer car, one of those mp3 radio transmitters with a stereo mini plug.
 
Save up a few more bucks and get a flea!

The fleas are fine instruments. They play and sound good, and are durable. They have great action and intonation and can often be found used at a good price, although many are reluctant to part with them.
 
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