Which Concert Ukulele is better?

I'm stuck between the Makala Concert MK C, Brunswick Mahogany Concert Uke or the Samick Greg Bennett UK-50 Concert Ukulele.

This is partly because there isn't much information about the last two. Is the Samick solid wood? Which is overall the best make?

I'm a beginner, but want something that I can use for ages, without having to buy a more expensive, higher-end uke. My budget is up to £60.

Thank you x

Also, just heard of the Oscar Shmidt OU2... is that a contender also?

Well I'm no expert but of the three (make that four), I'd go with the Makala. Never heard of Brunswick or Samick and Makala has a very good reputation as a starter.

Jim B

Doubt you're going to find solid wood at that price point. Makala is a solid beginners' instrument. I wouldn't be too surprised if the Samick and Greg Bennett come from the same place and just have different labels. Those two, along with the Oscar Schmidt, are probably equivalent. I think Oscar Schmidt ukes look great - people often comment on how heavily built they are - which means sturdy but perhaps not as good a sound as if they were lighter.

Samick is one of the generic Indonesian factory builders, which also make a wide range of instruments including pianos under many names including the above mentioned Greg Bennett. At that price they're most certainly plywood construction. I'd stick with Makala.

I agree with bbycrts. You will be hard-pressed to find a solid in this price range. I have played all four of these models, and think of the Oscar Schmidt as the only musical instrument in the group.

Thanks everyone for replying...

I know for a fact that the Brunswick is solid mahogany. But I know nothing else about the make.

Samick I'm dubious about.

Just to clarify, are Makala and Oscar Schmidt solid wood??

Cheers, everyone

Makala isn't solid wood. Oscar Schmidt does have some solid wood ukes, but they are out of that price range.

fernandogardinali said:

Makala isn't solid wood. Oscar Schmidt does have some solid wood ukes, but they are out of that price range.

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Ok, thank you.

In which case, does anyone know the cheapest solid wood concert uke?

jazperanza said:

In which case, does anyone know the cheapest solid wood concert uke?

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I think cheap solid wood ukes tend to be crappy, with thick tops and stuff. Maybe you should look at the Kala KA-SC. I think there is a store in Spain called Uke Cosas.

DaveVisi said:

Samick is one of the generic Indonesian factory builders, which also make a wide range of instruments including pianos under many names including the above mentioned Greg Bennett. At that price they're most certainly plywood construction. I'd stick with Makala.

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Actually Samick is a South Korean company, though they may be doing some production in Indonesia now. I hope not as the stuff that came out of their Korean factory was an outstanding value.

Samick has a very long history of making decent midrange instruments for other companies. Up until a decade or so ago the Samick factory in Korea made many of the Epiphone and Squier instruments as well as many others. The finishes on the Samick Korean made guitars were often better than those on their American made counterparts! Samick didn't produce instruments under their own name until maybe the mid nineties. I have a Samick Greg Bennett SG style guitar that is both gorgeous and a great player. It came with Duncan licensed pickups and is one of the few production guitars I've bought that I didn't eventually change pickups on.

When most companies started moving production to China and Indonesia quality suffered considerably. Currently there seem to be three "tiers" of production guitars across most all brands; top tier being US and Japan production, second tier being Mexico and Korea production, and third tier being China and Indonesia. In some cases the fit and finish is better on the Korean guitars than on the USA made ones, though usually the USA and Japanese builds have better hardware and electronics (in the case of electric guitars).

So, if Samick has moved much of their production to Indonesia that's definitely a disappointment.

John

jazperanza said:

In which case, does anyone know the cheapest solid wood concert uke?

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As a general rule, never look for the cheapest anything. There are some "solid wood" instruments sold on eBay that are basically wall hangers.

John

I love my Oscar Schmidt OU2 laminate mohagany concert....Over here in the USA it costs about 55- 60 dollars....Let me say this..I got it over 2 years ago and I still
play it daily and is my favorite..even more than my premumun and custom ukes...what does that say...get one... one thing... All ukes no matter what will sound
different due to the building variances and materials..each will have their own individual voice...they can be the same brand, model and built even the same time in
the same place...less costing ukes have a tendency to be more inconsistant, but there are certainly gems within the group...you need to find them..if you can
play them first it would make it a better chance of you get a better one...and get a set up and clip on tuner...good luck and happy strummings..

Just save a little bit more and get Koa Pili Koko concert, all solid acacia wood. The best uke for the buck.

I wouldn't even consider a solid wood uke in that price range. The materials to make a solid wood instrument cost more than a laminate one so production and hardware quality suffers in order to keep the price down. At this price the most important thing is to get a uke that has a decent build quality and works properly. Makala makes a fairly decent uke and I've heard about the same of OscarScmidt. If you want something that will last you years to come, save around twice as much and you'll be able to get something that will have decent sound quality and build.

A concert KPK solid arcacia base modelwill run you about 165 plus shipping..I have had a couple too..it has a good warm tone uke I had in the deluxe model and the regular had a nice bright tone..well worth the price..if you have
to ship it to england ..you can add a third more for Vat, custom and other charges..good luck

My Koloa soprano is solid mahogany and cost me less than $100 new, though most places they're sold for more. I really love it; I intended to sell it when I got my custom, but somehow it just never gets listed for sale...

It is very well built and with Aquila strings has an absolutely beautiful voice - several people at UWC last year who are NOT ukulele hacks like me all played it and really liked it a lot. I did try it with fluorocarbon strings (Martins) and hated the sound - the Aquilas are a much better match. Go figure.

That sounds great, thank you.

Thanks for your reply. I've heard reasonable things about Samick (especially now they've teamed up with Greg Bennett) although most people here seem to know nothing about them.

You've been a great help.

This is what one website said about Brunswick: http://www.omegamusic.co.uk/news/our-recommended-ukulele-reviews/7

What does everyone think?