Finding it impossible to buy a good baritone electric uke!!!

notalent31

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What in the world is going on with the ukulele manufacturers?...

I have been searching the internet daily for some months now and find
it impossible to be able to buy a good sounding baritone electric ukulele!..

And, those dealers who claimed that this type of uke was in stock, had me wait and wait and wait, till I no longer wanted to wait for them to get their act together.

I found that most of these dealers simply didn't stock this type uke, but still advertised that they did have it in stock!..

It seems that most all uke dealers don't stock baritone electric ukes.
Yes, they all stocked the LANIKAI baritone electric uke, but I don't
want that brand of uke.

And, I am looking to spend no more than $400 to $500 on this type of uke. So, you'd think that there would be some of these types of ukes available...

I've also had this same problem dealing with AMAZON.COM. They too jerked me around for 3 to 4 weeks waiting for them to ship my order, which turned out that they didn't even have that uke in stock!.

Look, I'd so much appreciate it if any of you learned uke folks on this forum could steer me to a "reputable dealer" that does stock this
"rare breed" type of ukulele.

thanks......
 
If by "electric uke" you mean an acoustic baritone with a pickup fitted, there is a reason why most uke companies do not produce them. Firstly, baritones are not selling anywhere near as well as tenors at the moment and secondly, electro-baritones sell even less well.

However, Ohana (the company I work for) do make one. It is called the BK-20CE. Solid mahogany top, cutaway, EQ. Check the website and find a dealer. I can't suggest one because you are keeping your location secret. The full list price is $449.

Your better option could be to buy the baritone of your choice (perhaps an all solid one like the BK-35) and fit a good active pickup.
 
Your better option could be to buy the baritone of your choice (perhaps an all solid one like the BK-35) and fit a good active pickup.
that's what I was going to suggest too.
 
This is one sweet solid mahogany baritone for $249. They want $100 to install a passive pickup. If you can install or know someone who can, lots of good deals on active pickups w/ eq.

http://www.theukulelesite.com/kala-all-solid-mahogany-baritone.html

These are amazing for the money. Looks and sounds like a higher end instrument.
Light, resonant, all solid mahogany, bone nut and saddle.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/KOLOA-KU-65...866?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58926ac522

For around $350 give or take, you can get a Kala solid acacia baritone with a slothead! I agree with poster above, find the uke you want and have the pickup you want installed.
 
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Give Mim at http://www.mimsukes.com a shot. I'm not sure if she has any in stock (I have to reiterate Sir Ken's question about whether you are talking about an acoustic with a pickup or a solidbody electric...). I know she had some Riptides that were pretty good (I have one of them coming this week! I'll let you know how it is when I get it.) and may have something else, or at least may be able to recommend something.
 
Mainland with MiSi?
 
And if you're looking for a steel string electric, you might want to look into Jupiter Creek on eBay.
 
Ken, I live in a town called Eastchester, New York. Its about 20 miles north of Manhattan, NY. I"m an 80 year old youngster who's gotta keep busy
so I decided to learn the baritone uke. Why the baritone uke?....because I do prefer the DEEPER tones rather than the brighter tones of the tenors, etc..

Yes, I've been having a really hard time trying to buy this baritone with a "Pickup"....ive' already got the Roland Microcube amplifier, so thats why I thought
of buying another uke with a "pickup"....interestingly, when I play my present baritone uke, I really like the sounds I'm getting from it. Its a Koala, all
mahogany baritone uke. And, yes, I did realize that these baritone ukes are harder to come by because most folks play the tenors, sopranos, etc.

BTW: I've seen you do your stuff on youtube and I think your great!...So, I'll be seeing you again, and again on youtube. Ciao!...
 
Ken, I live in a town called Eastchester, New York. Its about 20 miles north of Manhattan, NY. I"m an 80 year old youngster who's gotta keep busy....

NY state is not the best place in the US for buying a uke, I'm afraid. What I would do if I were you is to buy a nice all-solid woods baritone and have a MiSi pickup fitted by the store. You may find it easier to buy from a reputable online store though.
 
Mainland with MiSi?

That would be my approach - and I notice that they're even in stock right now. If Mike ever comes to his senses :) and offers a mahogany cutaway baritone my budget is going to suffer the consequences... Even if he never offers a cutaway version I may end up leaving UWC with one if they're in stock then. Depends a lot on budget and how deeply Obama and congress reach into my pockets this April...

John
 
get a pickup installed.

I second the advice to get a pickup installed. The stock pickups that come with most electro-acoustic baritones aren't the best. They used to make some with Shadow pickups, but I'm guessing those didn't sell well, because current electro-baritones seem to all come with cheapo Belcat pickups. So you'll probably get more bang for your buck if you buy a non-electric baritone and get a good pickup installed.

I've also noticed that (as kissing says), an acoustic-electric uke doesn't need to be made from solid wood. Solid wood and laminated wood aren't going to amplify that differently. If anything, solid wood might not be the best for amplification, as it creates more opportunities for feedback (I've never heard it myself, but it is indeed a possibility, and it's the reason that Gibson acoustic-electric guitars are laminates.)

So it might be a good idea to buy a decent-enough laminate uke and then get a pickup installed in it.

There's also the Lanikai LU-21BEK. Laminate and comes with a Fishman pickup. Sells for about 200 bucks. There are better laminates out there but it's decent. The finish on it is very strange and to me it's uncomfortable to the touch. Whatever it is, it's not gloss or satin.

It's not easy being a baritone fan. :p
 
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