Trip to GC and recommendation requests

I was no where near Guitar Center today, so I figured I'd stop by! I haven't found any place else in my neck of the woods that had Ukes.

GC has a room to play where they have a bunch of amps for electric guitars and seats for people to sit and play. Anyway, I had the guy grab me a concert sized uke as I have a soprano and a tenor. The soprano is just a little too small for me and the tenor is just a little too big for the uke sound. The Concert was JUST RIGHT!

I played a Luna High Tide Concert which happens to have pickups in it. The concert size felt very good in my hands and I now know that my next uke will be a concert size!

The Luna sounded pretty darn good, too. I actually tuned it up and plugged it in to an amp. THAT WAS FUN! Man! I played with settings and tried different sounds. It was a hoot! I can imagine how much fun that would be with an effects peddle!

So, the Luna is solid Koa, yeah? It says "All Koa" at the Luna site. Is that the same as solid koa?

I thought that it sounded pretty darn good, but I see less than stellar reviews for Luna's.

My budget for my next uke is $350 to $400. I was looking at a Mainland Red Cedar Concert, but the are sold out and will be for quite some time. I don't know about Mango. How does that compare to the Koa and Mahogany?

I would really like to get something with pickups, but I am willing to wait and have pickups installed later. Again, I don't WANT to wait, but I will!

Any thoughts on the Luna? Mango? Other concert ukes I'd be a fool not to investigate?

Thanks,

Jim

BasicUke said:

My budget for my next uke is $350 to $400. I was looking at a Mainland Red Cedar Concert, but the are sold out and will be for quite some time.

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According to mainlandukes.com, red cedar concerts are currently in stock.

I can't help answer other questions. Sorry!

BasicUke said:

It says "All Koa" at the Luna site. Is that the same as solid koa?...My budget for my next uke is $350 to $400.

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No, this is not solid koa. There are a few great Concert ukes that fit your budget, including an installed pickup. If the other Mainland Concerts don't interest you, here are a couple of options:

http://www.theukulelesite.com/islander-solid-concert-msc-4.html
http://cargo.ukerepublic.com/product/pono-acacia-concert-w-pickup

As far as I know, Luna is laminate. I would have fun playing with what GC has but when you buy, go on line to Uke Republic or Hawaii Music Supply to get something of better quality and set up well.

Drew Bear said:

No, this is not solid koa. There are a few great Concert ukes that fit your budget, including an installed pickup. If the other Mainland Concerts don't interest you, here are a couple of options:

http://www.theukulelesite.com/islander-solid-concert-msc-4.html
http://cargo.ukerepublic.com/product/pono-acacia-concert-w-pickup

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Ha! We said the same thing but you beat me to the punch.

My biggest recommendation would be not to buy any uke at Guitar Center (or similar stores). Guitar Center in particular carries some fairly blah instruments and for the budget you quoted you can do much better.

My recommendation would be the Mainland mango concert, and I think they're in stock. Have Mike put a MiSi pickup in it if that's in your budget, if not, he can put a passive pickup in.

I have the mango tenor with a MiSi and, while honestly it doesn't quite stack up to my KoAloha uke, they will still have to pry it from my cold dead fingers.

John

Go for the Mainland! You can't go wrong with them, and Mikes service is top notch. Go to the website and send Mike a message about what you are looking for, he always responds quickly. Or you can PM him with questions, he's a member here screename "hoosierhiver". I just got a Mango concert from him and I was quite impressed.

paeataa said:

According to mainlandukes.com, red cedar concerts are currently in stock.

I can't help answer other questions. Sorry!

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It says they're in stock, but when you click on them for more info, it says out of stock. I saw a post here from last week where someone called them and was told they will be out of stock for quite some time.

Thanks for looking for me, though!

OldePhart said:

My biggest recommendation would be not to buy any uke at Guitar Center (or similar stores). Guitar Center in particular carries some fairly blah instruments and for the budget you quoted you can do much better.

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I guess I knew that, but it's hard to had it back when the uke is in your hands, yeah?

My recommendation would be the Mainland mango concert, and I think they're in stock. Have Mike put a MiSi pickup in it if that's in your budget, if not, he can put a passive pickup in.

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How does the mango sound compared to Mahogony?

Thanks for your advice!

Bob Bledsoe said:

Ha! We said the same thing but you beat me to the punch.

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Bob Bledsoe said:

As far as I know, Luna is laminate. I would have fun playing with what GC has but when you buy, go on line to Uke Republic or Hawaii Music Supply to get something of better quality and set up well.

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I was suspicious of that! Thanks for the confirmation!

I will definitely go with a reputable dealer when I pull the trigger....

UkeRepublic also carries Mainlands. Give them a call and see if they have what you want in stock.

BasicUke said:

I guess I knew that, but it's hard to had it back when the uke is in your hands, yeah?



How does the mango sound compared to Mahogony?

Thanks for your advice!

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The mango is a little brighter than mahogany. Maybe roughly midway between mahogany and koa. The Mainland mahogany ukes are great too, so if you're looking for mahogany you'd probably prefer that to the mango. I thought you were looking at koa ukes is why I recommended the mango.

If I were put in a position where I could keep only one of my ukes I'd be hard pressed to choose between my KoAloha longneck soprano and the Mainland mango tenor. The KoAloha would probably win, but not by much and there would probably be days when I'd really wish I'd kept the mango tenor.

John
John

OldePhart said:

The mango is a little brighter than mahogany. Maybe roughly midway between mahogany and koa. The Mainland mahogany ukes are great too, so if you're looking for mahogany you'd probably prefer that to the mango. I thought you were looking at koa ukes is why I recommended the mango.

If I were put in a position where I could keep only one of my ukes I'd be hard pressed to choose between my KoAloha longneck soprano and the Mainland mango tenor. The KoAloha would probably win, but not by much and there would probably be days when I'd really wish I'd kept the mango tenor.

John
John

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Yup, I was looking for Koa. Mango sounds good.

I'm sold. I sent an email to Mike as I wanna pull the trigger on this and got an auto reply saying they were in Thailand for a Ukulele Festival! I checked at Uke Republic and they don't have what I'm looking for.

Time to try to be patient, I guess.

kenikas said:

Go for the Mainland! You can't go wrong with them, and Mikes service is top notch. Go to the website and send Mike a message about what you are looking for, he always responds quickly. Or you can PM him with questions, he's a member here screename "hoosierhiver". I just got a Mango concert from him and I was quite impressed.

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Doesn't that figure! I caught them while they are in Thailand! :wallbash:

Your in NW Ohio? Road trip to Lansing Michigan! Elderly is there and you'll find alot more quality ukes there to try out.

I have a Luna High Tide and it's a pretty looking POS.

There, I said it.

Go with Mainland.

coolkayaker1 said:

I have a Luna High Tide and it's a pretty looking POS.

There, I said it.

Go with Mainland.

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LOL! I wish more people had your honesty! I'll take your advice! I already emailed and left a vm!

coolkayaker1 said:

I have a Luna High Tide and it's a pretty looking POS.

There, I said it.

Go with Mainland.

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Lol, I have the Luna Tattoo Concert and I love it. That said, it's a $90 uke and I'm well aware of that. Had I paid $400 for it I would hate it too.

Thanks everyone for the advice! That is what makes UU Forums the best!

Done. Ordered. Mainland Mango Concert with Mi-Si installed. Pics on New Uke Day.

Now.... how to break it to the wife....

Jim