Thinking about buying this Luna... Advice Please?

It is mostly eye candy. The wood is a laminate but for $99 it's probably worth the $$ if the vendor does a setup prior to shipping since as with most cheaper ukes the out-of-the-box quality can be hit or miss. Most of that can be rectified by a good setup.
 
I had the Luna Tattoo concert as my first officially purchased uke (up to then they were all gifts), and I liked it a lot.

As Guitarsnrotts said, the selling point on these is the eye-candy part, since as a entry level lam it's pretty indistinguishable from almost every other $100 uke out there.

Still, my Luna had good intonation, decent volume, and a pretty nice tone, so at least you're not getting some unplayable wall-hanger. And, aside from the kind of annoyingly large Luna logo on the headstock, I thought the tattoo design looked pretty flash.

While there may not be much difference between the entry Luna, the Lanikai, the Kala, etc, it would be pretty hard to do better than the Luna.
 
Eye candy.

I have the exact same one...poor intonation, hard to finger (I don;t know why, but the frets seem too close compared to my other sopranos). I never play it, and never did much because of its issues.

On a good note, it looks fabulous on my wall.
 
I have the tattoo pineapple and I think it is a pretty good little ukulele for the price (I'm assuming they are the same except for the design). It is pretty much the same as the much more expensive aNueNue U-900 and the Luna came with a better set up from the factory. At the end of the day it is an entry level laminated ukulele but you could do a lot worse for the money plus the theme is pretty cool for a Nihongo major.
 
guitarsnrotts said:
It is mostly eye candy. The wood is a laminate but for $99 it's probably worth the $$ if the vendor does a setup prior to shipping since as with most cheaper ukes the out-of-the-box quality can be hit or miss. Most of that can be rectified by a good setup.
Click to expand...

Interestingly, every Luna uke I've tried (and owned) comes with a surprisingly good factory setup.
The action is already comfortably low, unlike many other brands that come with an Empire State Building action.

The only time I had a problem with a Luna was this single one which buzzed a bit. At first I thought it was because the action was too low... but later it turned out that there was some neck warping from the winter..
 
RockPigeon said:
Hey guys. So since i am a Japanese language major along with my International Business, I saw this uke and think it's really cool.

http://www.theukulelesite.com/luna-pineapple-soprano-great-wave.html

I'm skeptical though, so I thought I would ask your opinion. Is this uke good, or just eye candy?
Click to expand...

It should come with a good setup, if ordered from HMS. I've had a Great Wave Soprano on my wish list there, for a while now.

Let us know how you like it, if you get one.
 
I think it's a good uke. I had one (my dad's learning on it at the minute). It really polarises opinions, though; some people think Luna ukes are rubbish. It comes with a nice gig bag, which will save you a bit.

Honestly, if you possibly can it's better to try ukuleles first, unless you're happy to Ebay it if you don't get on.
 
Other than looks, it's a fairly typical $99 ukulele, and by that I mean the quality in the build is up from entry level. But, I found that this model, and other Lunas, are slightly overbuilt. Also, like other ukes at this price point, you find some inconsistency in construction, with the occasional flaw. That doesn't bother me if the tone and resonance are there; but the question is, are they there? Only playing one will tell.

For the price, it's decent and what you would expect, but I would play any uke at this price before buying it because individuals DO vary, and that accounts for the polarized opinion you see here.

For another $50-75, you enter another level of quality with Ohana, and if it was me, I'd spend slightly more money for a much better sounding uke.
 
I have the tattoo pineapple. Like most pineapples, it's a teeny bit louder than a normal shaped soprano, which I appreciate. I got mine from HMS, so setup was fine. When I strum hard, one of my strings is a little buzzy still.

Personally I like a laminate. I'm forgetful and clutzy, so I don't have to hate myself for a ding here or there, or leaving it in the car overnight. It's a tough little bugger. Dropped it on the floor at the bar the other night, no issues. :)

Luna definitely is one you buy for the "ooh, pretty" factor - and people either love 'em or hate 'em. For under a hundred bucks, you won't regret it, imo.
 
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