Curly Koa
Well-known member
I had to send back a really nice/pricey uke that I purchased online, because there was an issue with the intonation. It was a sad day, because the uke had the most beautiful, three-dimensional koa I have ever seen. Luckily, I just so happen to be in Lansing, MI for work this week, so I stopped by Elderly to see if I could pick up some new ukes for about the same amount of money. I tried some ukes that I thought I would buy: Kelii (didn't care for them--particularly the friction tuners, but the tone was ok); four Martin C1Ks, all of which had intonation issues up the neck; one Martin T1K (sounded pretty decent for $500 and was set up well) -- but when I took it to the register they said it was already spoken for; some more expensive Martins, which were nice but not worth the price tag . . . needless to say, I was bummed, but then I started messing around with all the cheap ukes.
I don't usually like cheap ukes, but I actually found some diamonds in the rough that I ended up buying. I found a soprano with a solid cedar top that sounded AWESOME and had great intonation, and it was only $150. It was shop-worn, with a repaired crack in the varnish, but the uke itself was fine. I also found a $200, all solid mahogany baritone, made in China, that sounds pretty darn good. I also ended up buying a Gold Tone tenor banjo uke, just for fun, and it sounds pretty good too!
I don't usually like cheap ukes, but I actually found some diamonds in the rough that I ended up buying. I found a soprano with a solid cedar top that sounded AWESOME and had great intonation, and it was only $150. It was shop-worn, with a repaired crack in the varnish, but the uke itself was fine. I also found a $200, all solid mahogany baritone, made in China, that sounds pretty darn good. I also ended up buying a Gold Tone tenor banjo uke, just for fun, and it sounds pretty good too!