So I've picked out my first uke, what else do I need?

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ukulele mama

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So, I've decided to buy my first ukulele. Something I've been wanting to do for years. I'm going to get the Oscar Schmidt OU2P because I want a pineapple, but also I want a concert sized uke. I'm also going to pick up some Aquila strings for the new baby. The other thing I've done is download the aNueNue Tuner app for the iPhone. My question is... What else, if anything, do I need to purchase to get a good start on my endeavor?

Thanks in advance!
 
Might as well pick up a tuner while you're at it. UU store has 'em. Always nice to give the guys some business.
 
Totally a clip on. The tuner apps for smart phones have trouble in a noisy environment.

Welcome
 
Snark do some great clip on tuners for a very good price(I'm not affiliated with the company in any way)
 
Headstock Tuner, Ukulele for Dummies, The Daily Ukulele, extra strings. :) Have fun!
 
Freeda said:
Headstock Tuner, Ukulele for Dummies, The Daily Ukulele, extra strings. :) Have fun!
Click to expand...
:agree:
Even though the headstock tuner (clip-on) can be left out as long as you don't need to tune your uke in noisy environments as said above.
Anything else depends a bit on your musical knowledge.

And finally: HAVE FUN WITH IT
 
A Hawaiian shirt, a Fender electronic tuner (better turning radius) a uke wall hook so your uke is always at the ready, and some good websites from which to learn, such as doctoruke.com, scorpexuke.com and ukesterbrown.com. All easy to intermediate level websites with videos in case you don't know the melody. Oh... and have a ball!
 
Welcome to UU. The Snark tuner is worth the money. The Tekachords app is good for showing chord diagrams (I think they have a iPhone app, they do for iPad).

Check out the free video library on the main Ukulele Underground website. Lots of good stuff there.

PS. soon you will find out that what you really need is 2 more ukes!
 
The most important thing missing from your list is a good set-up. Normally I'd recommend ordering your uke from Mims Ukes (ebay store), Hawaii Music Supply or Uke Republic since you're in the US, because they will do this brilliantly and free of charge. Unfortunately, none of them have the model you're looking for. So make sure to buy from a brick-and-mortar shop and ask them about doing set-ups before buying. It will make a huge difference in playability and you'll enjoy learning a gazillion times more. Plus it will save you from some pain on your fingertips!
 
Hmmm...what else do you need? Patience. Reasonable pain threshold. More patience. Good sense of humour ain't bad either. :)
 
Freeda said:
Headstock Tuner, Ukulele for Dummies, The Daily Ukulele, extra strings. :) Have fun!
Click to expand...

Yup. Ukulele for Dummies is great, and if you have an iPad you can get video links right in it. Pretty sure you can download it to iPhone, which you obviously have, but I'm not sure if that would have the video embedded.

Also, I recommend a collie for practicing with. Well, that's what works for me. Sometimes mine accompanies me on squeaky toy.

Welcome!
Lily
 
Clip on tuner. I have a tiki gogo tuner I like a lot, and snarks are the most touted here. Ukulele for dummies is a good book. There are many sites and you tube videos to help learn along with uke minutes. Extra strings are very nice. I have done late night trips to the store trying to get there before closing. That is less fun than just grabbing a spare set from a drawer.
I second the collie for practicing. I have a Border-Aussie:D
 
A million thanks!

Thank you greatly to all of you! And especially to Lalou for cluing me in to the secret of the setup since I was unaware of it's importance and was going to purchase the Oscar Schmidt on Amazon. Because of this, I'm rethinking my purchase. I think I'm going to go with a Cordoba, but not sure yet.

Thanks again for your advice and your warm welcome! It's so nice to find such a nice community when you are starting something new!
 
One more thing:

Friends to play with. As much fun as playing a ukulele is, playing with others is 10 times more fun.


-Kurt​
 
Welcome to UU! A good setup is very important on any uke, so that it can be tuned properly, then played comfortably and in tune. Personally, I've purchased several Oscar Schmidt ukes from various sellers at amazon.com, and each one has arrived with a pretty good setup, so if you want an OU2P, I say go for it! (Disclaimer: maybe I've been lucky and your experience may differ.)

As mentioned above, the very best on-line uke sellers are (in alphabetical order) Hawaiian Music Supply, Mim's Ukes, and Uke Republic. All three make it a point to properly set up every uke they sell.

A Snark clip-on tuner is pretty handy to have, especially the black SN-6 ukulele tuner or the red SN-2 "all instrument" tuner.

Sadly, many local music stores have a poor selection and little knowledge of ukuleles, so they may or may not be to sell you a good uke or set one up properly.

Hope this helps.
 
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