looking for a decent uke...

I was in Hawaii last August, and I bought a ukulele. The hotel I was staying in had some, but they were $150+. I figured I would wait until I was sure I liked it. So I bought a beginner uke in a Kona souvenir shop. It's not one of those really cruddy ones that come in the plastic package, but it's not great either. It was like $30, and it only has 15 frets. I can play some stuff on it, but It's really not suited for real serious playing. So I'm looking for something a little better. I'm a beginner, so I'm trying to figure out what's better. I don't know if I should go with steel strings or nylon. I also play guitar, so as far as calluses go, I'm fine. ButI've been reading mixed opinons between steel and nylon. Thanks

Use the search function for "beginner uke" and you will find loads of information.

Don't worry about steel or nylon, and the more you move away from the $30 mark and toward the $100-150, the more choice for a nice budget model.

Steel...ouch....warped uke necks.

Yeah...MGM is a good dealer. Many from Ukulele underground have bought from him. Kala, ohana, and flukes and fleas are all great ukes, priced around 100-250 dollars.

Besides ukulele, I play bass and guitar, but have to admit that I would only want to play nylon strings on my ukulele, because of the sound. I found steel strings to be very hard sound-wise on a uke. Nylon strings give the uke a true and smother sound. Also, it is more comfortable to play, in my opinion. In the end it's a matter of taste. Maybe you should just try out both sets of strings for a couple of days each and decide then.

sebi said:

Besides ukulele, I play bass and guitar, but have to admit that I would only want to play nylon strings on my ukulele, because of the sound. I found steel strings to be very hard sound-wise on a uke. Nylon strings give the uke a true and smother sound. Also, it is more comfortable to play, in my opinion. In the end it's a matter of taste. Maybe you should just try out both sets of strings for a couple of days each and decide then.

Click to expand...

that sounds like a good idea. I like the nylons on my current uke, but I never tried the steel ones. But I guess I'll wait and see.