Beginner Uke around £125?

I'm want to learn how to play the ukulele at the grand age of 37! I'm looking to spend around £125. I've been recommended the Lanikai LU-21 at around £80 as a good beginner uke. However I can afford to spend a bit more than that and was wondering what would be recommended as the next step up from ukes in that prices range? Are there any other ukulele's out there that I should be considering? There's just so many to choose from!

What about something along the lines of the Kala KA-SS?

http://www.dukeofuke.co.uk/kala-kass-solid-spruce-soprano-ukulele-p-749.html

mark909 said:

I'm want to learn how to play the ukulele at the grand age of 37! I'm looking to spend around £125. I've been recommended the Lanikai LU-21 at around £80 as a good beginner uke. However I can afford to spend a bit more than that and was wondering what would be recommended as the next step up from ukes in that prices range? Are there any other ukulele's out there that I should be considering? There's just so many to choose from!

What about something along the lines of the Kala KA-SS?

http://www.dukeofuke.co.uk/kala-kass-solid-spruce-soprano-ukulele-p-749.html

Click to expand...

You cant go wrong with one of these very good quality.
http://www.brueko.de/shop/product_i...kulele.html&XTCsid=1j0v9se3ank3pf7mto6r23toh0

Or this one
http://www.eaglemusicshop.com/soprano-ukuleles/mainland-soprano-mahogany.htm

Or this one same as the mainland but a bit cheaper
http://www.eaglemusicshop.com/soprano-ukuleles/Ohana-SK35G-Soprano-Ukulele.htm

This is the Bruko
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBDYkIJmSMA

Mainland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovc4MsISep4

Ohana
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j40Z_Hc7JI

The Bruko is a good shout (from what I've read), but I can also highly recommend the Aria solid mahogany ACU-250 Concert from Clifford Essex - £110 delivered, with a decent case and properly setup! (SUS have the same model, only branded under their own name). Clifford Essex also do a solid mahogany Soprano for £100.

My Clearwater Tenor was £60 delivered (via Amazon - reduced from £110) but needed a damn good setup.

I'd deffo recommend trying a few sizes so you can pick one that you prefer the feel of and then go from there ........

ChaosToo said:

The Bruko is a good shout (from what I've read), but I can also highly recommend the Aria solid mahogany ACU-250 Concert from Clifford Essex - £110 delivered, with a decent case and properly setup! (SUS have the same model, only branded under their own name). Clifford Essex also do a solid mahogany Soprano for £100.

My Clearwater Tenor was £60 delivered (via Amazon - reduced from £110) but needed a damn good setup.

I'd deffo recommend trying a few sizes so you can pick one that you prefer the feel of and then go from there ........

Click to expand...

Yes I would recommend trying different sizes. your right they do sound good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MWrpFnNVH8

Whichever ukulele you buy eventually, make sure it is properly set up. We have just been talking about it here.

Barry Maz reviewed the ACU-SUS just a couple weeks ago, which is a surprisingly inexpensive, massive mahogany concert-size uke for just £80 (and it is offered by a UK store). The real downside, I feel, are the GHS strings it comes with, but a few bucks (or quids) buy you better strings, and from the sound of it, it's a good deal for the price.

The Stagg UC-80-S is also a full mahogany concert ukulele that I paid only €99 for, including Aquila strings, but it needed a setup and it seems to cost normally more than this and apparently often comes with GHS strings (this may have changed recently -- I bought it from an online music store and it came in original packaging, with Aquilas). The high action aside, it is a good instrument.

As for the size, eh ... chances are you will end up with at least one of the common sizes (soprano, concert, tenor). It didn't even take me a month for that! Personally, I seem to enjoy the soprano and the tenor the most, with little need for the inbetween size, but this is very subjective and my opinion may well change in time, too. Plus, there's more to this than just the sizes. The necks are not always the same, and neither is the space between the strings.

I'd say just buy one and then use your experiences with it to refine the next purchase! Just mind the setup, which I feel is perhaps more crucial than the size, for the first ukulele.

Mark.....what size uke you want?
If a concert uke interests you then havea look on omega music,s site.
I recently bought my son the aria solid wood uke
http://omegamusic.co.uk/buy/aria-acu-250-solid-mahogany-concert-ukulele-the-best-value-uke.
Which I believe the southern ukulele store have rebranded as there own ukulele, after much research they decided to put their name to this.....which is a very solid endorsement.
It's a cracking ukulele, feels solid and well built, and pays lovely....I put a set of living water strings on it and sounds great
Or maybe think about a gretsch, I got the tenor as a Xmas present from the missus,
http://www.pmtonline.co.uk/gretsch-g9120-tenor-standard-ukulele-with-gigbag.html
I was truly blown away at this ukulele, I own more expensive ukes, but this one gets played everyday, and easily punches well above its weight, it really is a fantastic ukulele.
If you are new to stringed instruments, the first decision to be made by you should be what sized ukulele to go for.
I used to play ( I,m lying I attempted to play , but found it difficult to progress) the guitar for a year or so, before I took the plunge with a soprano, I find it too small, I am a bit more fluid with a concert and even more so with the tenor.
Hope you find one that makes you happy, I have no hesitation in recommending the two above as they are both great value, and play beautifully.

Hi Mark,

You'd be better off just spending that little bit extra for a Mainland in my humble opinion. I went from Lanikais & Kalas to Mainland when starting and it made a huge difference. Eagle Music stock them over here. You'll find the action nice and low and frets much smoother. Plus they're very pretty. I'm sure many on here would agree.

Or you could get an Ohana CK35 for around that price from the same place too.

I think I have to reiterate the importance of a proper setup. There's a thread on here listing the companies that set ukes up and the difference is night and day, so make sure you factor that in when you're deciding where to buy from.....

Is there a meetup or 'uke group anywhere near you? It would be great if you could try out some different sizes and like that. Even if you don't have your 'uke yet, I'm sure people would be very happy to share their 'ukes -- and their opinions -- with you! I think it's great you are willing to invest in your first instrument, but really nothing beats trying the instruments out for your very own self! (You will get lots of good advice here, from people far more knowledgeable than I, but everyone is different and only you can decide what suits you best.)

When you do get your new 'uke, we will want to see PICTURES! Yay!

As well as the SUS uke I reviewed, this is the one that has really impressed me at your price point. Great tone and volume

http://www.gotaukulele.com/2012/10/ohana-sk-25-soprano-ukulele-review.html