Don't know what i'm looking for

Hello all.

I'm new to ukulele underground and wondered if somebody could help me? I'm looking to buy a uke and really want to get into playing, but I don't really know where to start when looking looking for one, i.e. what brand, where to buy from etc. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

Marko

Read this:

http://ukulelehunt.com/buyaukulele/

If you were in the US, it would be easy to recommend where to buy. Since you're across the Atlantic, you'll have to deal with shipping, customs, import tax and all that other international stuff. Howevere, there are a number of members who reside in the UK off the top of my head; Ken Middleton, Pete Howlett, upskydowncloud, Sam Wise, Grumpy Old Man, Ukuleleninja. You could probably PM one of 'em and get info on where to purchase.

Personal Advice

I'm happy you found your way to the ukulele My personal advice is to simply play different ukulele without thinking of price and size. When I started playing the ukulele I just went to a music shop that had about 30 different ukes in the shop and started playing one after another. After a while I started to realize that tenors fitted my hands best and focused on those. Then I looked at the price and decided not the most expensive (because it was my first uke) nor the cheapest (because I wanted a better quality).

Hope this helps a bit.

marko said:

Hello all.

I'm new to ukulele underground and wondered if somebody could help me? I'm looking to buy a uke and really want to get into playing, but I don't really know where to start when looking looking for one, i.e. what brand, where to buy from etc. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

Marko

Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up Kanaka.

Marko there are a few places you can buy ukes in the UK. I purchased a uke from Newcastle Music (Upon Tyne), they did have a very good website but it seems to have changed for the worse so it may be best to call them, their site is www.newcastlemusic.co.uk. I bought one of my Lanikais from them.

The others that I'm aware of are based in London, like the Duke of Uke (www.dukeofuke.co.uk).

Also the Ukulele Shop (www.theukuleleshop.co.uk).

The prices in the US are a lot better but once you factor in shipping and import tax etc things get costly so I'd recommend starting out by buying one here until you get serious - which you probably will.

I started with a Lanikai concert uke (model LU21-C) and highly recommend it, they are relatively inexpensive, sound good, are well made and stay in tune. It probably is worth trying a few out in the shop, but if like me you don't feel comfortable going into a shop and playing around with something of which you have no knowledge it may be best to get one recommended from here.

Let me know if you have any other questoins.

sebi said:

I'm happy you found your way to the ukulele My personal advice is to simply play different ukulele without thinking of price and size. When I started playing the ukulele I just went to a music shop that had about 30 different ukes in the shop and started playing one after another. After a while I started to realize that tenors fitted my hands best and focused on those. Then I looked at the price and decided not the most expensive (because it was my first uke) nor the cheapest (because I wanted a better quality).

Hope this helps a bit.

Click to expand...

I'm in the same position as Marko. I wish I could go to a shop and try some out, but where I live in the UK there are no shops with a range of ukulele's. I have been to a few shops in my area and at most they have 1 or 2 on show but they are usually low quality budget Uke's. Its a big shame

Ken Middleton (who lives in the UK) always buys his ukes from http://www.theukuleleshop.co.uk . He has nothing but good things to say about them...

Cheers

Thanks very much for the info everyone, was a great help. I've just ordered myself a kala KA-15S soprano uke. Looked for a lanikai but they're like rocking horse s**! Oh well. Thanks again.

You should be pretty happy with that Kala, I know I like all mine check and see what strings are on it. If they are the stock ones think about getting a different set.