Has anyone heard of "Tempo" brand ukes?

Hi all,

I live in Quebec, Canada and bought a (regrettably cheap) uke for my wife when she expressed an interest -- not knowing any better, I picked up a really cheap plastic uke with nylon strings. She's been striving to learn, but the sound is terrible and I can't help but think she'd do better with a slightly better instrument.

Before ordering a Kala or similar, I had a look around locally, and the only used uke in the area seems to be via a pawn shop, but it's a brand and type that doesn't seem to, well, exist. A "Tempo a72".

It's cheap enough that I could pick it up, but I'm really not sure at this point if I trust my judgement in terms of whether or not it's good or, well, not.

Has anyone ever heard of a "Tempo" ukulele? And how can one tell if what one's buying is good or crap if you're not a seasoned player?

Never heard of it. I'd just take the safe bet and go with a well known/trusted brand. And the only way to tell if it's good or not is to hear it. If you can't play anything on it, check out some videos of other people playing the same model. It'll be impossible in your case because I can't seem to find anything for that brand, so yeah, I'd just go with a trusted brand.

Oh and I know it's easy to say because it's not my money, but it's worth going with something you know will be good for a few extra bucks.

Made in Japan circa 1960......here is a site that has a baritone... http://database.ukulelecorner.org.uk/site/ukulelemakers/multi/artist
You get what you pay for...but try it first...you never can tell....

i went the cheap route when i started guitar, don't do it. it's possible that your wife's interest could turn into something great, a cheap uke might kill the interest and that would be expensive.

Radio Flyer said:

i went the cheap route when i started guitar, don't do it. it's possible that your wife's interest could turn into something great, a cheap uke might kill the interest and that would be expensive.

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I understand why folks starting out want to do it with something cheap in case they don't like it and quit. OTOH, I have to wonder how many quit because their instruments had problems due to being cheap. So, it's a little bit of a gamble. I bought an okay uke on amazon when I started, a Lanikai tenor. I think it has a nice tone and my wife likes to play it now. Let's say you buy a playable one for $50. That's on the "cheap" side and you won't be able to sell it for what you paid for it - if at all. If you buy one for, say, $150, you will be able to sell it and get at least some of your $ back if your wife doesn't like it. It's been my experience that the "better" instruments play better and get played more. YMMV