Uke for 5 year old, help

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barrybush

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I have 2 grand boys 7 and 5 years old who want to play my ukes . They are rowdy boys. Can anyone suggest a tough, but very useable ukulele?
I don't want a toy.
Something that will stay tuned and that they can learn on, but I won't worry over every scratch.
I am thinking a tenor . Any help is appreciated.
 
Perhaps an Oscar Schmidt OU2. They can be had cheaply and are built like tanks. Sound decent with Aquila strings too. Very playable little ukes.
 
I'm sure some one will suggest a Makala Dolphin. I'd probably go with a Mahalo
 
Great question stan, that will narrow the field a bit.
 
I bought two Lanakai concert blems from Butler Music on ebay. My sons are 6 and 9. So far, so good. They haven't gotten rough with them, so I can't say they are built like tanks. They are laminate and sound okay. The intonation on one seems better than the other. Paid around $150.00 for both of them, so I wasn't expecting greatness, but the boys have fun playing along with me. They came with soft bags and clip-on tuners.

I wanted to add that the blems are not noticeable at all and when I received them, I went back to the ebay listings to find the marks because I couldn't find them in person. The boys haven't noticed them at all.

http://stores.ebay.com/Butler-Music/Ukuleles-/_i.html?_fsub=3&_sid=28206597&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322
 
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I am thinking up to $150 each. If one of the boys actually sticks with it and learns to take care of an instrument I will pass along one of my nicer ukes. I take very good care of my ukes. I would imagine UU members do to. Thanks for the recommendations.
 
I got my daughter a Lanikai soprano, it's solid Nato wood, got it on Amazon cheap 4 years ago ( I think 4o bucks) and she started playing it when she was 9 or 10. She still plays it today and it's very durable and she has banged it a lot and it's suprised me how well it holds up. I know a lot of Dolphin fans out there too and there are probably others but those two seem to have a good reputation for being low cost, play decent for what you pay. Check out their tenor models which are about 68 bucks for an LU-21T (Tenor)...or about there I have seen on Amazon. Mine came perfect to play out of the box but many prefer to get their uke through someone like HMS who can check it out, make sure it's good to go and then ship it to you.

barrybush said:
I have 2 grand boys 7 and 5 years old who want to play my ukes . They are rowdy boys. Can anyone suggest a tough, but very useable ukulele?
I don't want a toy.
Something that will stay tuned and that they can learn on, but I won't worry over every scratch.
I am thinking a tenor . Any help is appreciated.
Click to expand...
 
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for 5 and 7 yo's IMO Makala Dolphins, or the coming soon Sharks would be perfect, Those things are sturdy and they sound decent. The shark might impress little boys. They're sopranos and would be perfect for boys that age. I was in a learn to play section at a festival and the kids flocked to the Dolphins. And they can pick their colors/patterns. And these would be something I would buy with setup and quality check done, as playability can be spotty.
 
You'll have a LOT of options in that range..wow you are a great dad! That's one heck of a first time uke budget! Someone else posted about a tenor and I agree with them that might be pretty big for a 5 year old. A soprano is probably perfect and the largest I would go is a concert, but would steer towards the soprano as well.

barrybush said:
I am thinking up to $150 each. If one of the boys actually sticks with it and learns to take care of an instrument I will pass along one of my nicer ukes. I take very good care of my ukes. I would imagine UU members do to. Thanks for the recommendations.
Click to expand...
 
Dolphins all the way for that young. Buy them from a reputable dealer like Uke Republic, MIM, or HMS though to get a good setup
 
at $150 each - consider a flea second - the folks at Flea Market Music sell them factory direct and you'd get perfect intonation, easy playing, and they sound amazing. or by the dolphins and save the money...
 
+1 for any of the lower priced models. They're usually built quickly and cheaply, so they are built a little more solidly than the more expensive models.

My 2 year old carries around the Tall Grass concert I got last year, with no issues. It gets dinged up and banged every now and again, but it's nothing major and hasn't affected the sound/playability/structure at all.
 
bnolsen said:
Also consider a mainland gecko:

http://cargo.ukerepublic.com/product/mainland-ukes-reggae-gecko

Should be a good step up from a dolphin or shark.

seems like uke republic has concert lava flea for 189USD as well. IMHO that's high on the "cool" list.
Click to expand...

My grand daughter seems to have a new interest in ukes. She'll be 8 next month so this thread is a help to me. I saw your post and have had good results with Uke Republic. Even though I'm a big Mainland fan, I didn't know they made these Gecko ukes. She's on the small size so I think I soprano is a good size for her. I'm going to to order one. Thanks!
 
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That Gecko looks sweet. My boys wanted abalone purfling and a stripey look. I'd love to have a Gecko to carry around.
 
your grand daughter will be 89 next month? go ahead and get her a good uke, no time to waste.
 
Thanks for all the great advice. My grandsons have long fingers and I let them play on my tenors with supervision. I have ordered them 2 Lanikai LU 21T models with cases. I'll use these as a test to see how we'll they take of them when it comes time to pass my personal ukes along.
 
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