Want to buy a 50 $ ukulele

Jatin · Sep 29, 2013

Well friends, I am Jatin from India and I am looking for a cheap ukulele( around 50 $ ). My English is not so good so please forgive me for my mistakes..

I came across the instrument a few weeks ago and I'm in love with the instrument now. I want to buy one but I can't make up my mind as to which ukulele I should go for. I've read a few good reviews of lanikai lu 21 soprano as well as Makala Dolphin bridge+Aquila Strings. BTW I love singing and i want to know whether I will be well of with soprano size or I should buy a concert/tenor(well I'm not buying it for serious singing)

Also I'm afraid of the intonation problems associated with lanikai lu 21 so please tell me which ukulele I should buy.

Ty in Advance

bnolsen · Sep 29, 2013

any new 50usd ukulele will be hit or mss

sugengshi · Sep 29, 2013

Lanikai and Makala are good brands. But at that price range, luck will play a role here as well.

Jatin · Sep 29, 2013

Ya I know that but...in your opinion which one has better chances of having a good intonation..?? lanikai or makala ?

Jatin · Sep 29, 2013

sugengshi said:
Lanikai and Makala are good brands. But at that price range, luck will play a role here as well.

I know that at this price range it's hard to pretend what 'kind' of ukulele you'll have but as far as i know...makala dolphin bridge have less chances of having intonation problems(Because I've not come across any issue regarding this). Should I go for that ?

PhilUSAFRet · Sep 29, 2013

Either one of them could come with good or bad intonation. If you can get to play them both, I suggest you learn how to tell if a uke has been "set up" properly, then you will know what to look for when checking a uke you are considering buying. A good "demo" on this can be found on theukulelesite.com. Also, if you are "handy"...meaning if you are the least bit artsy or craftsy and have worked with small wood or similar projects, you may have the basic skills to do minor set up work (sand down nut/saddle, smooth sharp fret ends, level frets, etc. These are the things that often have to be done to make a cheap uke sound as good as it can.

http://www.theukulelesite.com/ukulele-setup.html

vanflynn · Sep 29, 2013

Welcome to UU Jatin, glad you joined us.

Either of those ukes should get you started. Unless you have big hands the soprano size should be good. If you can't buy it from a reputable ukulele dealer like Southern Ukulele Store or Uke Republic (I don't know if they ship internationally) you may, as Phil said, have to do some adjustments. Anyone that does repairs on string instruments can do it if you don't feel comfortable trying it.

Good luck and let us know how it ends up!

Phluffy the Destroyer · Oct 2, 2013

I much prefer Diamond Head sopranos when it comes to the cheaper ukes. They run about $40.

I have 3 of them, and play them both considerably more than my Lanaki and Mahalo sopranos. With a set of Aquilla strings they have a nice bright sound. With GHS strings they have a mellow, almost buttery smooth sound. Once you have them set up to your satisfaction, they are delightful instruments that you can play as delicately as you like, or really hammer the strings when you need to.

A word of caution on the Diamond Head brand though... I buy everything in person, so I always know exactly what I'm buying. However, I understand that when ordering them online the quality is pretty hit and miss, so find a reputable dealer with good customer service reviews.

Ukejenny · Oct 2, 2013

I took a ukulele in to have adjusted and saw a very nice Diamond Head soprano ukulele hanging on the wall. It was $40.00. When I go back, I will play it and see what happens.

vanflynn · Oct 3, 2013

A local shop carries the colored Diamond Heads and IMHO they were bad. The tuners were loose and sloppy at best and the fret edges were sharp. The action was high enough to not be able to seriously check the intonation. Maybe the other models are better but stay away from the color ones

Phluffy the Destroyer · Oct 3, 2013

vanflynn said:
A local shop carries the colored Diamond Heads and IMHO they were bad. The tuners were loose and sloppy at best and the fret edges were sharp. The action was high enough to not be able to seriously check the intonation. Maybe the other models are better but stay away from the color ones

Sounds like your dealer is just unboxing instruments and putting them on the wall... None of those issues are particularly difficult to deal with and should have been addressed before they even had price tags put on them. If the strings were so high that the ukes were unplayable, then they never should have been put up for sale.

As I said, if you have one that's properly set up, the Diamond Head is a good ukulele. I would recommend a $40 ukulele that's been properly set up over a $50 ukulele that someone just took out of a box any day. Since that seems to be the range of the OPs price, anything more expensive than that doesn't really factor in, but I think it's a pretty fine idea to have any ukulele you play regularly set up properly.

Want to buy a 50 $ ukulele

Jatin

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bnolsen

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sugengshi

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Jatin

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Jatin

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PhilUSAFRet

UU VIP

vanflynn

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Phluffy the Destroyer

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Ukejenny

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vanflynn

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Phluffy the Destroyer

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