New to ukulele and forum. Wife just bought me a Ibanez IUKS5. It was a gift. Keep?

http://www.zzounds.com/item--IBAIUKS5

Above is the link from Zzounds to the ukulele I received as a birthday gift. Is this going to be a decent ukulele for me to learn on. Mind you, I am primarily and guitarist and have many years on the instrument. Considering my wife bought this for me as a gift, I'd like to keep it if it will work out. I just don't know much about ukuleles.

Not to sound like a cork-sniffer or anything, but with guitars I am very, very picky and prefer to support American luthiers and companies. This ukulele is the complete opposite. One thing about it that I am not impressed with is the sloppy gluing that was done inside the ukulele.

Anyways, any commentary will help. She got me the ukulele and a pedal for my birthday. Unfortunately, the shop she got the ukulele from doesn't carry anything outside of Ibanez stuff, and won't give me a refund outside of store credit. Am I better off learning on a different ukulele?

Thanks!

Quality control in hundred dollar ukes is all over the place.
Perhaps you can go to the store, try them all out and pick the best of the bunch.
If you do get hooked on the ukulele, you will no doubt upgrade in the future.
Meanwhile, you've got a starter uke that you can take to the campground and strum with impunity.

000-28 said:

and have many years on the instrument.

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How many years do you have on your marriage? Never return a gift that your wife gives you!

I imagine that the Ibanez is just fine to learn on and, as stated above, will make a great campground/travel instrument in the event that you get hooked a buy a more expensive uke later on. This is exactly why I've kept my $40 Mahalo.

Welcome aboard. I'm new to Uke too, but a gift from your wife means keep it. If you see potential in learning Uke and that one makes music for you, use it as a catalyst to research and get an additional uke that meets your standards.

There's an old saying about gift horses and mouths. Just my $0.02.

Even though I've never been married and I sold the first soprano uke I bought 6 months ago, they're all correct, keep it for the sake of the marriage. In the past six months I've become very involved with playing the ukulele and now am the proud owner of 8 ukes. Just be sure when you accumulate more, you do play that one she gave you in her presence.

Hey guys! Definitely very good advice here. I really appreciate it too. The uke plays well enough and seems to hold tune alright. There aren't any deadspots on the fretboard and the action seems to be good enough. I'm sure any luthier could work some magic getting any deficiencies corrected though, right?

You're right though, I'm going to not trade it in. Thanks!

I say keep it, but not for the same reason.
To learn an instrument, it has to sound decent, but also play well.
I've heard a lot of Ukes, and I reject 95% of the brands based on sound. Ibanez Ukes have their own sound, but they're up there in terms of delivering a Uke which can perform. It makes pleasant sounds, has decent range, which comes together neatly, and is fairly balanced in the various qualities of sound.
They don't fall into the most common traps Uke brands tend to fall into. (many sound too tinny, or too dampened in the mids, or just generally don't come together) That said, you'll eventually want to pick something that has more character etc, but for a Uke that is honest with you and helps you play, it's a solid pick. The japanese have good quality entry level Ukes. Aria is another solid Japanese entry choice.
Nothing worse on a starter Uke than bad intonation etc. Another Uke might have more of the personality you want, but can it play?
This one sounds good enough to me (I listened on youtube). It's made of Sapele*, which I include a footnote about at the bottom of this post.

Another reason to keep it, is you may decide you want something bigger, concert perhaps, and so you would never spend the $100 to have a decent soprano, if you didn't already have one, but a soprano is handy to have for portability, and as others have said, for times when you don't want to risk hurting your baby, i.e. outdoors, roadtrip, etc.

I can't comment on the glue thing really, other than to say aesthetics should be last on your list. How it sounds and plays is all that counts with a starter/knockabout Uke.

Maybe figure on playing it for 3-6 months (?) before buying a new one, to be polite, but also because it really takes a while to find out what you like. I made use of youtube videos to find out what different brands, models, sizes and woods sounded like. Different strings make a noticable change in the sound quality too.

Sapele: (quote from someone over at acousticguitarforum, see link below to see the whole thread)

GuitarLight
01-09-2014, 11:28 AM
Sapele, in my view is superior to Mahogany. Better tone, clearer and more articulated. It's one of the industry's best kept secrets. Expect the price to double when the mass population of Guitarists discover this. Many already have. I prefer my Sapele guitars over my Premium Honduran Mahogany guitar. In fact the Honduran Mahogany I have sold off. The Sapele is just so much better sounding...and looking.

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http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-95134-p-2.html

You probably need to keep it at least as long as you plan to keep your wife...

That said, keeping it doesn't mean you have to play it and if you've got that much experience on guitar it will quickly be obvious if the playability or intonation suck. Hint - a good uke is easier to play than is a good guitar and a good uke will intonate just as well up and down the neck as a good acoustic guitar.

John

you better keep it! Learn on it and if you want something better, American made you're going to be spending close to $1000 at least! You'll always want to keep your first uke!

The Ibanez should do just fine. I started playing ukulele on a $30 instrument (after playing mostly custom guitars for 30 years) - and although I have moved on, its still in the house.

I have a couple of Ibanez concerts that get played all the time. They are about as indestructible as you can get, and have travelled around the world with me a few times now.

Here is an alternate view on the question. If you keep it simply because your wife gave it to you, then you might have explaining to do if/when you determine that it is not adequate for your playing needs. Even if you buy a higher quality uke and keep the Ibanez for sentimental reasons, on the day when you bring home the new uke, there is a chance that she will feel that her original gift was a mistake. If you are lucky, she will see the new purchase as a natural progression from a starter uke, but does she see the Ibanez as a starter uke now? If she does, then you don't have an issue in the first place.

Over the years, my wife has bought me four instruments as gifts. I have kept one.

We decided that any surprise purchases that don't work out for the receiver should not be viewed as sacrosanct. And it works both ways. I have purchased gifts for her with surprise as a major factor only for her to honestly tell me that she appreciated the thought, but the gift doesn't really work for her. Exchanges and/or selling items down the road are an accepted ground rule for both of us.

You could always tell her that, without her, you would probably never have thought about getting a uke and now she has opened your eyes to all that is possible in the uke world.

Just another view...

A little setup work on a $100 uke isn't rocket science if you are the least bit handy/crafty. Lots of demo's on YouTube. Check this overview out:

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

i have 2 ibanez ukes a soprano and an a/e spalted maple concert cutaway..paid a few bucks more than i wanted to on evil-bay auctions..the soprano has the worst factory set-up extra low action of any uke,i changed strings twice ..aquilla and oasis and raised the nut and saddle as much as possible..the uke still sounds small and tinny..I'm selling it by the way..now the a/e concert on the other hand has a little better factory set-up and overall sound, but still sounds small and tinny and tight..it is like they got it right with guitars but totally missed the boat on uke dynamics..not a wide enough lower bout,and probably could use a little deeper body..but the uke (concert cut away) looks very nice,i say practice the fretboard and chord fingering for as long as you can stand the sound then upgrade to something that truly plays properly and look for a quality uke,perhaps involve the wife in the upgrade Its like when they buy you a new golf club or hand tool..it was done with love and thus should be kept and treated accordingly !!! just my 2 cents.

Ibanez ukes are over-braced and heavy laminated wood. They are not loud, but, they sound decent through an amp. A good setup can make they enjoyable to play. I would use Aquila strings and not expect to change them. Fluorocarbon strings don't get enough sound from these ukes.

I'd love to see guitar manufacturers really learn how to build ukuleles. They are often made to heavy. While solid, they don't produce the tone or volume of imported ukuleles from Ohana, Kala, Mainland, and other brands.

Pippin said:

Ibanez ukes are over-braced and heavy laminated wood. They are not loud, but, they sound decent through an amp. A good setup can make they enjoyable to play. I would use Aquila strings and not expect to change them. Fluorocarbon strings don't get enough sound from these ukes....

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:agree: A good way to get around a poor acoustic sound would be to install an amp. As a guitar player, you might be looking for a larger size to test soon. I know it was hard for me to play on the higher frets of a soprano. You don't want to spend too much at the beginning until you know what size, neck profile and wood type suits you best.

–Lori

I've got to like the instrument I'm playing...
...and it doesn't sound like you are sold on this one.
Return it for some guitar equipment and have her help you pick out a uke you'll be more driven to pick up.

Actually, with the right strings, the Ibanez concert ukuleles (I have no experience with the sopranos) have an excellent acoustic sound. Yes, they are heavier built... but there is something to be said for that.

I use either Aquila or D'Addario Pro Arte TENOR strings (not concert). The additional tension really brings out the sound. The spalted mango concert has a nice clean sound without the brashness that you often hear in ukes within this price range. The rosewood model has some really interesting overtones that I have not heard anywhere else.

I would like to play one of their Japanese made mahogany concerts. The fit/finish looks excellent in photos, but the proof is in the sound and playability. (Others have stated elsewhere that they would never pay $700-$800 for an Ibanez, but I reserve my judgment.)

I think Pippin, Wicked and Lori gave some good advice.
I'd like to reiterate, I'm extremely selective about the sound of ukes(listened to over 200 before buying one), and Ibanez, while being a bit quiet, are pleasant, which is more than I can say for the vast majority of ukes. The quietness is a tradeoff. As Pippin pointed out, they are overbuilt, which is another way of saying indestructible. Which is perfect for a portable soprano, so you would likely keep it even after getting a bigger one.
And the quietness isn't a bad thing for a first uke. I just ordered my first uke, and while it's not loud, that's actually perfect for learning on, and I chose it for it's sound quality, not it's volume.
I think you lucked out personally. For $100, you would be hard pressed to find a more pleasing sound, IMO. But it is a matter of personal taste. I'm just saying, you don't have a rinky-dink uke there, it's way up there for the price. A lot of ukes either have no soul, or sound kind of cheesey, but the japanese manufacturers (Ibanez, Aria) seem to avoid those problems.

Whatever you decide, welcome to UU. Glad to have you aboard!

Congrats on your uke! I sold my first ukulele, and I regret it to this day. I even tried to buy it back. Buying a musical instrument for someone else is difficult, I'm sure you wife didn't take this lightly. I've given away several ukes, some I bought, and some I was given, and no one has complained at all. Be a grateful receiver!