Help me pick out a uke!

Jornibo

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Hello fellows. I'm John and I've played guitar for ten years and now I want a ukulele. I've looked at musicians friend, amazon, guitar center, but I haven't found anything that quite suits me. That's why I'm here, as I figured you all would have way better information than my dismal Google searches.

I want an acoustic-electric ukulele. I really want something good plugged up as well as unplugged. I mainly play unplugged but I want the option to amp. I want something that looks unorthodox, such as the Applause UAE20 or the Fender Mino'Aka. Just to give you an idea, I found Flea ukes via these forums and I like how they look. To me color scheme is more important than cut away. My price range is around $300. I also have no idea which size I want - I'm torn between the standard Soprano or a deeper Concert or Tenor. I intend to use it for strum and sing along stuff but I['m a finger picker by nature. What would you all recommend?

Thanks for reading y'all.
 
Well, you say you like the look of the Flea so why not just order a Flea? They are extremely consistent as far as tone, action and intonation, remarkably well made (in the USA), very durable and come in a dizzying number of different designs and colors.

I would suggest you call them directly and see what they have to offer.

http://www.magicfluke.com/default.asp

I have a tenor Fluke, a concert Flea and a soprano Firefly and love them all.


Scooter
 
You can get a concert or tenor Flea and put a pickup in it. MiSi or LR Baggs 5.0 will work fine. Then you have your acoustic electric. You didn't mention sound so if the type of sound is important you should see if you can get your hands on some to try before you buy. Uke Republic had some cool Flea concerts the the other day, you may want to contact him and discuss options as well for the Fleas.

Good luck.
 
You can get a concert or tenor Flea and put a pickup in it. MiSi or LR Baggs 5.0 will work fine. Then you have your acoustic electric. You didn't mention sound so if the type of sound is important you should see if you can get your hands on some to try before you buy. Uke Republic had some cool Flea concerts the the other day, you may want to contact him and discuss options as well for the Fleas.

Good luck.

Thanks. I was wondering how pickups would work and if they were better than stock or whatever. I know nothing about the electronics of stringed instruments haha. I really need to play and sample some.
 
Would it better to get a standard uke and then put a pick up in it? That would greatly open up my selection. Then my next question is - is it hard to install a pickup or is that something I'd see a luthier for? I have general technical knowledge among all stuff but little hands on experience opening up a guitar.
 
There's a great video at Hawaii Music Supply on installing a misi pick up. It involves routing the channel under the saddle and drilling a hole for the ribbon as well as drilling a hole for the end pin jack. It's a little daunting unless you're a woodworker. Mike at Mainland Ukes has really nice mahogany ukes with misi pick ups at around $349 for a tenor model and less for the smaller sizes. They are rather conventional looking except for the rope bindings though. Hope this helps.
 
You all are being very helpful. I am overwhelmed by the choices there are haha. Right now I'm thinking about just getting like a cheap $60 uke just to have one.
 
Sometimes if the need is that strong just get a cheapy for the time being. When i say cheap though make sure you purchase it from uke republic, mainland, HMS, anywhere that you know will do proper setup work on it. I was in the same boat just REALLY wanted to get my hands on one, bought a $90 makala and its still my favorite uke. But its a 90 dollar piece of laminate agathis that has inspired me to play more music and instruments then i ever thought possible for me.

http://cargo.ukerepublic.com/product/makala-mkc-concert-traditional-style

I would recommend this to any adult kid beginner or experienced uke player because, well its cheap. Your gonna drop it, its going to get kicked of the bed or chair eventually but once you decide you want something nicer ull always have a knockaround. Im in no way affiliated with makala or uke republic i just appreciate nice things and nice people!! They also have a tenor model with electronics for around 125 i believe!!
 
Do you have a local shop so you can play a Suprano, concert and tenor in person (and even baritone). I think they all sound very different, and for example I do not like concert at all. I have no idea why but it sounds like a wannabe soprano and isn't close to a tenor. I personally love tenors. And I'm a newb and have these opinions so I would suggest watching video's that compare all three on youtube and best of all, going to see them in person!
 
The fenders arent too bad (a touch close to your price range) but they are laminate, but look cool and sounds great. I think the tenor comes with a pickup. I think wait a little and spend a lil more. 60$ is ok but if you can afford a 300 you wont regret it. maybe look used too just cause u get some high ends cheaper. Pono makes some decent ones and u can add pickups (which work great). flukes look awesome, but their neck is a lil different than regular neck. If you are a guitar player maybe go for a tenor cause you might find the soprano too small
 
As a string player I always cater the ideas of getting mandolins, ukes, banjos, whatever. Last night I said "Forget it, I'm gonna buy a uke online right now." And here I am now, still looking haha. You all have made my decision harder but it's because I know way more about them now and what all to consider. All in all though I now will make a much better, informed decision upon purchasing one.

Additionally, I own two Ovations and a Fender guitar and am fairly partial towards the Applause and Fender ukes. Does anyone have experience with them? My main concerns are how is it unplugged, how are the pick ups, and just overall quality. After being enlightened upon the many different ukulele manufacturers I may choose something completely different, I'm just curious.
 
Fender ukes are fun and sound great. I love the sound of my fender better than my pono. Though be warned the fender looks cool and sounds cool, but i get the vibe they made them more as a trend than the uber quality that the fender brand is known for. Still feels WAY nicer than many other brands that ive tried in that price range (kala, eastman, gretsch, whatever else was at the store at the time), but just from goofing around on my friends strats, I can feel the strats have quality which my fender is slightly missing. I highly reccommend it, just my pono feels nicer (yet that is like $400 vs 300). Though with that, my fender sounds nicer (imo).
hope this rant helps. and I still LOVE LOVE LOVE my fender and would never trade or sell it cause it's my perfect uku
 
There is an importer called SHS that puts a written warranty on their instruments. Eddy Finn has both solid wood and laminate in acoustic/electric. www.eddyfinnukes.com Something I like about representing the line of products is that for $10.00 they do the set up work, and for $8.00, they will drop ship directly to you without having to send it to me, and then have to ship it over to you. If you look at their website, and see anything that may be of interest, let me know,please. The MSRP is literally a SUGGESTED retail price. Then there is the selling price, which is far below MSRP. You may either open post or private message.
 
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I'm gonna go to my local music store and just pick up a conventional one today haha. I think I'll probably still get one with a pickup later though.
 
I bought the Lanikai LM-CCA. I didn't realize it could plug in until the clerk told me. Paid $199.99
 
You paid 199 U.S.? If you did then you did 100 better than stores and that's a hell of a price. They go for about 225-249 a lot of places so for 199.00 I don't think you over paid if you got the LM-CCA. Not a bad price at all. You can get blemished ones around 115 bucks, but not brand new for 199 that I have seen.
 
Congrats, now with your savings get a set up and high end strings, it will play and sound much better....Happy Strummings....er well Happy Pickings
 
I have not ordered anything from these folks, but Butler Music has gotten good reviews from others on the site. They have acoustic-electric tenor Lanikais for less than $200 with small blemishes. I love my Lanikai 6 string tenor electric-acoustics.
 
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