For people who play "affordable" ukes.

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iamesperambient

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I made a thread suggestion in regards to making 2 sub forums one for high end and k brand ukes and one for affordable ukes, i doubt that will happen, so i'm making a thread for those of us who have ukes under 500 dollars to discuss brands and upgrades with in small budgets.

Currently i own a blue star konablaster electric baritone ukulele (over 300 and my most expensive) a cheap rogue baritone acoustic which living water strings have made it sound very nice, a amahi snail tenor (my newest edition and slightly under 200 dollars) and a cheap diamond head soprano (my beater).

Maybe discuss suggestions for strings and set ups to improve the sound, suggestions for good affordable brands and comparisons? discuss...
 
I have a laminate Ibanez concert with quilted maple, a cutaway, purfling and fretboard binding. It was made overseas.

It looks great. It sounds good.
DV020_Jpg_Jumbo_620449.010_natural.jpg
 
I have a laminate Ibanez concert with quilted maple, a cutaway, purfling and fretboard binding. It was made overseas.

It sounds good.

I have not tried ibenez ukes i love their guitars. I haven't seen any
sold in any shops but i would like to check em out. I saw one that was
shaped like the iceman seemed kind of cool and sounded good in the video.
 
I have not tried ibenez ukes i love their guitars. I haven't seen any
sold in any shops but i would like to check em out. I saw one that was
shaped like the iceman seemed kind of cool and sounded good in the video.

Yes, an iceman shaped ukulele is cool.

I had a Koloha inexpensive solid body, same as a Silver Creek, and it sounded lousy. Dead and thin.

Hey, this talking about cheap ukes is fun!
 
coolkayaker1 said:
I have a laminate Ibanez concert with quilted maple, a cutaway, purfling and fretboard binding. It was made overseas.

It looks great. It sounds good

I really like those. Played on in a store when I was shopping around for my 'next' uke and loved it. Ended up being just out of budget though. Maybe one day.
 
Yes, an iceman shaped ukulele is cool.

I had a Koloha inexpensive solid body, same as a Silver Creek, and it sounded lousy. Dead and thin.

Hey, this talking about cheap ukes is fun!


More people should try blue star guitar companies konablasters (the baritones or tenors)
very good quality hand made electric ukes and their not super cheap or overly expensive.
There is a brand 'vorson' that looks like they make electric steel strings similar to risa but at 100
bucks, considering buying one when i can afford it.
 
Does anyone have advice on cheap strings for a cheap uke? I mean, it's sort of silly to have a $100 ukulele with $10 Southcoast strings. If a $1k uke uses $10 strings, I'm looking for $1 strings for a $100 uke. Anyone suggest the cheapest "good" strings for an inexpensive "good" laminate? Thanks in advance for any good advice.
 
Does anyone have advice on cheap strings for a cheap uke? I mean, it's sort of silly to have a $100 ukulele with $10 Southcoast strings. If a $1k uke uses $10 strings, I'm looking for $1 strings for a $100 uke. Anyone suggest the cheapest "good" strings for an inexpensive "good" laminate? Thanks in advance for any good advice.

Martin M600s.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/M600/
 
Does anyone have advice on cheap strings for a cheap uke? I mean, it's sort of silly to have a $100 ukulele with $10 Southcoast strings. If a $1k uke uses $10 strings, I'm looking for $1 strings for a $100 uke. Anyone suggest the cheapest "good" strings for an inexpensive "good" laminate? Thanks in advance for any good advice.

Expensive 10 dollar strings actually improve the sound of the instrument (we all know that)
thats again devaluing the instrument saying you can not make that kind of upgrade
paying 150 dollars for a uke and 10 dollars for strings 160 dollars and getting a better
sound is still more affordable than buying a 600-1000 dollar uke.
and its a cheap upgrade. No reason to be sarcastic i'm trying to spark a real discussion.
 
I have an ohana soprano which is an awesome instrument. No, it's not as good as my custom instruments, but I have to say, it really sounds great and is so easy to play
 
I have an ohana soprano which is an awesome instrument. No, it's not as good as my custom instruments, but I have to say, it really sounds great and is so easy to play

I've seen a lot of thigns from ken middleton about them and hes a good player ( i know he works for them now).
They seem like very good factory made ukes, im considering them in the future.
 

Martin M600s are my favorite "cheap" strings. I get them off Amazon for $5 with free shipping but usually they are an "add-on" so they have to come with some other order. It's funny on my more expensive ukes I usually use Living Water or PhD. I used to use Worth Clears. But I feel funny putting expensive strings on a cheap uke so I use the Martin's. I also use them a lot on more expensive ukes. I am still unsure that any differences in quality I perceive between these and the more expensive strings are real differences or a placebo effect. (That was a whole different long thread no need to rehash here). Like CoolKayaker I do feel the need to put cheaper strings on cheaper ukes.

if the uke needs to be louder or is inherently too bright sometimes I use D'addario strings that I get for $5 off of ebay.
 
Martin M600s are my favorite "cheap" strings. I get them off Amazon for $5 with free shipping but usually they are an "add-on" so they have to come with some other order. It's funny on my more expensive ukes I usually use Living Water or PhD. I used to use Worth Clears. But I feel funny putting expensive strings on a cheap uke so I use the Martin's. I also use them a lot on more expensive ukes. I am still unsure that any differences in quality I perceive between these and the more expensive strings are real differences or a placebo effect. (That was a whole different long thread no need to rehash here). Like CoolKayaker I do feel the need to put cheaper strings on cheaper ukes.

if the uke needs to be louder or is inherently too bright sometimes I use D'addario strings that I get for $5 off of ebay.

I put living waters on a cheap rogue baritone and it transformed the sound i think its a great cheap upgrade to make
cheap ukes sound better. I think its a worth while invested me that doesn't cost to much.
 
Martin M600s are my favorite "cheap" strings. I get them off Amazon for $5 with free shipping but usually they are an "add-on" so they have to come with some other order. It's funny on my more expensive ukes I usually use Living Water or PhD. I used to use Worth Clears. But I feel funny putting expensive strings on a cheap uke so I use the Martin's. I also use them a lot on more expensive ukes. I am still unsure that any differences in quality I perceive between these and the more expensive strings are real differences or a placebo effect. (That was a whole different long thread no need to rehash here). Like CoolKayaker I do feel the need to put cheaper strings on cheaper ukes.

if the uke needs to be louder or is inherently too bright sometimes I use D'addario strings that I get for $5 off of ebay.

my recent test of oasis strings on my tenor vs aquila leads me to believe there is no 'placebo effect' strings make a HUGE difference
in shaping the tone you want on your uke. Oasis was tooooooo bright and high tension where as aquila was slightly fuller and warmer
and has less tension which i preferred. there is a huge difference in paying 10 bucks for strings to make your 150 dollar uke sound better vs
paying 1000 bucks for an expensive uke you can not afford, its a cheap upgrade and really improves the sound of a uke you can afford on a small budget.
 
Yes... Better strings give you the highest return on your investment than any other modification. Don't skimp.

Besides, you don't have to worry about corrosion, as you would with steel strings, so they should last a good long time.
 
Yes... Better strings give you the highest return on your investment than any other modification. Don't skimp.

Besides, you don't have to worry about corrosion, as you would with steel strings, so they should last a good long time.

agreed, this is one of the reasons why i love unwound baritone strings too you don't have to worry about the sweat from your
fingers rusting the wound strings. not to mention less 'boomy' sound.
 
Does anyone have advice on cheap strings for a cheap uke? I mean, it's sort of silly to have a $100 ukulele with $10 Southcoast strings. If a $1k uke uses $10 strings, I'm looking for $1 strings for a $100 uke. Anyone suggest the cheapest "good" strings for an inexpensive "good" laminate? Thanks in advance for any good advice.

I don't think it's silly at all if you get a huge upgrade in sound for that $10. Not everyone can afford high end instruments. But maybe you're on a different level than the rest of the unwashed rabble that spend less than a grand on their ukes.
 
I don't think it's silly at all if you get a huge upgrade in sound for that $10. No everyone can afford high end instruments. But maybe you're on a different level than the rest of the unwashed rabble that spend less than a grand on their ukes.

'unwashed rabble' not even sure what you mean there.
 
I don't think it's silly at all if you get a huge upgrade in sound for that $10.

I'm just looking for cheap ukulele strings that are good, that's all. Thanks, brother ukemunga, I have never seen Martins so inexpensively.

The cheapest ukulele strings are monofilament fishing line. Perhaps that's good enough for inexpensive ukuleles, since it works on higher end ukes (as seen on many previous and epic threads). What do you think, iamambient?
 
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