Lanikai LU21-C Comments and dimensions please.

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Graham Greenbag

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I've been playing for a couple of years now, more strumming and singing with my local Uke club than anything else - great fun and not much skill is needed.

By happy chance I got to play a Uke with a slightly wider nut and string spacing than my own, my hands loved the change and I now want the extra width. The old standard (?) of 1 7/16" nut and 1 3/16" over the strings would probably be just fine for me.

My search for something affordable to buy unseen lead me to the Lanikai LU 21-C (before there Tune a Uke model) and I wonder what owners past and present think of them, opinions please. I would also like the nut and over string ( g to a ) size please just in case information supplied by vendors is somehow in correct. Thanks in anticipation.
 
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Eh, it will be just okay, but you would like an islander AC4 or MC4 even better as it has a 1.5" nut and is all around a better instrument for not much more $$. I have a soprano lu21c and it does have a nut that's a tad wider than the normal 1 3/8"
 
Where do you live Graham? Local availability and shipping costs can really become a factor. Ohana has some real nice models in that price range.

PS. Buy from a reputable dealer. You'll be glad you did.
 
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I have a LU21-C and I probably play it as much, if not more, than my other (better) ukes. That may be due in part to it being "C" tuned and my others are tuned a half step lower. (Depending on the song, the two tunings allow me to sing most songs fairly comfortably.) I bought mine from a big box type music store and it was a bit of a nightmare to play out of the box because the action was so high. I took it to a music store who did instrument work and they lowered the action for me so now it plays like a breeze. I love the feel of it. I'm very happy with the sound, I think it performs well but it may be a tad quiet. I contemplated selling it at one point but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It was my first uke and I still like it a lot.

Measurements:

width of neck at the nut = 1-3/8ths to 1-7/16ths (right in between)
width to outside of the strings (G to A) at the nut = 1-1/16th maybe a tad more
 
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I responded to your private message. I found my Black LU-21 C on Craigslist last summer, selling for $100 and bought it for $60 or $65 (accepted my offer before driving out). I had a Córdoba Concert (CM-15?) that I gave to a family member who was up from Georgia so I could justify the purchase to my wife. That was relatively early on...perhaps my 4th or 5th ukulele. There are now 15 in my house, and two exceptional Tenors (although not K Brand) in my house.

However, the ukulele was sold to me with a broken pick-up system...so I upgraded the pick-up as per suggestions here on UU, and eventually ordered a replacement unit from eBay. It turns out the faulty issue was the jack...and the pickup and replacement unit were pretty cheap.

Anyway, I don't play the Lanikai all the time. When I do, I like it well enough, just like my Makala MK-CE. I hope to buy a Concert KoAloha someday. I like the Concert size, although I play Tenor most of the time.

It isn't the best ukulele in my collection, but I do like the black gloss. So it isn't going anywhere any time soon, and as a laminate, I can leave it out year round on my wall.
 
Thank you all for your replies and to Choir guy for his response to my PM (I wouldn't have thought these particular details were confidential so for others with the same question as me this is an extract from his response: "Using a very basic measurement looks like 35mm nut, 29mm G to A."). Coupled with Mikelz777's response (I assumed that 1 3/8" to 1 7/16" was intended) that shows a slightly narrower nut and string spacing than I'd hoped for, if better than what I currently have. For completeness and what it's worth a mail order supplier that I emailed advised that: "The nut width is approx 37mm. The distance between the 2 outer strings at the nut is approx 29mm."

Vanflynn asked were I live, I'm in the UK and there isn't a good Uke shop anywhere near enough to me. I've done a little work on Uke nuts before and changed strings, etc. so aren't too worried about set-up. The last shop I used had built a reputation for setting up instruments but just before my purchase their expert left and wasn't replaced - I don't agree with the shop's belief that all brand 'x' play just fine out of the box.

The Islander models were mentioned as an alternative, unfortunately they are in limited supply here and a bit above my 'buy it blind' budget. I'm also not certain about the 1 1/2" nut not being too wide for my particular hand so will look a fraction smaller. Someone kindly let me have a go on the Peavey (1 1/2" - 38 mm nut Concert) which I liked and it might do just fine, but whilst playing it it seemed very slightly too deep a neck to slide my cupped hand effortlessly along - the flesh between finger and thumb seemed to catch very slightly but maybe that would somehow change over time using that Uke.

Someone mentioned the Lanikai being maybe a bit quiet and, like all the rest of the information, I'm thankful for that detail. Slightly quiet could be an advantage for playing and practicing at home, and as UAS hits us all I'll no doubt buy something louder later when (hopefully) my playing will be more worth listening too. That aside a select few videos on YouTube showed that the Lanikai could play / be made to play rather well in particularly skilled hands.

Thanks again to you all for your help, it is much appreciated.

If anyone else would like to add their Uke's measurements then please do, I can't see how that could be anything else but useful and if there is a difference between the sizes already given then please don't let that be a concern.
 
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In the U.K., you have the Southern Ukulele Store, World of Ukes, and Omega Music. All three do setups and the first two specialize in ukuleles. I bought from SUS and WoU and can recommend both. Might be a good idea to ring or email them and see what they suggest. If necessary you can also return what you buy.
 
Thanks for the pointers on suppliers. I've bought from two of them in the past; maybe the particular suppliers can't afford to do much to the less expensive ukes or maybe they think brand 'x' factory set up is 'good enough' for that price point. Considering the narrow profit margin on the cheaper laminate ukes purchased I can't really complain, but if I'd spent more for say a solid wood instrument then I would expect them to support their reputation with a decent setup. The above is just my experience and might not be at all typical, I'd buy from either company again as otherwise they were fine to deal with.
 
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Admittedly, I didn't buy entry level ukes from them. SUS sold me a very well set up Kanile'a GL6, and from Matt I bought the aNueNue Moon Bird with perfect set up and intonation. I had bought a KoAloha Opio elsewhere and it did have some sharpness issues at the 12th fret. The vendor told me that you can't expect perfect intonation on short scales. I'm no longer buying there. :)

I guess with very inexpensive instruments, there may be problems that can't easily be fused with a general setup. Structural issues and such. But I'd agree that in such cases the shop should drop the brand or model.

But yeah, EU regulations allow you to return anything you buy online without needing a reason within two weeks, so it's relatively risk free, save for the hassle.

Matt of WoU will be getting six more WoU Pioneer concerts in May. If these are in your price range, you could shoot him an email.
 
Thanks for the alternative suggestions but I think I'll stick with the major brands, and on this thread at least focus on the Lanikai LU 21c. There's a bit of a spread on the measurements so more responses would be a help.

The concept of sale or return is not something I usually go for because it can be a load of hassle for me and some hassle for the vendor too, however I taken the point that return is a legal right in the EU. I think that there might be a case for me contacting the vendor to see whether he would be happy for a sale or return transaction and if so to clarify the details in advance.
 
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I have the tenor and I play it all the time. It's not flashy and it's not amazing but it works great, I don't have to worry about it getting knocked around and sounds decent with a low g.

I bought mine on Amazon and paid a local guy to lower the action. He did, but I ended up watching YouTube videos and learning how to lower it more myself. It plays great now, but I strongly suggest lowering the action yourself if you buy it from a major retailer. It seems silly to Pay somebody $40 to adjust a $100 instrument (like I did). I was scared to try it at first because I only had the one uke and I was treating it preciously but once I did, I felt a stronger connection to it and enjoyed it more.

It's really not hard to do. I've done it on 3 cheapo ukes now with no issues.
 
I bought a couple of LU-21Cs that were "gambler's specials" from Butler Music - they came from an shipment that Lanakai rejected (sharp ended frets, neck profile issues, etc.). I had do to some fret filing, etc. to get them to a playable condition, but once I did, they sounded great (particularly since I'd bought them for $25). It was a fun project and I wound up selling one and giving the other as a Christmas gift.

As a result I've got a lot of warm fuzzies where the LU-21C is concerned. However, in this price range, there is a lot of variability - and you shouldn't get your hopes too high. The other possibility is that you buy it, play it six months, and if you don't like it, sell it on the local classifieds. If you take shipping out of the equation (sell locally) and start from a low original price, you don't lose much on a cheap uke.
 
I also got both my lu21p and lu21b from that butler music sale. The lu21p is great, the lu21b seems to have the wrong bridge as the string spacing is too narrow going down the fretboard, but it still plays fine. Can't really complain since both were under 100usd together.
 
I also got both my lu21p and lu21b from that butler music sale. The lu21p is great, the lu21b seems to have the wrong bridge as the string spacing is too narrow going down the fretboard, but it still plays fine. Can't really complain since both were under 100usd together.

It would be great if you could put a ruler over the strings and nuts of both of those for me please. My logic being the the Concert dimensions will be lie within the other two and that the info on the Soprano will help someone at some point too.

As an aside a member of the Ukulele group I play in showed me his old reclaimed Soprano the other night - sadly it's make is unknow - and it had a really wide nut and a shallow neck, it was very comfortable to use. Looking at some pictures of old Harmony Ukes is seems to me that historically nuts and string spacing were much wider than the modern standard.

I would be glad of more dimensions please.
 
mechanical junk drawer calipers:

nut:

lu21p: just shy of 1 7/16"
lu21b: just shy of 1 1/2"

outside of strings:

lu21p: just over 1 1/8"
lu21b: just under 1 1/4"
 
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Bnolsen, many thanks for doing that for me.

My thanks also to all that have contributed to this thread.
 
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