Graham Greenbag
Well-known member
A friend from the USA will be visiting the U.K. later in the year, he is willing to the purchase and bring me a Ukulele. The bulk of instruments that I might like to purchase are available in the U.K., though import costs and local taxes push the price up - and sometimes folk seem to take extra profits too. However a few that I’m really interested in aren’t available here at all, or are either very difficult to get hold of or are greatly overpriced. My budget is about $120, and I don’t play well enough to warrant spending much more than that - it’s amazing too what you can get out of a cheap but we’ll set-up Uke.
The Islander Laminate Sopranos come in Mahogany (MS-4, $98) and Acacia (AS-4, $118). Does anyone have much of a view as to whether (and if so why) it’s worth spending the extra $20 on the Acacia model. Does anyone have a view on buying either of them? The primary attraction of the Islanders to me is their wide nut and reputation.
In Concert Ukes I like the greater compactness of the twelve (rather than fourteen) fret to neck models and wondered about a couple (listed below). With the short neck they are only a little bigger than a Soprano and the extra string length does make a useful difference to sound and finger space.
Oscar Schmidt do a Pineapple Concert Uke, their OU2P, and I can get one for under $80 in the USA but not at all in the U.K. I’m not attracted to the figure eight shaped OU2 but like the Pineapple shape, are they any good?
Gretsch Ukes are available in the U.K. but at, what I think is, a very heavy premium. I wondered about their G9110 Laminate Concert body and scale Uke - $119 including a Gretsch bag - does anyone have any views on it?
Finally, ‘cause the price is right and folk like them, I have found some ‘as new’ Kala KA-SEM’s for $68. Soprano’s are compact, I can fit a new nut to space the strings out and I believe that they’re really nice sounding Ukes - especially with some Worth Browns on them. It could be a very pleasing saving over the new U.K. price, but maybe I’m just being mean and shouldn’t be troubling my friend with this purchase.
As I said earlier my budget is about $120. I like widely spaced strings, compact Ukes and the Pineapple shape (for its more mellow sound). I hate bling and fancy paint jobs, and I don’t like anything sounding overly ‘bright’ I’m primarily looking for what’s not readily available in the U.K. or is well over priced here. All prices above include delivery within the lower 48 states.
What do people think or suggest?
The Islander Laminate Sopranos come in Mahogany (MS-4, $98) and Acacia (AS-4, $118). Does anyone have much of a view as to whether (and if so why) it’s worth spending the extra $20 on the Acacia model. Does anyone have a view on buying either of them? The primary attraction of the Islanders to me is their wide nut and reputation.
In Concert Ukes I like the greater compactness of the twelve (rather than fourteen) fret to neck models and wondered about a couple (listed below). With the short neck they are only a little bigger than a Soprano and the extra string length does make a useful difference to sound and finger space.
Oscar Schmidt do a Pineapple Concert Uke, their OU2P, and I can get one for under $80 in the USA but not at all in the U.K. I’m not attracted to the figure eight shaped OU2 but like the Pineapple shape, are they any good?
Gretsch Ukes are available in the U.K. but at, what I think is, a very heavy premium. I wondered about their G9110 Laminate Concert body and scale Uke - $119 including a Gretsch bag - does anyone have any views on it?
Finally, ‘cause the price is right and folk like them, I have found some ‘as new’ Kala KA-SEM’s for $68. Soprano’s are compact, I can fit a new nut to space the strings out and I believe that they’re really nice sounding Ukes - especially with some Worth Browns on them. It could be a very pleasing saving over the new U.K. price, but maybe I’m just being mean and shouldn’t be troubling my friend with this purchase.
As I said earlier my budget is about $120. I like widely spaced strings, compact Ukes and the Pineapple shape (for its more mellow sound). I hate bling and fancy paint jobs, and I don’t like anything sounding overly ‘bright’ I’m primarily looking for what’s not readily available in the U.K. or is well over priced here. All prices above include delivery within the lower 48 states.
What do people think or suggest?
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