Kmise Professional Tenor Ukelele?

Hi all!
I started to play uke last summer with no experience of musical instruments except the recorder in primary school. I have a soprano uke which I love and since my husband has gone on vacation for a couple of weeks I’ve grabbed his concert uke and am enjoying that too!
So .... I’ve been looking on Amazon and eBay at the tenor ukes. There is a “professional” tenor uke by Kmise for £40 which has taken my fancy. Now what makes a professional uke stand apart from the beginner/intermediate instruments?
I can’t find any reviews on this particular model anywhere.
Oh btw my daughter has the Kmise banjolele and she loves it! It was she who introduced us to the ukulele last summer. We get to ‘jam’ when she visits. We in turn introduced a friend to ukes ... he bought the Kmise concert, which is really nice.
Thanks for any feedback!

Making music is good for the soul

I've never heard of a Pro distinction for a ukulele. There are better built ukes using higher grade components that cost considerably more, like solid wood rather than laminate, brand name hardware like Gotoh or HipShot, maybe even a built in pickup and or preamp. I think Kmise is using that purely as a sales gimmick. Something in that price range would not be considered Pro level.

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8 tenor cutaway ukes, 3 acoustic bass ukes, 8 solid body bass ukes, 8 mini electric bass guitars

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children's hospital music therapy programs. http://www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: https://www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/videos

Thank you! I’ve seen the terms entry level, beginner and intermediate for ukuleles but I have to admit I haven’t seen the term professional used before. You’re probably spot on saying Kmise are using the term as a gimmick.

Both my husband and daughter are in the USA at the moment. They started in San Francisco on a road trip and tonight they’re in Las Vegas having been to Death Valley earlier today. They’ll end up in Los Angeles to take the flight home. My daughter is hoping to pick up a Luna uke on her travels ... the waiting time for delivery in the UK is about six months!!

Ah well it’s late here .. time to switch off the lights and snooze .. goodnight and thanks once again.

I was given a couple of Kmise products to test last summer...an Aklot Concert and a Kmise “fairy” concert ukulele. You know what? For a cheap uke, they are decently built, sound fine, and would serve a player well. They make odd choices for their instruments in terms of decoration (doves, fairies, cats, etc.) and you will have to deal with some potential issues such as sharp fret ends in low humidity areas.

These are not custom ukuleles and cannot compete with Mainland, KoAloha Opio, or Pono instruments, which are all considered mid-range ukuleles; and in my opinion, Kmise products are not as nice as Kala and Ohana models that are anywhere between $30 and $250 more expensive.

But if you want a ukulele that doesn’t cost a lot, can be damaged without heartbreak (I dropped my KoAloha the other day and cracked it a little and part of me died), and is definitely playable (my models came decently set-up), don’t be afraid to order one.

Yes I think they are value for money! Our friend has the Kmise concert and it’s really nice even has a slightly bowed back (no idea what the term is for that in uke-speak) ....

Damn it I’m gonna go for it ... what am I like

The use of the word "Professional" has no meaning in this context. It is just a bit of sales flimflam. Having said that, I bought a Kmise soprano uke direct from China and it is a decent enough instrument, for the money. I keep it in the car, where the temperature can reach damaging levels, and there is the ever present risk that it might be sat on.

John Colter

Nu2Uke said:

They’ll end up in Los Angeles to take the flight home. My daughter is hoping to pick up a Luna uke on her travels ... the waiting time for delivery in the UK is about six months!!

Click to expand...

If they have time while in Los Angeles, McCabe's is a very good place to check out ukuleles, it's not very far from the airport, 3101 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405. Always ask for a discount.

https://www1.mccabes.com

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8 tenor cutaway ukes, 3 acoustic bass ukes, 8 solid body bass ukes, 8 mini electric bass guitars

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children's hospital music therapy programs. http://www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: https://www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/videos

Nu2Uke said:

Both my husband and daughter are in the USA at the moment. They started in San Francisco on a road trip and tonight they’re in Las Vegas having been to Death Valley earlier today. They’ll end up in Los Angeles to take the flight home. My daughter is hoping to pick up a Luna uke on her travels...

Click to expand...

I think Luna ukuleles are decent instruments. I will caution that most Luna (and Dean, their related company) instruments I have played have sharp fret ends—a common occurrence on many ukuleles. It is fixable, by a luthier or yourself.

Thank you for the address which I have passed on. If they have the time before their trip home they will pop in ... that is if they can find it .... I don’t think they’re near the airport and their flight is roundabout 5am ... I know my husband is dreading the driving into LA ... their first trip to the USA! She said today that she wished she’d had a uke with her as there were so many opportunities to play whilst chillin’ ..... on Pismo Beach or outside their teepee (can’t believe they stayed in a teepee)!!


My daughter has her eye on the Luna .... oh crikey I can’t remember .... I don’t think they’re in any shops in the UK so it’s not like she can try one out .... you wouldn’t expect the fret ends to be sharp would you?

Thank you for your replies they have made interesting reading!

Hi all!
The Kmise tenor ukulele arrived within four days via Amazon UK. My daughter did the unboxing and tuning. I’ll have to wait a couple of weeks before I grab it .... Anyway she likes it! She says it’s well made and is a very good quality. Sounds great too! She says I may struggle with the frets being slightly further apart ... never thought of that.
Oh we’re gonna have fun throughout summer can’t wait!

They never got to shop for a Luna uke in LA as they only stayed one night catching the morning flight back to the UK.

Right I’m off to have a little practice shopping ....

Have a lovely day all!

Have fun playing with your daughter! I think Kmise makes a great instrument, on par with Kala, etc. But if I were in Bretagne, I'd find it hard to resist the fiddle. Bagpipes would be easy to resist, though Maybe tune a uke in fifths?

Pono is a well built ukulele with a good sound and if properly setup delivers pro level performance.

-- Gary

Yes in Bretagne the bagpipes and squealing pig clarinets are the staple musical diet!!! Lots of it is going on this month and August along with Breton dancing. Lots of Irish music too which gets the feet tapping!

So I now have my Kmise tenor. Once it settles down, tuning wise, it will be fine. Up to now I can’t fault it. My personal problem is stretching my fingers to reach the dreaded E, but that’s a problem for me even on my soprano (old fingers) .....

The tenor looks nice and has a bowed back to it in a different coloured wood to the front. Sounds pretty much the same as the concert which is a little disappointing, I expected a more mellow sound or are all tenors the same?

I’ll report back in a couple of months once it’s settled down and I can hopefully reach that E!!

Thanks to all for your comments they are very much appreciated.

Have a great day!