Hey everyone, I feel as if I've outgrown my Kala dolphin. I'm thinking of purchasing a Luna Tattoo, but am open to suggestions. I'd like another soprano, and under $50, if that's possible.
Any suggestions will be welcomed!
Regards,
Rosendust
i bought a couple of Koloa sopranos (KU-300) for about $60 off Ebay and I'm happy with them
they are solid Mahogany tops and Mahogany Laminate sides and back.
they resemble Martin sopranos and sound decent to me as I lead song circles and give lessons.
[[I have also just purchased a Koloa Concert (KU-320) also with solid Mahogany top and laminate
sides and back. This one cost over $200, so the sopranos can be real bargains at about $60 each.
I'm hoping the concert will provide me with as much satisfaction as the sopranos have so far
The poor man's "Martin Concert"?]] UPDATE: the sale was cancelled by the seller - out of stock.
Anyway, the Koloa KU-300, in my experience, appears to be a good solid (intermediate?) upgrade.
Again, Solid mahogany top with laminate mahogany sides and back.
Hey everyone, I feel as if I've outgrown my Kala dolphin. I'm thinking of purchasing a Luna Tattoo, but am open to suggestions. I'd like another soprano, and under $50, if that's possible.
Any suggestions will be welcomed!
Regards,
Rosendust
Personally, if I was looking to upgrade from a Dolphin, I'd be looking at ukuleles going for at least $150 and probably $200. Otherwise, you will just end up with a ukulele that is not a whole lot better than what you already own.
P.s. I own a Luna tattoo. I wouldn't recommend them.
I don't think that you'll be getting an upgrade (or much of one) if you are limiting yourself to $50. You'd just be getting yourself another beginners uke. If you've been playing long enough to know that you like the ukulele and are going to stick with it then invest in yourself a bit and get a uke you won't grow tired of quickly. I agree with the advice above. Look in the $150 to $200 range. Shoot for a solid top if not an all solid wood uke and Ohana or Kala are great places to start.
You have not defined upgrade.. if you want a better sounding, better playing uke you will have to increase your budget.
That said, I found the flight ukes at Gryphon quite nice.
It's so hard to define the range of "intermediate" ukuleles. It could be anything between a Hilo and a Moore Bettah for example. (Not to overly disparage Hilos or place Moore's fine instruments on too high of a pedestal.)
I think many models of Luna are cute but I think they sound terrible. I personally would never buy one. Many ukuleles in Guitar Center look appealing with names like Fender and Lanikai and Gretsch but they really don’t play well. I, too, think you might want to jump to a nicely set up Kala, used. You should immediately notice a difference in playability, tone and intonation.
It's so hard to define the range of "intermediate" ukuleles. It could be anything between a Hilo and a Moore Bettah for example. (Not to overly disparage Hilos or place Moore's fine instruments on too high of a pedestal.)
I agree...it depends on what you mean by ‘intermediate’. I don’t really consider anything under $500 as intermediate. If you want to up your game then commit, up your uke!
You can't upgrade in that price range. You also can't really progress with a dolphin. I had one for a little while and after three songs my hand got tired. I also have a kala ukadelic. I wanted the gig bag, and for the price of a gig bag it came with the ukulele. But I don't consider it an instrument I would play for more than a few songs. It will be a nice wall hanger with a cute Hawaiian motif.
I started with soprano. I still love the soprano. I was resistant to upgrade to a concert but the tone and ease of a KoAloha concert won me over.. A concert will give you another sound and feel on the ukulele. A well-crafted ukulele well play and sound so much better then a dolphin. If you're wanting low budget and serious upgrade look no further than The UU Marketplace. Here's a great deal. True not as cute as the Luna tattoo.BTW I played a pineapple tattoo the other day and it was fine. But it's not a fine instrument. This solid Kala is a solid upgrade worth the price. But definitely a stretch of your budget. https://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?132829-FS-Kala-SMHC-Solid-Mahogany-Concert
Hey everyone, I feel as if I've outgrown my Kala dolphin. I'm thinking of purchasing a Luna Tattoo, but am open to suggestions. I'd like another soprano, and under $50, if that's possible.
Any suggestions will be welcomed!
Regards,
Rosendust
If you're willing to double your price and will humidify a solid wood instrument as needed, buy this solid mahogany concert for $100+. Quick! Great deal, especially for a uke that's been set up by HMS. I had once had one, it has pretty good looks with the binding et al.
As others have said, unless you get really lucky, you will be hard pressed to get an intermediate uke for $50. I have 2 Famous branded Kiwaya sopranos, and while laminated wood, they sound and play better than a lot of "solid" wood ukes. You can get the FS-1 for a little over $200 on Amazon. They sound almost as good as my vintage Martin, and Kiwaya branded solid ukes are almost exact copies, but are much more expensive.