Which ukuleles are made entirely without using animal parts?

It is not hard to find a ukulele that has no parts of animals in the materials used for construction. As suggested above, a sustainable wood like mango comes from a plant not an animal. The metal frets are not from an animal. You can get wooden or plastic nuts and bridges. And there are glues which are not hide glue. What is hard is to find a uke that is made in a process where it can be guaranteed that no animals were harmed in the process of harvesting and or refining the materials.
We can currently access many low cost ukes from East Asia, these are the ones which are possibly going to be hardest to find with a definitive statement about the use of hide glue and or harm to animals. It can seem strange watching "protestors" with their Chinese made ukes at Vegan rallies and Free Tibet protests, you often wonder at their commitment to the cause.
So you may have to look for a more expensive model made by a company which does not feel a need to hide all the information about the materials and processes used. There will be ukulele makers who live not very far from you who has enough control over the process and materials who would be pleased to take the time to make a uke that is guaranteed to be made without harming animals in any way, you just have to order it and pay the costs.
I recall a thread in the luthier section where a maker showcased a lovely uke made for a vegan customer who was willing to pay extra to make sure the materials and processes involved no harm to animals. I am not sure if the maker had to get rid of the rat poison from the woodshed, but it did appear to be a successful project. So it is possible.

Very well said Bill.
 
I most assuredly want a ukulele that contains no parts of dead animals.


Well... if you consider dinosaurs to be dead animals, you’re options go way down. Plastic is made from oil, and oil is made from dinosaurs.


Scooter
 
I agree. Then again, I thought this whole thread was troll bait.

John

:agree:

It’s disappointing to think that this might be the case but, to me, it does seem a not unreasonable conclusion to reach. Maybe I’m being harsh but sometimes a question posed seems like it could have been answered by the asker doing some research themselves ............. or is that asking too much? Sometimes one wonders whether a question is genuine or asked for some other reason.
 
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Doesn't seem that case to me - the OP is new to the world of ukuleles, and just wanted advice about something that's obviously important to them.

Ukeless I think you have a choice - you can get a sustainable wood made by a luthier that you can ask them to make as close to 100% vegan uke as possible, or you can go budget. I don't think you can do both.

If you are looking for a budget starter uke I think you are going to have to get a plastic or mostly plastic model and take your chances with the glue, or write to every maker and maybe one will have the info to hand and tell you. To be honest I don't think you will get is, as if its a mass produced item the glue they use one month may or may not be exactly the same the next.

Not dissing your concerns, just being realistic.
 
Ukeless I think you have a choice - you can get a sustainable wood made by a luthier that you can ask them to make as close to 100% vegan uke as possible, or you can go budget. I don't think you can do both.

If you are looking for a budget starter uke I think you are going to have to get a plastic or mostly plastic model and take your chances with the glue, or write to every maker and maybe one will have the info to hand and tell you. To be honest I don't think you will get is, as if its a mass produced item the glue they use one month may or may not be exactly the same the next.

:agree:

You are less sceptical than me and I hope that you are correct here. Before purchasing my own instruments I researched what was available myself and the answer to the original question was and still is obvious: look at the manufacturers’ spec’s for material details, use Google to find other data, accept that you can’t find details of everything and make your purchase accordingly. That’s not rocket science or that difficult really so it does make one wonder about motives.
 
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In searching for a full specification of the Brunswick BU4CE all that I can find is virtually the same minimal description everywhere. Can anyone do better? You know what I am seeking to discover.
 
I am moving house in the next couple of months and there are other matters needing attention such that my ukulele purchase will be in January. Of course I could do various categories of searches but I am seeking to use the expertise here in order to cut down the myriad of such searches.
 
There seems to be no bone used in the 'Kala mkce (Makala Concert Electro-Acoustic), Satin Finish' at £88.91 plus postage and also this soprano 'Stagg Mahogany US80SE Electro-Acoustic Soprano' at £69 plus postage.

Please could you folks comment on their merits and flaws?
 
I don't have experience with those exact ukuleles, but in my experience I prefer Kala over Stagg. I think that overall they sound better. Also keep in mind that the electronics in low end ukuleles are not going to be that good. If you don't need to play through an amp, you would probably be better off getting an MK C for a little less money.

Hopefully someone with hands on experience with those models will chime in.

John
 
I well know the situation because we supply strings to many chinese factory.
here is the deal: no one employ bone for saddle and nut even on the expensive instruments; no one employ sellach but a synthetic vernish (sellach is employed by some luthiers only). Glue is aliphatic or superglue. no hide glue at all.
Even the strings are synthetics except a very few exceptions (gut strings)
actually the problem is another one: the use of rare woods.
Mimmo
 
I well know the situation because we supply strings to many chinese factory.
here is the deal: no one employ bone for saddle and nut even on the expensive instruments; no one employ sellach but a synthetic vernish (sellach is employed by some luthiers only). Glue is aliphatic or superglue. no hide glue at all.
Even the strings are synthetics except a very few exceptions (gut strings)
actually the problem is another one: the use of rare woods.
Mimmo

Thanks for your input
 
I suggest contacting the Magic Fluke Company and asking them about their instruments. I've found them to be very helpful when I've talked to them, and they are a good choice for a first uke in the sense that the plastic fingerboard ones are always perfectly set up with great intonation. Plus the general durability of their build means that I for one would be far more comfortable buying a used one.

If you have a lot of money to spend - I'd contact Blackbird - they are very conscientious about what goes into their products, and the ukuleles are amazing. https://www.blackbirdguitar.com/collections/ukuleles
 
If I were you I'd give the Southern Ukulele Store or World of Ukes a call. They'll be able to advise you about nut / saddle material etc on instruments in your price range.

They both offer excellent service, and they set up the ukes they send out.
 
A Blackbird Clara or Farallon would certainly fit the criteria, but they're WAY outside the OP's price range.
 
Vegan Ukuleles from Italy

Marco Todeschini is building vegan ukuleles:

"I actually build vegan ukuleles!
The animal-based materials in instruments making are: bone for saddle and nuts (but I use synteitc materials), hide glue (but I use aliphatic glue), shellac (that's is made with an insect's secretion, but I use oil finish), milk proteins contained in Casein, a grainfiller often used by violinmakers, but I don't use it anymore.
So yes, my ukuleles could be called vegan!"

They can be ordered from his website:
https://www.anticaukuleleria.com
 
I'm afraid you'll never get an accurate answer to that question. "...without using..." is the problem. Maybe if you look for a ukulele that does not contain animal parts you'll have better luck. Although plastic ukes do not contain animal parts, who's to say nothing animal related wasn't used in the process?

A lot of dinosaurs died to make that plastic!*

*Yes, I know, the amount of animal material in petroleum products is less than minuscule. However, Sinclair Oil still has a dino in their logo. They used to use an animated one in their gasoline commercials. And don't forget the Tiger in your tank!
 
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