What was your starter uke? Do you still play it?

First purchase was a Makala Tenor, but I found the stretch too much, at the time, my hands have loosened up since then, & now tenor is my favourite scale. Closely followed by a Makala Pineapple Soprano, that had a lovely sound, but at the time was too cramped for me, & still would be.
Then I got a Makala Concert, & found that the scale worked for me, whilst learning. I also bought a Kala Long Neck Soprano, & I spent most of my time learning to play using that for the first 6 months or so.........&, yes, it still gets played now & again.

Then UAS struck..........

Mine was a Lanikai baritone. It was the most basic model. I played it for several years before I upgraded and it is now rehomed to my son who played it for several more years before he got more interested in guitar. It still gets played when the spirit moves him or when he goes to the beach and wants small, portable and inexpensive. It has served our family well.

Absolute first was the Kala Waterman. I didn't like the sound and quickly gave it away to a teenager who wanted to learn to play. Then I got what I consider my real starter, a Teton mahogany laminate concert. Not a bad uke to start out with and it's the one that got me hooked on ukuleles. After a while I swapped out the Aquila strings for some Oasis Brights, and it sounded even better. Once I acquired my KoAloha concert, I gifted the Teton to a friend so that she could start her ukulele journey with it.

My first uke almost 10 years ago was a standard Flea soprano, a really great ukulele. It is still my everyday player. That says a lot.

My first one was a Makala concert, MK-C. I have a home in Puerto Rico and it lived there for a long while so that when I went down for a few weeks or less I wouldn't have to drag a ukulele with me. So when I was down there I played it all of the time. Now it has found its way back to Iowa and I have been playing it all summer. To my ear it is my best sounding ukulele. It was never set up and it plays as good as any I have. Looks wise, it is getting a little rough looking. Salt air is hard on a ukulele.

Got my Flight soprano a year and a half ago, do like it! Don't think I'll get another one, if nothing unforeseen happens

$40 Johnson soprano. This thing has a sharp, twangy tone that, unlike any of my other ukes (except maybe the banjo uke), can cut through anything. Best and most surprising of all, even though it's cheap and has friction tuners, it always stays in tune, even after weeks of not touching it. Yes, I still play it and I still love it.

Mine was a Lanikai LU-21C (all-laminate). I bought it with the mindset that I didn't want a cheap toy instrument but I also didn't want to spend a whole lot of money in case it turned out I didn't like the ukulele. I guilted myself into selling it when I got a 3rd uke and now I regret it because I'm now up to 4 ukes. (I'm stopping there!) I thought the sound was pretty decent and in a way, it somehow had a better feel to it than my other ukes which were twice+ the price or more. I don't really understand it because the action wasn't different than my other ukes. Maybe it was a psychological thing since it was my first.

I was very fortunate, in that my 1st uke was a Kamaka gold label soprano, which I inherited from a relative. It had dried out quite a bit over the years in her closet, the bridge had popped off, with some small top cracks. After repairs, it was ok at first, but eventually I realized that I didn't enjoy playing it, so I sent it to a new home. I

I was fortunate that my first ukulele was a KoAloha soprano, KSM-00, I bought from MGM in 2007. After a number of years playing guitar, I wanted a quality ukulele to start off with. I figured I could easily sell it if ukulele wan't for me; which I did a few years later when I only played a tenor. Sold it for what I paid. Had I waited another 5 years I may have made a few bucks. There is a moral to that story somewhere.

John

My first uke was a no-name one I bought from the music shop in the arcade, Bristol along with a Mel Bay how-to-play book back in 1985 or so. I learned most of the chords, and a few songs from sheet music I found in junk shops, but after one of the tuning pegs broke, replaced with a banjo one because the shop didn't have any uke pegs, I lost interest and if I recall threw the ukulele away in a decluttering session a few years later. I only took it up again around the turn of the millennium after I saw an old banjo uke for sale in my local music shop. I sold that one at a car boot sale a few years later after I realised how very cheap and awful it was (mostly the intonation, as the fret spacing was visibly haphazard). I was pleased to find a scanned copy of the Mel Bay book in Ian Chadwick's collection of old sheet music. It's amazing how well I still remember some of the songs in it.

I started with the same uke as the original poster, a Cordoba 15-CM. It was a pretty nice uke, a little step up from the $40-50 ones. Is laminate and very playable. I still have it but it doesn't get played much because about 6-8 months ago, I bought two upgrades within about 30 days, a Pono acacia taropatch and a Mexican Martin T-1K. I love both of them but I'm keeping the Cordoba. At some point, I will leave it out by the couch for quick access.

My first Ukulele was a Kala Exotic Mahogany Tenor. It played well and had a good tone. I sold it after a couple of years and after I had a couple of Solid Acacia Tenors. I still have them but I mostly play Baritone now. I have two Baritones.

Applause soprano like this.


Bought it around 05? It was a great little instrument, but I let go of it years ago.
Definitely a solid gateway uke.

The first Uke that I purchased was a Makala Soprano (MK-S) but at that time, to me as a beginner, it felt too small to hold so I then bought a Makala Concert - I was unaware of any local supplier so both were purchased on-line. Familiarity through use and help got me learning using the Soprano, and when it got set-up and some better strings it sounded and worked fine. That Soprano was gifted to the wife of a friend of mine and she happily plays it to her children. I have a few other Sopranos, have gifted some other spare Sopranos too and play that size for 60% plus of the time. The MK-S was fine but, in hindsight, I wish I’d spent a fraction more and got a KA-15S. The Concert (MK-C) remains with me and whilst I will likely let it go at some time (but only to free up space) it’s turned out to be a really great buy and I do use it a lot. A bone saddle, set-up and M600’s transformed that Uke.

For what it’s worth to anyone looking for a first Uke my experience is that the basic Kala, Lanikai and Brunswick Sopranos are so similar that they could well be made by the same people. All of them work well after a set-up, change of strings (to Fluorocarbon) and a bone saddle. Do the same to a Dolphin and they’re good too - I have a beat-up old Dolphin for practice, travel and outdoor use. I don’t play expensive instruments because carefully selected cheaper ones, that are well set-up, are all I need. I’ve been playing and improving for several years but will likely never actually outgrow the Uke’s that I have. When properly set-up such cheaper Ukes are all most (ordinary) players need, but if something fancy gives pleasure to your ‘eye’ or ‘soul’ then why not have it and enjoy.

My memory is dim on this... but I think the first uke I ever purchased was my Kolohe concert... I bought it on ebay from musicguymic sometime in 2005. I recall having it with me when I got the news that my daughter's first baby had been born. I still play it... often it gets more playtime than any of my ukes though I don't think of it as being my favorite.
The only confusing bit for me is that, when my first granchild was 5 or so, I gave her an inexpensive laminated wood soprano... I don't think that was my first uke, though I can't recall having bought it, I think I did so after buying the Kolohe.


here's my little punkin with the uke I gave her

A Fender Nohea tenor. Bought on Amazon.com because I had a couple of gift cards and it said it was an "all koa" body and I had read that koa was the best wood for ukuleles.

It was laminate. The nut was way high. (I had to use a vice grip to barre the first fret.) As was the saddle. I had a setup done on it, but they didn't want to do anything about the sharp fret ends on a few of the frets. It sounded OK. Especially after I replaced the Aquilas nylons with Martin Fluorocarbons; then Living Waters. I loved the Fender headstock design.

Then I bought a Pono mango tenor. Wow! What an improvement. (Especially after the Worth Browns.) The Fender became my beater travel uke. I haven't played it in months.

I'm debating whether I should donate it to a Big Brothers and Sisters here in town, or my ukulele club. But I'm concerned that it's somewhat difficult play-ability will turn the beginners off about learning to play the ukulele.

Kenn2018 said:

A Fender Nohea tenor. Bought on Amazon.com because I had a couple of gift cards and it said it was an "all koa" body and I had read that koa was the best wood for ukuleles.

It was laminate. The nut was way high. (I had to use a vice grip to barre the first fret.) As was the saddle. I had a setup done on it, but they didn't want to do anything about the sharp fret ends on a few of the frets. It sounded OK. Especially after I replaced the Aquilas nylons with Martin Fluorocarbons; then Living Waters. I loved the Fender headstock design.

Then I bought a Pono mango tenor. Wow! What an improvement. (Especially after the Worth Browns.) The Fender became my beater travel uke. I haven't played it in months.

I'm debating whether I should donate it to a Big Brothers and Sisters here in town, or my ukulele club. But I'm concerned that it's somewhat difficult play-ability will turn the beginners off about learning to play the ukulele.

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You are concerned about turning someone off to uke because the instrument is so bad. That’s such uke player thinking. I love it! Way to be considerate.

Mine was a used Riptide UC-5NS laminate mahogany concert, purchased at a local Music Go Round for (I think....) $90. Played it for a few months, then decided that (1) this is fun, and I'm going to stick with it; (2) I "deserve" a better instrument; and (3) that I'm more of a tenor sized type of guy. So I bought my first good uke - a Blackbird Farallon. The Riptide now sits in my closet next to my much neglected guitars.

I only came to playing ukulele's in September of 2017 due to old age - hands, left thumb hurt, etc. Before I played electric guitar as well as classical guitar. I say played, means learning. I purchased my first ukulele a Kala Baritone Ukulele September 2017. Since then, searching for pain free instruments to play, I have acquired a Melokia Solid Acasia Tenor, a Yamaha Guitalele, and a Yamaha CS40 Guitar. I find the Baritone Ukulele in my hand most of the time. Low G. I still like the classical guitar sound.