Question re beginner ukulele price point??

mikelz777 said:

I was attracted to the Flea/Fluke at one point in time. I had a chance to try a Flea in a music store and the sound was pretty nice. There were several things I couldn't get past. I didn't like the plastic frets/fretboard. The frets seemed very low. I was able to play it and get a good sound but I had to wonder how plastic frets would hold up over time. Another thing, I don't think I'd buy a uke with friction tuners. I'm not sure in the long run that I'd like that plastic back with the rounded edges either. It might be a bit slippery. Last time I looked, the base price was $250. If you want to upgrade to geared tuners and a wood fretboard with metal frets you're adding $150 or so to the price. When you start looking at what other ukes you could buy for $250 or $400, the Magic Flukes don't look so attractive.

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Yes, when they caught my interest I browsed around here to see what others thought of them. Most seemed to say that the upgrade to the wood fretboard and the geared tuners were "must haves." As you said, that pushes the price to over $400 and I can't justify spending that at this time.

I have mixed feelings about the setup. My first ukulele was a Makala from Austin Bazaar. Not setup, plays just fine, and I still play it a lot. I've played lots of ukuleles straight from the factory that have not been set up. I'm not against getting one that is set up. Just the extra attention is worth buying one from someone who does them. But I'm not one to say that you are doomed to failure of you dont.

FWIW my Fluke with plastic fretboard (the only option available when I bought it) has been my main player for 18 years. Inside, outside, lent to children, banged against tables, dropped on the floor, left in the car (I try not to but sometimes...). The soundboard has lost some color where my strumming arm rubs against it. But the plastic fretboard shows no sign of wear. Not the slightest bit. Unwound strings only, mind you. Wound strings are not recommended.

Some people like Flukes, some don't, but durability is the last thing to worry about.

The jump from a Makala to a Kala (same company) is worth it purely to avoid the Makala tuners with plastic components.

Remember also that if you score a deal on a reputable uke you can always get it set up by a qualified luthier.
But buying from dealers that include a set up in their sale is often worth it because a set up can cost upwards of $50.

ukeinfused said:

The jump from a Makala to a Kala (same company) is worth it purely to avoid the Makala tuners with plastic components.

Remember also that if you score a deal on a reputable uke you can always get it set up by a qualified luthier.
But buying from dealers that include a set up in their sale is often worth it because a set up can cost upwards of $50.

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I agree.
I never had a Kala.
My first uke was a Makala, and I was very happy with it as a beginner uke.

But I would recommend getting the Kala, assuming that it is just slightly better. The Makala is fine as a beginner uke, but the plastic components and the cheap looking logo imo limits it to a beginner ukulele that needs to be upgraded if the Ukulele bug stays. Just a little higher quality, and I would feel more comfortable showcasing it, feeling that it shows that I take the instrument a bit more serious.

You would probably want a more luxurious ukulele at some point, also with the Kala. But the thing is that it is often the "beater" uke you would bring to a bonfire. And it is nice to have a presentable uke there too, as more people will see you play it there than when you practice at home.

ukeinfused said:

The jump from a Makala to a Kala (same company) is worth it purely to avoid the Makala tuners with plastic components.

Remember also that if you score a deal on a reputable uke you can always get it set up by a qualified luthier.
But buying from dealers that include a set up in their sale is often worth it because a set up can cost upwards of $50.

Click to expand...

In general I tend to agree with you and add my own experiences below.

I have had several Makala Dolphins, their standard Soprano and their Concert models, all of them have worked fine and the tuners worked fine. To get a good player fit Martin 600’s on them, fit a bone saddle and then sort out the nut. Basically they’re great value for money and Kala seem to have made that possible by slightly down-grading some of the parts BUT whilst still retaining functionality. The MK-C is a fine starter instrument which could last someone for years, mine never held me back and it was sold more in error and to make space than anything else.

I have a Kala KA-P and a KA-SEM, both of which I love and both of which are (IMHO) a small but worthwhile sound and quality move up from the Makala’s. Of the two I slightly prefer the KA-P. The SEM was a little more expensive (than the KA-P) but it is both prettier and more finely built; with Kala you do seem to get both value and what you pay for. It’s worthwhile doing the same upgrade/set-up work on the Kala’s as done above on the Makala’s.

After having been let down by either dishonest or incapable dealers I learnt how to set-up Ukes for myself.

I found the Kala KA-S & KA-T had better tone than my Makala concert & my tenor had, so I would agree it would be better to get a Kala, rather than Makala, if you can afford it.

(Each is perfectly usable, just that you do get a better tone, in my opinion, with the Kala.)

acmespaceship said:

FWIW my Fluke with plastic fretboard (the only option available when I bought it) has been my main player for 18 years. Inside, outside, lent to children, banged against tables, dropped on the floor, left in the car (I try not to but sometimes...). The soundboard has lost some color where my strumming arm rubs against it. But the plastic fretboard shows no sign of wear. Not the slightest bit. Unwound strings only, mind you. Wound strings are not recommended.

Some people like Flukes, some don't, but durability is the last thing to worry about.

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Good to know -- thanks! It sounds like I'd be OK with the plastic fretboard and friction tuners. But, they are still pricey.

ukeinfused said:

The jump from a Makala to a Kala (same company) is worth it purely to avoid the Makala tuners with plastic components.

Remember also that if you score a deal on a reputable uke you can always get it set up by a qualified luthier.
But buying from dealers that include a set up in their sale is often worth it because a set up can cost upwards of $50.

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Good info about the plastic components. And yes, probably anything I buy will come from a dealer that does a setup especially if it is one of the "cheaper" options.

UkingViking said:

I agree.
I never had a Kala.
My first uke was a Makala, and I was very happy with it as a beginner uke.

But I would recommend getting the Kala, assuming that it is just slightly better. The Makala is fine as a beginner uke, but the plastic components and the cheap looking logo imo limits it to a beginner ukulele that needs to be upgraded if the Ukulele bug stays. Just a little higher quality, and I would feel more comfortable showcasing it, feeling that it shows that I take the instrument a bit more serious.

You would probably want a more luxurious ukulele at some point, also with the Kala. But the thing is that it is often the "beater" uke you would bring to a bonfire. And it is nice to have a presentable uke there too, as more people will see you play it there than when you practice at home.

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I initially was thinking, hey, I have had some experience (though limited) with the Makala, it seemed OK, the price is right, I'll just go that route. But with all the feedback I've gotten it seems like the small difference to move up to a Kala (or Ohana) is worth it.

Graham Greenbag said:

In general I tend to agree with you and add my own experiences below.

I have had several Makala Dolphins, their standard Soprano and their Concert models, all of them have worked fine and the tuners worked fine. To get a good player fit Martin 600’s on them, fit a bone saddle and then sort out the nut. Basically they’re great value for money and Kala seem to have made that possible by slightly down-grading some of the parts BUT whilst still retaining functionality. The MK-C is a fine starter instrument which could last someone for years, mine never held me back and it was sold more in error and to make space more than anything else.

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I still have the Makala Shark in mind as an option, due to the low cost, durability, and utility as a 2nd instrument if I eventually move on to something nicer. But the wood ukes sure are prettier!

Hi tm3,

I've just read through your thread with a lot of interest. Some great advice in here.

Just wondering how you got on and what you ended up getting?

I would be cautious about buying a very cheap uke online. There are almost always shipping and handling costs either added on to the purchase price or hidden within the price when shipping is "free". These additional fees can be ignored with higher priced ukes but when they amount to a third to half of the value then I would pass. Also, if the cost of setup is close to the cost of uke the uke will probably not benefit much from additional treatment. If you can only spend $100 then go to a real music store where you can inspect and handle the instrument and have someone play it for you. Don't worry about brands and labels at that price point as they all come from the same set of factories and have few differences. As others have mentioned the concert size is probably best to get started.

azairvine said:

Hi tm3,

I've just read through your thread with a lot of interest. Some great advice in here.

Just wondering how you got on and what you ended up getting?

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I got a lot of helpful info from this thread, as well as from some other threads here on UU. I also found this review helpful: https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-ukulele-for-beginners/

I ended up buying an Alvarez RU22T tenor ukulele for $89. The string height and intonation are fine and I'm pleased with it. I'm glad that I didn't spend a lot more money.

Knowing what I know now having lived with it for a month or so, I can make a few comments re picking a 1st uke.

1) I got set on getting a tenor, but I think that a concert would have been fine and the concerts tend to cost less for the same model
2) Experienced players say don't focus on appearance, and while I think that is good advice as other factors are more important a beginner spends a lot of time with their one and only uke and IMO it needs to be an instrument that you are "attracted" to. I find the look of my Alvarez pleasing and it adds to my enjoyment every time I pick it up. Some of the other ukes that I considered had looks that really turned me off.
3) As well as practicing I've been doing some research on learning the correct way to practice, and a theme that I come to over and over is that frequent short practice sessions are more valuable than less frequent long sessions. Even 5 minutes or so here and there is good. With that in mind, I think that as a beginner it would be beneficial to have a uke that you could keep with you a lot -- toss into the trunk of the car, take to the pool, etc. The Outdoor Ukulele would work well for this and were I buying my 1st uke now it would be the OU. Enya is supposedly coming out with a durable uke next month and I might pick one up.
4) There are a ton of uke "reviews" on YouTube. Some are good and some are a waste of time. One source that I recently found, that didn't come up in my YouTube "ukulele review" searches for some reason, is a channel called UkeStuff. The dude seems to really know what he is talking about and does a really good job in his reviews; he also has a lot of instructional stuff. He has an interesting review of the OU.

Good luck!

Thanks so much for the long reply! I'm writing up a thread of my own as we speak, condensing in everything I've learnt so far and where I'm at with my options.

I was intially all set for a KMISE based on positive feedback from UU, but then I also read that it would likely have a short shelf life as I improved and looked to get a better quality uke. I want to avoid that step, but not overspend - so it's a tricky proposition.

Regarding looks, I really love the AKLOT bamboo (same maker as KMISE):

https://www.ebay.com/itm/323885692631

However old mate at Got A Ukulele is NOT a fan of KMISE/AKLOT at all!

https://www.gotaukulele.com/2017/01/kmise-carved-cat-concert-ukulele.html

So now I'm down to either going with the KMISE/AKLOT or going to the local music store and spending probably $200 (AUD) on something along the lines of the KALA with custom setup. I'm not too sure on what constitutes a custom setup other than say a low-G tuning. Seems as though it's all about the action with nut and saddle heights and fret ends which sound pretty generic to me.

azairvine said:

I was intially all set for a KMISE based on positive feedback from UU, but then I also read that it would likely have a short shelf life as I improved and looked to get a better quality uke. I want to avoid that step, but not overspend - so it's a tricky proposition.

Regarding looks, I really love the AKLOT bamboo (same maker as KMISE):

Seems as though it's all about the action with nut and saddle heights and fret ends which sound pretty generic to me.

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Sounds to me like you are on the right track.

I wondered if I bought a "cheap" ukulele to start with if I'd soon want to upgrade so why not start out with a nicer one right off the bat? That is definitely one way to look at it, with no right or wrong answer. The counter of course was that if I gave up on playing after a couple months would I want to have invested in a "non cheap" ukulele?

As far as the KMISE, there is a thread about it in the Uke Talk section and I believe that Choirguy has said that he is familiar with the KMISE and the AKLOT bamboo. You may want to ask him for some information.

Re custom setup, there are differing points of view. Many of the comments that I read on UU seem to favor custom setup while the review that I linked does not consider it necessary.

I have no personal experience with them but I seem to recall that Caramel brand ukes were well thought of as a good choice for those looking for a starter uke without having to pay very much money.