Hello from Scotland

Nemo86

New member
Joined
Sep 5, 2019
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Hi guys

My daughter (whos 10 years old) just started learning the uke at school and Ive decided to learn along with her. Despite my resistance I am finding myself picking up her school issued uke and giving it a go :D

Having a look just now to purchase my first uke and I dont know where to begin, so any in put would be we appreciated.

Cheers
 
Welcome from south of the border.

Great action on your part joining the uke fraternity.

Depending upon how much you wish to spend and the type of uke you would like there are plenty of options.

There are three common sizes in Soprano, Concert and Tenor and I prefer the tenor size but what is best for you dependent upon your preferences.

As a starter uke for a very reasonable price then a Kala KA would be my choice of uke and indeed after I bought a uke kit that was of poor build quality I went for a brand that has a well proven reputation for consistent build quality and hence I bought a Kala and I am well pleased with it. The Kala KA range has the starter model then others with different wood finishes and many include the option of a built in piezo electric pickup and preamp.

Consider also ukes by Cordoba, Goldtone, Snail and Epiphone who make a neat looking concert sized Les Paul lookalike uke which is a reasonable price and has inbuilt pickup, I tried one at Reidy’s shop in Blackburn and liked it.

Ukes also come in three basic types of build, laminate, solid wood, solid bodied electric. With laminates being those of lower cost.

I suggest that you buy from a Music Store who are uke specialists, there are Duke of Uke in London, Southern Ukes in Bournemouth, World of Ukes in Carlisle, other stores may have a good selection of ukes amongst their other instrument stores such as Scayles in Edinburgh and Kennys in Glasgow and Dundee have what seems a good range. I live in Preston and The Music Cellar here has a great selection and can sell any make.

Do factor in for a case and here I would strongly suggest that you only buy a solid case and not a soft case since it will give better protection. Additionally you will need an electronic tune, I have one made by Fender which is a few pounds more but of better quality than many others, a spare set of strings.

There are free resources on the main UU website and also on ukehunt dot com where there is a free get you started pdf book for download.

Finally do check out locally where you live and you may find that a Uke Group exists, they will welcome a new member and help out in your learning.

Goid luck.
 
Another greeting from south of the border! Good advice already given,best option is to find a decent shop where you can try all the scale sizes and find the one that is for you! You will just know, when you hold it and play it,which one it may be.
 
As an adult learner, I will always suggest your first uke to be a concert scale, gives you a little bit more finger room, & slightly better sustain, (& will take a low G if you decide to try it later on).

Kala, Ohana, & Baton Rouge are good makes to consider. When I started out, I bought online from The Southern Ukulele Store, they are good suppliers.

Enjoy the journey. :)
 
Welcome to UU!
I've never been to Scotland, but I sure would like to go.
I'm of Scotch/Irish descent.
I Hope you get an ukulele that knocks your knickers off!
 
Hi guys

Thanks for the information and the warm welcome.

Ive visited my local music shop and came across a brand called Adam black. Has anyone had any experience with this brand and would recommend it.

Cheers
 
Hi guys

Thanks for the information and the warm welcome.

Ive visited my local music shop and came across a brand called Adam black. Has anyone had any experience with this brand and would recommend it.

Cheers

To be honest there are a few brands out there that have either no track record or a ‘mixed reputation’ and shops stock them to turn a quick buck. I really would not bother with anything that isn’t a well known and respected brand. If your budget is very limited then Makala is the way to go, their Concert (size) model is well respected and loads of folk get a Soprano Dolphin for their children or as a beater / travel instrument for themselves. I’ve had a Makala Concert and it served me well and I’ve had several (Makala) Dolphins too - gifted some to friends and one of my (adult) Children has mine. If you can afford a bit more then the Brunswick models are good (I have had one of their Sopranos and the Concerts are popular in my Uke Club) and a little more again will buy you a Kala KA-S or KA-C. In terms of containing costs eBay has served me well as a buyer, if the price and condition are right then second hand isn’t an issue to me.

I suggest that you join or at least make contact with your local Ukulele Club(s). The Uke community is very friendly and supportive, and most Clubs are very pleased to help beginners learn. Whilst it needn’t hold a beginner back too much getting your instrument set-up well is important and you might need local help to do that. I’ve learnt how to set my own instruments up and been very rewarded by the results.

Instrument size is very much a personal preference. I play Soprano now and have short fat fingers, but adults typically play Concerts and as a beginner I learnt a lot on Concert scale instruments. I play a couple of basic Kala Sopranos now and they serve me well, they weren’t expensive to buy and played acceptably well right out of the box. The simple set up and customisation work that I’ve learnt to do over time has made a difference, but most folk would have been happy with playing those Ukes just as they came out of the box.

As for a supplier I suggest World of Ukes in Carlisle. I’ve not dealt with them myself but acquaintances have visited the shop and been pleased with the outcome, IIRC the owner is a long term Uke enthusiast and used to be the Uke expert at Omega Instruments (Omega were a large mall order outfit and he left them a while before they stopped trading). Most mail order ‘Uke’ shops will tell you that they set Ukes up before dispatch, my experience doesn’t support their statements. To be fair their profit margins just aren’t large enough to support the time needed to do that work, but once you’re past the complete beginner stage your Local Uke Club might have some capable old guys in it who are happy to do or help with that work for a relatively modest charge.
 
Last edited:
Hi guys

My daughter (whos 10 years old) just started learning the uke at school and Ive decided to learn along with her. Despite my resistance I am finding myself picking up her school issued uke and giving it a go :D

Having a look just now to purchase my first uke and I dont know where to begin, so any in put would be we appreciated.

Cheers

Welcome from across the pond down in South Carolina USA.
 
Welcome Nemo. There have been some very good suggestions made here, and I also say join a group, but the only way to get better at playing is to play everyday, even just for a few minutes.


This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 11 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 35)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
Welcome, Nemo. Glad to have you. I used to study at the College of Piping in Glasgow. I love Scotland (ancestors from Cameron Country). Alba gu brath!
 
Top Bottom