Seeking advice for which affordable ukulele to buy for brief trips

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poodle.soup

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Hi there!

I’m a new ukulele player - just bought my first in August. I have been devouring this forum the last few days. I’m traveling for about a month via budget airplane to visit my parents in Florida, which means if I wanted to take my ukulele it would be an extra $50 of carry-on baggage fees.

It occurred to me that it might make sense to just buy one for when I'm there - I’d love to have one down there so I can jam out with my dad. I don’t go very often so I’d rather not spend too much on a ukulele that I will be leaving down there, but of course I also don’t want something I won’t want to play because of the sound quality.

Currently playing a soprano Leolani made of mango wood that I really love - wonderful projection and fairly warm tone. But I knew nothing about setup when I bought this model from a music shop. Would I better off with a Kamala Shark from Mim’s Ukes, or ordering a Kala-KA-15S from Harvard House Music in California (both end up about $67 w/shipping)? Or taking my chances buying the Kala-KA-15S from Amazon (about ~$10 cheaper but I can see where the setup could be worth it)? Or is there a better option I’m overlooking?

Thanks for your advice!
 
What airline? or is it that you'll already have a lot of carry-on, perhaps...
A well respected shop I know sends back a full 1/3 of Kala ukes they receive... meaning 1/3 gets rejected in set-up. So if considering a wood uke, one w/ a good set up is likely the better way to go.

That said, if I were facing this dilemma around the prices you mentioned, I'd be really tempted to try a Flight Travel Series... perhaps one w/ a fun top...

Bias disclaimer: I've had good luck w/ off the shelf 2nd hand plastic ukes from eBay.
 
Of those choices, I would probably go with one that is set up. But, I agree the Flight TUS35 travel uke plays and sounds good and can usually be had for under 50. Those are a good choice. They are especially durable.
 
You’re new. Short lead time. Obviously want this to go right. Go with a forum recommended dealer who will help you pick and will do a good set up. Where you buy can make a real difference.

What about having the uke shipped directly to your parents?
 
Thank you all for the help! I really appreciate any advice.

Airline is Allegiant - similar to RyanAir in Europe. Cheap for the flight itself but anything other than breathing is an additional cost. Unfortunately, even if my ukulele were my only carry-on, it wouldn't fit under the seat as this airline requires for a free personal item.

Re: shipping directly to my parents, I thought about it but when we ship things to and from Florida (books, cookies, whatever) it generally isn't very cheap so I kind of assumed such an oddly sized package would add up in price, plus the worry of breakage if I fail to package it as nicely as a professional.

I'm quite interested in the Flight TUS35, but wondering what your experience has been as to the feel of a plastic fretboard versus wood?
 
poodle.soup said:
Thank you all for the help! I really appreciate any advice.

Airline is Allegiant - similar to RyanAir in Europe. Cheap for the flight itself but anything other than breathing is an additional cost. Unfortunately, even if my ukulele were my only carry-on, it wouldn't fit under the seat as this airline requires for a free personal item.

Re: shipping directly to my parents, I thought about it but when we ship things to and from Florida (books, cookies, whatever) it generally isn't very cheap so I kind of assumed such an oddly sized package would add up in price, plus the worry of breakage if I fail to package it as nicely as a professional.

I'm quite interested in the Flight TUS35, but wondering what your experience has been as to the feel of a plastic fretboard versus wood?
Click to expand...

I thought jeffelele meant to have the dealer send the new uke directly to your parents. Definitely less than $50 airline fee and some dealers have free shipping within the US ... sadly not to Canada :(
 
glennerd said:
I thought jeffelele meant to have the dealer send the new uke directly to your parents. Definitely less than $50 airline fee and some dealers have free shipping within the US ... sadly not to Canada :(
Click to expand...

Oh, perhaps! It was always my plan to ship it directly to my parents - essentially paying ~$50 (expecting probably a bit more) to have a second uke instead of giving $50 to the airline, so I thought they were offering an alternative solution to picking a new ukulele.
 
poodle.soup said:
Thank you all for the help! I really appreciate any advice.

Airline is Allegiant - similar to RyanAir in Europe. Cheap for the flight itself but anything other than breathing is an additional cost. Unfortunately, even if my ukulele were my only carry-on, it wouldn't fit under the seat as this airline requires for a free personal item.
Click to expand...

I have traveled on several domestic and international flights with my Soprano Outdoor Ukulele inside of a regular school backpack and it fits under the seat. In my experience the school backpack is considered a personal item so if the ukulele fits inside it is good to go. YMMV
 
dgame said:
I have traveled on several domestic and international flights with my Soprano Outdoor Ukulele inside of a regular school backpack and it fits under the seat. In my experience the school backpack is considered a personal item so if the ukulele fits inside it is good to go. YMMV
Click to expand...

I'm glad to hear it can be done on some flights! Part of the appeal of the ukulele is of course the portability. If it were Southwest or some other more normal airline, I'd take the risk! Allegiant specifies maximum dimensions of 15″ x 16″ x 7″ for a personal item, and even without a case my uke (long-neck) is 23" long. I'd take the risk but the fee is raised to $50-$75 each way if they decide that my personal item is too large. There's always the chance the attendants won't pay attention, but it would suck if they decide to be particular.
 
Agreed. Technically, my setup is about 21.5” long. Diagonally it would just fit inside of a 15”x16” rectangle with the hypotenuse being 21.93”. I put it under the seat diagonally with the headstock pointing forward. There is often room under the seat where you can put the headstock over the little bar and get more room. I am not suggesting you try it with a 23 incher as I am not sure that would even fit into a standard backpack. This is just for conversation
 
Go on line to Glarry instruments. Look at the amazing prices and they play and sound as good as my very expensive ukuleles. They also pay the shipping to the destination. People in the 3 uke groups I attend are just amazed at how they look , play and sound. Oh----I sell another line that costs more. *** Having it shipped to your destination creates no travel challenges.***
 
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poodle.soup said:
Allegiant specifies maximum dimensions of 15″ x 16″ x 7″ for a personal item.
Click to expand...

How do Allegiant measure bags before the flight? Do they just (try to) put it into a basket with those dimensions?

Are you able to purchase a bag with those dimensions? If so then there’s a chance that a Soprano will fit inside and then that no questions will be asked. The top part of the headstock of many Sopranos can be cut away to just above the tuners and that will reduce the overall length, not a big resultant loss of value on a cheap instrument. Buying second hand reduces the costs too; Makala Dolphins are usually cheap enough ($30 off of eBay), make nice travel Ukes and are really tough. Learn to set it up (it’s not that hard to do) and off you go.

I believe that some of the Enya instruments bolt together and if all else fails then there’s the lonely player Uke from Ashbury. Baz Maz did a review of the lonely player here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1-KSewtbGtM .
 
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Enya EUC-X1M has gotten a lot of favorable comments, is $50 including a nice gig bag and some other accessories, and the neck bolts on and off. Might be worth a look.
 
Wukulele said:
A well respected shop I know sends back a full 1/3 of Kala ukes they receive... meaning 1/3 gets rejected in set-up.
Click to expand...

Wow -- that is a lot of rejects! What happens to all of those instruments that get sent back to the distributor?
 
I have no idea... I hope they get refurbished by the manufacturer (who I'm thinking is also the distributor for them).

It definitely made me never want to get a non-plastic uke of any brand, from a place that doesn't have a decent reputation for set-ups! I've bought (& been happy with) a few plastic Kalas + a Kiwi at a big discount from sellers on eBay that look like some sort of liquidators or buy in big lots of Amazon returns to resell...

tm3 said:
Wow -- that is a lot of rejects! What happens to all of those instruments that get sent back to the distributor?
Click to expand...
 
It ultimately comes down to the staff on one's flight & how strict they want to be. I flew from Hawaii to the mainland w/ a bag or 2 that was just barely over the weight limit (from wet stuff? extra sand? LOL directly coming from the beach or something like that).

Graham Greenbag said:
How do Allegiant measure bags before the flight? Do they just (try to) put it into a basket with those dimensions?

Are you able to purchase a bag with those dimensions? If so then there’s a chance that a Soprano will fit inside and then that no questions will be asked. The top part of the headstock of many Sopranos can be cut away to just above the tuners and that will reduce the overall length, not a big resultant loss of value on a cheap instrument. Buying second hand reduces the costs too; Makala Dolphins are usually cheap enough ($30 off of eBay), make nice travel Ukes and are really tough. Learn to set it up (it’s not that hard to do) and off you go.

I believe that some of the Enya instruments bolt together and if all else fails then there’s the lonely player Uke from Ashbury. Baz Maz did a review of the lonely player here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1-KSewtbGtM .
Click to expand...
 
Wukulele said:
I have no idea... I hope they get refurbished by the manufacturer (who I'm thinking is also the distributor for them).

It definitely made me never want to get a non-plastic uke of any brand, from a place that doesn't have a decent reputation for set-ups! I've bought (& been happy with) a few plastic Kalas + a Kiwi at a big discount from sellers on eBay that look like some sort of liquidators or buy in big lots of Amazon returns to resell...
Click to expand...

Having to re-build (or bonfire) 1/3rd of the instruments does not seem sustainable from the standpoint of a business model, but maybe the profit margin is so high that it works out in the long run.
 
tm3 said:
Having to re-build (or bonfire) 1/3rd of the instruments does not seem sustainable from the standpoint of a business model, but maybe the profit margin is so high that it works out in the long run.
Click to expand...

I expect that this "1/3" is one person's estimate at one store. The return rate overall from all the ukes they ship must be far lower.
 
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