WTB - decent Soprano uke -

M

mark howard

Well-known member
Joined
May 23, 2015
Messages
109
Reaction score
4
Hi All, and best for the new year - 2021 I'm after buying a nice soprano uke, in the region of
 
Last edited:
Hi all,
it's odd as I composed my post several times, and all that has been published is the first 2 sentences, which is cut off at in the region of, the full post did say, UK sale only, as I'm UK based and a budget of
 
it's doing it again, my post is being cut short everytime I reply, can any one help
 
Leave out the pound sign. Just write f.i. 200 pounds.
 
Thanks Ms Bean

Ok here goes, I have a budget of 600 pounds, I'm after a nice soprano, long neck or standard, any wood, or composite material, been away from ukes for such a long time, and there seems to be so many new makers out there, so if you have something that you want to sell in the 600 pound region and are in the UK, drop us a line,

All the best Mark
 
Import into the U.K. will almost certainly be expensive, don’t forget that there will be ‘value added tax’ on imports, etc. With that in mind and the current CV disruption restricting yourself to UK sellers makes a lot of sense to me.

For that type of money you might well be able to buy something rather nice that’s also new - many good options are available. In case you didn’t already know the Ken Timms replica Martin Sopranos are very popular and, I recon, just within your budget. You might also have just enough budget to commission a plain instrument too.
 
Last edited:
Also leave out curly quotes and apostrophes - if you are typing on iPhone you can hold down apostrophe key and force a straight / vertical apostrophe.

As far as sopranos on a budget if you can get into the $200+ range my recommendations start and end with Kiwaya KS-1 or KS-5. I understand that the Japanese-built Famous equivalents are just as good and may be easier to find recently.
 
You might want to check out custom ukulele builder Kevin Mulcock of KM Ukuleles in South Wales. He is well within your budget.

https://km-ukuleles.com/

His craftsmanship is meticulous and the ukes are beautiful and sound terrific.

Baz at www.gotaukulele.com has reviewed a couple of his ukuleles.

He is a great guy. Worth talking to.

I have this little beauty I got for my wife:

Screen Shot 2019-05-12 at 12.36.02 AM.jpg

PS: I just checked Kevin's website and he may not be able to build right now. He also works at NHS and with COVID-19, he may be unable to fill any orders right now.
 
Last edited:
Pretty much any uke at the top of your budget will be at least "decent". There won't be much difference in terms of quality and choice will depend entirely on your personal preference for specific features. A warning sign of poor quality in this price range is often excess bling and heavy glossy finish, and a plain looking open pore finished model may actually be of better quality.
 
Agreed, at 600 GBP you’re in pretty good territory but I would avoid brands that are overbuilt, have large ebony bridges or pin bridges. Pono and Kanile'a would be 2 to avoid imho, at least for smaller ukes. You definitely don’t want an instrument that weighs more than 16 oz.
 
I have a post open with a Martin styke 2 mahogany, and I am in Denmark... Not sure how brexit affect things though...
 
In that price range and in the UK, definitely go for a Ken Timms as proposed above.
They are just marvelous instruments and you won't want any other soprano after that :)
 
Thanks to all for the advice, loads to to work on there, I had heard of the Timms model, about 5 years ago, and can see they hold there price on the used market, when they come up.
Nice simple traditional look as well, good to see the absence of all that bling that's appeared on a lot of the new stuff, and I'd near more thn bling to improve my playing....

thanks again Guys and Gals
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
WTB - decent Guitalele
Replies
0
Views
347
mark howard
M
T
WTB: decent tenor uke for beginner
Replies
17
Views
2K
PTOEguy
P
J
WTB: A decent koa/mango uke at low(ish) price
Replies
2
Views
519
Dan Uke
Dan Uke
zigy11
WTB: Half Decent Tenor
Replies
5
Views
863
Kanaka916
Kanaka916
H
WTB: decent tenor
Replies
13
Views
2K
helitech
H
Top Bottom