what are the best concert ukuleles for under US$250?

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man0a

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Alex from SUS recently posted a video about his favorite ukuleles for beginners. He listed 12 concert ukuleles priced up to 200 UK pounds. Since he works at an ukulele store, the list includes only instruments that the store sells. That also means he lists several models from brands like Kai and Snail that are not widely available in the USA.

If you were going to create a similar list of ukuleles that were easily available from real music stores in the USA (not Amazon), what would you add to his list? The most expensive model on his list costs about $250 in the USA, so try to stay under that price.

His list is:
Kai KCI-90
Kai KCI-100M
AnueNue U2
Kala KA-SSEM-C
AnueNue UC10
Snail SUC-M1
Flight MUC-2
AnueNue C3
Kai KCI-700
Ohana CK70R
Islander MOC-4
Flight Diana CE

 
The most recent uke I bought was a HanoHano long neck soprano for $80 and I thought it was much better than any other uke under $350 in that store. But I don't think this is a very common brand.
 
Painting with a broad brush, I'd pick a trusted shop (https://theukulelesite.com , https://mimsukes.com , etc) and not go wrong with anything in your range. Several of the ones on SUS' list are available from those shops.

Stepping out of those, Flukes and Fleas (https://magicfluke.com ) just make it into your price range. Mainland (http://www.mainlandukuleles.com/ ) also has a concert that just squeaks in under $250.

I like quirky and colourful, so I'd probably choose a Flea or the aNueNue AC10 for myself.
If forced to stay in this price range it'd be the aNueNue - I'd want to upgrade the Flea out of range. This is why I don't have a Flea.

I have the baritone version of Captain Janeway's Kala Cedar/Acacia and it's brilliant. The concert's in stock at HMS, but a bit out of price range at $270.
 
I think I've seen Snail ukes more and more in certain US based uke shops so I think availability for those is getting better. It's a real shame Kai ukuleles aren't really available in the US. They represent incredible value for the money in my opinion, especially at the more beginner end.

Aside from the Obvious Kala and Ohana models, you could add so many different Flight and aNueNue models to that list. They have loads of really nice ukes under that $250 price range, aNueNue in particular.

Brands that spring to mind and were not mentioned in the video include Leolani, which I think is much more common in the US, and Kiwaya, whose Student series are incredibly good for laminate instruments. They just came out with a new tenor model in the Student series - the KTU-1 - which sits just at that $250 / 200 GBP price point.
 
I had the Ohana CK70 ( with the morbinda back)...I really liked it a lot! That said, all of these are factory made and are not going to have the kind of quality control that one might wish for (luthier/small shop made), so a "good one" of any would beat a "bad one" of any other.
 
man0a said:
Alex from SUS recently posted a video about his favorite ukuleles for beginners. He listed 12 concert ukuleles priced up to 200 UK pounds. Since he works at an ukulele store, the list includes only instruments that the store sells. That also means he lists several models from brands like Kai and Snail that are not widely available in the USA.

If you were going to create a similar list of ukuleles that were easily available from real music stores in the USA (not Amazon), what would you add to his list? The most expensive model on his list costs about $250 in the USA, so try to stay under that price.

His list is:
Kai KCI-90
Kai KCI-100M
AnueNue U2
Kala KA-SSEM-C
AnueNue UC10
Snail SUC-M1
Flight MUC-2
AnueNue C3
Kai KCI-700
Ohana CK70R
Islander MOC-4
Flight Diana CE

Click to expand...

Any stand outs for you ?
 
merlin666 said:
The most recent uke I bought was a HanoHano long neck soprano for $80 and I thought it was much better than any other uke under $350 in that store. But I don't think this is a very common brand.
Click to expand...

This looks like the HanoHano I've seen online .​

Leolani 4 String Soprano Longneck Mahogany Honu Ukulele .​

07caee_e3347eb4d15c452f86958a642f492594~mv2_d_4480_6720_s_4_2.jpg
 
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Cordoba 25C ukuleles are very under rated. they have solid acacia tops, laminate acacia back and sides and retail for about $200 usd.

1632137354231.png
 
kaimuki said:

This looks like the HanoHano I've seen online .​

Leolani 4 String Soprano Longneck Mahogany Honu Ukulele .​

View attachment 135849
Click to expand...
Yes mine looks the same and they have the same address. Though when I emailed Leolani they said that they just share office space and are not the same company. Well go figure, I think they share more than the office.
 
According to my search , HanoHano started doing business in Honolulu in 2016 as a one person company .
Their listed address at that time was in a different location from Leolani .
Their email address at the time was listed as :

hanohano-ukulele@gmali.com
 
The founder of HanoHano was one of the co-founders of Leolani .
 
kaimuki said:
According to my search , HanoHano started doing business in Honolulu in 2016 as a one person company .
Their listed address at that time was in a different location from Leolani .
Their email address at the time was listed as :

hanohano-ukulele@gmali.com
Click to expand...
I think I tried that and did not get a response. Anyway, when I bought it almost 2 years ago they had six in the store and this was the best. With ukes in this price range there is huge instrument to instrument variation so they are best bought in store where you can compare. After a while of playing I noticed sharp fret ends so I brought it back to the store and they fixed it immediately and now it feels perfect. Big thumbs up to Good Guys! One of the best features is its thick neck and wide string spacing which makes it perfect for beginners who have difficulty with clean fingering.
 
Do you recall the other models you played it against ?

In a video on TUS site Corey says the longer neck brings up slightly more string tension which results in better clarity , brightness , volume and sustain ; it's a better sounding soprano .

Leolani+Showcase.jpeg
 
kaimuki said:
Do you recall the other models you played it against ?

In a video on TUS site Corey says the longer neck brings up slightly more string tension which results in better clarity , brightness , volume and sustain ; it's a better sounding soprano .
Click to expand...
I was looking for cheap beach uke and tried everything in various stores under $250. Of course there were Kala and Ohana etc which I don't care for. I think also a Flea in a store which was surprisingly nice, but didn't want to spend so much for it. And soprano scale is too short for me.
 
If you have small (and I mean tiny, like kid size hands) hands, the Mainland I have feels better in my hands than my other ukes.
The suggestions above are great, I'm just making a comment on size.
 
merlin666 said:
I was looking for cheap beach uke and tried everything in various stores under $250. Of course there were Kala and Ohana etc which I don't care for. I think also a Flea in a store which was surprisingly nice, but didn't want to spend so much for it. And soprano scale is too short for me.
Click to expand...
This is a google translation from Japanese Language website of UkuleleHouse in Waikiki :

MY NAME IS HANOHANO UKULELE. Actually, it's a brand made independently by LEOLANI craftsmen.
I lasered the design ukulele, which was just a toy, into a very good ukulele.
It's a ukulele limited to Hawaii.

https://www.ukulelehouse.jp/store.html
 
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