Beginners should just buy from Amazon

kaimuki said:
Yes , it is .
But not every total beginner wants to spend that .
So Amazon and other online vendors can be a viable option .
Or not ?
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You can pay for a full setup on cheaper ukes. But it's the beginner who doesn't realize the value in that.
 
I bought a Kala tenor from the Southern Ukulele store a few years ago and it is an absolute Aladdins cave of instruments….. the problem now is that it’s not open at weekends !! What’s that about ??
 
pilbeam said:
I bought a Kala tenor from the Southern Ukulele store a few years ago and it is an absolute Aladdins cave of instruments….. the problem now is that it’s not open at weekends !! What’s that about ??
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Have you asked them? Perhaps they'll tell you. I am sure that they had their reasons.
 
Amazon is one way of doing it. On the other hand, I think beginners should all get Kamakas. If you're gonna do it, may as well do it right. And don't whine about the cost. I was in high school, making $3.35 an hour, and I bought a several thousand dollar concert flute by paying $23.89 a month. All things can be arranged...if you want it. Or you can get a cheapie off Amazon. It is really more about you and your Weltanschauung. Do you take pride in your instruments and do your instruments say something about you? Then get a good uke. Do you get off knowing that you're gaming the system by playing good music on bad instruments, then get a cheapie.
 
ripock said:
Amazon is one way of doing it. On the other hand, I think beginners should all get Kamakas. If you're gonna do it, may as well do it right. And don't whine about the cost. I was in high school, making $3.35 an hour, and I bought a several thousand dollar concert flute by paying $23.89 a month. All things can be arranged...if you want it. Or you can get a cheapie off Amazon. It is really more about you and your Weltanschauung. Do you take pride in your instruments and do your instruments say something about you? Then get a good uke. Do you get off knowing that you're gaming the system by playing good music on bad instruments, then get a cheapie.
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Gaming the system is generally a good thing so... go for it.
 
Holy crap @ 'cheap' ukes for 100-200!

My 'Zuleika' is a plain black one from Gear4Music that cost me just 25 euros. She works just fine. Granted I play some dark music that doesn't require a warm tone.
 
Dohle said:
Gaming the system is generally a good thing so... go for it.
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Yep, it’s an old debate but at the end of the day it’s the player that makes the music and not the instrument. Of course a top class player will sound even better on a top class instrument, however a pro’ plays better on a student instrument than a student sounds on a pro’ instrument so build those skills before spending your cash.

Folk can buy something ‘super duper’ if they want to but broadly: “it ain’t what you’ve got that matters it’s what you do with it”. The longer I play the more I understand that something relatively inexpensive, with a good set-up and appropriate strings, can take you far.
 
Beginners should not buy from Amazon. Setup. Also, consider that online Ukulele sellers depend on sales to beginners to make the business work. Take beginner sales away from those folks, and soon we wouldn't have sites like Mims, or Uke Republic, etc. So, don't be steering beginners to Amazon.
 
Bill1 said:
I don't see a link between purchase price and skill level. It would appear that for some that the lowest price = beginner and highest purchase price = expert. This is a nonsense way to look at buying a musical instrument. If you want to help beginners teach them that the price is only important because we all have a budget to stick to, it has nothing to do with skill levels.
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I've always thought the same thing. Some really good players may be totally satisfied with a mid priced uke. Some new playes may want to start off with a nicer instrument. If it's in their budget, why not? A really bad "budget" uke could discourage a lot of new players.
 
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Bill1 said:
I don't see a link between purchase price and skill level. It would appear that for some that the lowest price = beginner and highest purchase price = expert. This is a nonsense way to look at buying a musical instrument. If you want to help beginners teach them that the price is only important because we all have a budget to stick to, it has nothing to do with skill levels.

Beginners who want to play uke as a job would do well to buy a medium price workhorse type uke that has good electronics. That is the best tool for the job if they want to sell tickets and perform to pay the rent.

If you follow my posts you will see that I suggest a beginner who can't decide what to buy starts with a sub-$50 uke because the first few months of playing are mostly physical training and the uke is just a piece of gym equipment for physical training. In those few months, apart from the physical training, the beginner will learn a lot about ukes, enough to be ready to work out what uke they want next without a lot of help. If they do decide to quit, they have only spent less than $50. The best place to buy a sub-$50 uke is not Amazon, its in a shop where there is a rack of them to try out and find the best of the batch, or second hand out of a dusty cupboard. Second best place is to work with a shop like HMS or Mims where they send back the duds before they get to the customers. That is for beginners who can't decide by themselves, the other beginners should get the uke they want and ignore the price if they have the cash to pay the purchase price.
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I've heard the "send back the duds before they get to customers" said before in other threads.

I'm curious how it is known that actually happens?
 
VegasGeorge said:
Beginners should not buy from Amazon. Setup. Also, consider that online Ukulele sellers depend on sales to beginners to make the business work. Take beginner sales away from those folks, and soon we wouldn't have sites like Mims, or Uke Republic, etc. So, don't be steering beginners to Amazon.
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This. Settup is everything. The last thing you want is to be disuaded from playing from a poorly set up instrument.
 
I have only been playing for a few months. I was looking online for a decent reasonable priced ukulele. Found a few I liked but decided to buy my Kala KA-C from my local music shop. It’s was $30 more than online but it was checked over and I was told by the salesman if any issues just bring it back for repair or replacement. They chucked in a free tuner as well. Happy with the service and to support local a business.
 
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