In Praise of Cheap Ukes

My Kala pineapple plays really well. I love it. I just ordered a nice hand made tenor of ebay from Taiwan for $71. It looks good. Can't wait for it to arrive!

Santenoruke1a.jpg


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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiK3oZucTnA
 
My $59 Lanikai LU-21 was my only soprano for several years. I did spends several hours messing with the action over that time, but it was enjoyable time and I got the uke sounding pretty good. I just upgraded to a more expensive Ohana but the Lanikai will remain my travel uke. I also had a Mitchell that was under $100 but I recently sold it. The Mitchell sounded fine but was a little too quiet and I thought it looked more like a small guitar than a uke. I sold it to fund the new Ohana.
 
A strong vote for the Makala baritone...

The Makala baritone with D'Addario J68's...a very balanced sound indeed...it sounds great...and the intonation is fine. It also records very micely and is great with vocals.
 
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i got a really cheap one for my 1st. it was around £20 (sorry, dont know it in american money). its an ashton UKE100MH. it sounds rubbish, has bad tone and the frets are way out, but i cant seem to stop paying it. i've got a better uke, but still playthis one.me and my ashton .jpg
 
ilovelaika said:
i LOVE my hilo baritone. and replacing the crap strings with aquilas and tightening the tuners made a world of difference. for $45, it's great deal.

i like my savannah soprano ($30), too. just not as much.
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I'm glad to hear the Aquila's help the Hilo, I haven't been able to try mine yet. I got as a kind of luthiery practice project, it had been dropped and has a big dent in the lower bout and the tuners are worn out, although they still work, even after tightening they lean at an odd angle. But they still stay in tune once you can get them there! There was a thread a while back about someone refinishing their Hilo, and it was very nice looking. So I'm hopefull for mine, and if I ever get it done I'll have to post some pic's!
 
I have a Kala Watermelon that just amuses me to no end. Behind that is my Dolphin.
 
I'm blaming luvdatuke for this lol. I went to Sam Ash tonight and after tuning it up, I played the pants off a Makala Baritone. Very impressive sound for $69. Good intonation all the way up, very loud, good fretwork. Nothing fancy here, just sound. Got in some good practice on my Johnny Cash songs and even drove a couple of guitarists out of the acoustic room (now there's a switch). I just don't see how you could beat this uke for the price, unless you want something tiny and like a Dolphin. Of course its more like a guitar than a uke.
 
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SweetWaterBlue said:
I'm blaming luvdatuke for this lol. I went to Sam Ash tonight and after tuning it up, I played the pants off a Makala Baritone. Very impressive sound for $69. Good intonation all the way up, very loud, good fretwork. Nothing fancy here, just sound. Got in some good practice on my Johnny Cash songs and even drove a couple of guitarists out of the acoustic room (now there's a switch). I just don't see how you could beat this uke for the price, unless you want something tiny and like a Dolphin. Of course its more like a guitar than a uke.
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SWB, that thing is light, loud and lovely. Yeah, like a guitar and like a uke but the string spacing lets you get a lot in...and a lot out.

I played a Favilla mahog baritone yesterday in a vintage shop...the Makala baritone holds it own and ain't bad at all!!!
 
While we are on this subject, has anyone ever played one of the cheap azz Johnson or Excel ($38 at my local Dirt Cheep Music store) baritones? They are as cheap or cheaper than the Makalas, and I am trying to fight off the siren-call of that Makala as long as I can. I have even tuned my Kala tenor down to baritone tuning in the attempt. It sounds ok, but it just aint the same.

I also notice that Kala says the U-Bass is a baritone body with those giant bass rubber-band strings. I wonder if one of those Makala baritones could be converted to a U-Bass with the strings and a pickup, or if the string tension would fold it like a pretzel?

800px-John_William_Waterhouse_-_Ulysses_and_the_Sirens_%281891%29.jpg
 
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My best cheap uke is probably the Favilla soprano with the sloppily reset (but true) previously busted neck, missing a fret but $20. plus say about a gallon of gas and an hour's travel time. Als0 got a koa Ukulele Mfg Co. of Honolulu uke with it for another 20. plus gas, new tuners and strings. Feather light rounded back, Hawaiian style one piece top and back and frets set into the neck. Very vintage, solid mahogany. Both looked like crap and both are projects but both sound lovely. Next best cheap uke is a Giannini bari off eBay for $50, just needed a set of tuners for $14, what a nice sound on that uke. Mostly use it to stretch my fingers. ;)
 
SweetWaterBlue said:
While we are on this subject, has anyone ever played one of the cheap azz Johnson or Excel ($38 at my local Dirt Cheep Music store) baritones? They are as cheap or cheaper than the Makalas, and I am trying to fight off the siren-call of that Makala as long as I can. I have even tuned my Kala tenor down to baritone tuning in the attempt. It sounds ok, but it just aint the same.

I also notice that Kala says the U-Bass is a baritone body with those giant bass rubber-band strings. I wonder if one of those Makala baritones could be converted to a U-Bass with the strings and a pickup, or if the string tension would fold it like a pretzel?

800px-John_William_Waterhouse_-_Ulysses_and_the_Sirens_%281891%29.jpg
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Hidden in the sails of that vessel is a subliminal image of a Makala baritone of agathis...agathis...agathis...
 
I love my $78 Lepore solid zebra wood tenor that I got from taisamlu in Taiwan off ebay. Cost a fair bit to ship to the UK but it was worth every penny! Think I might get my wife a dolphin in the near future as she has shown a bit of an interest and it would be nice to play together!
 
by the price set by the op, i have one uke there. 1960's beltone plastic-fretboard, laminant soprano. not quite sure how much my dad (or my grandpa--my dad was 8, so i doubt my dad actually bought it) paid for it, but i would doubt it was more than $20 back in '68. after puting the right gauge strings, fixing the bridge, and puting on better tuners, it's an awesome uke. has a great sound and is what got me into ukes. for me, tho, it was actually free.99 :rofl:. i think in the somewhat near future, i may try different strings--although i do like the martin flourocarbons.

my oscar schmidt ou4 tenor wasn't much more than $100. i paid about $125 for it and with the d'addario pro arte strings, it totally sings!!
 
SweetWaterBlue said:
While we are on this subject, has anyone ever played one of the cheap azz Johnson or Excel ($38 at my local Dirt Cheep Music store) baritones? They are as cheap or cheaper than the Makalas, and I am trying to fight off the siren-call of that Makala as long as I can.
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No idea if this is the same one, but my second uke ever (I bought it 2002 and immediately tuned it to mandolin tuning since I had no use for a guitar with two missing bass strings, until I finally learned to play ukulele in 2006 and restringed it to reentrant G) was a Johnson. VERY cheap, 30€ new or something like that.

 
Cheapest Ukulele in UK. Sue Ryder Charity Shops carry a 'no name' ukulele for £12.99
I put some quality strings on one and it really is a nice little instrument in fact I compared to an Ohana SK10 s and although the finish and build is better with the Ohana at £45 plus the no name has the edge on projection and depth on sound. However the intonation is no so great (still it will give an harmonic at the 12 fret).
Cheapest beater in UK at Sue Ryder charity shop worth a try.
 
Cheap ukes are usually quieter than the really expensive ones. Just get one that has good intonation. They are great for just working out songs and bashing out rhythms.

My first uke a hilo was experimented on until I could no longer make any usable sound out of it. I then took the neck off the body and tried (unsuccessfully) to attach it to a cigar box. Which taught me tons about nuts, saddles, strings, setup, scale, etc.

I usually play the cheap ones the hardest and the best. Then without a thought give them away... (Hey Mr. Bruce, can you find it in your heart to send me back that green mahalo with all the stickers? it was the best ukulele ever).

BTW, I've never been able to find another mahalo that played as nice or sounded as good as that one.
 
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