the importance of a GOOD uke.

grubblybubbly

grubblybubbly

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this is partly for me, and partly to prove to my friends why i should get a good uke (talking $200 range maybe) instead of being happy with the laminate mahalo i have. what are the most notable differences in good and bad ukes? is it worth the money for something a little more?

your comments appreciated!:D
 
A $200 uke will look better, feel better, sound better, be easier to play, be more likely for you to sound good while playing....need I go on?
 
:agree:Agreed, and a "good" uke will last longer, has a chance to both get better sounding and more valuable with age (hey, you want plausible arguments!?) Also the more you spend on a ukulele, the more likely you are to stick with it because you have made an investment in yourself as well as the uke! I have found in my UAS driven mania that a $200 dollar uke is vastly superior in sound and playability than say a $30 special, I have gone over the $500 mark and found the difference to be exponential...I can only imagine how much better Kamaka or MoreBettah custom would be. Bottom line...after careful research and listening to/trying out different models, buy the best ukulele you can afford. You will treasure it more and perhaps suffer less UAS than some of us have. :2cents:
 
Any of the brands people buy around here often, Mainland, Lanakai, Pono. . . . are all good ukes. A good uke will have decent intonation and will be set up to your liking. . . and you will enjoy it BIG. I think if you can't find one locally there's prolly some guy round here who can help you out. . .
 
uber_goober said:
Of course, the best uke is the one you have with you.
Click to expand...

Nah, not for me - unless it's my instrument (or Herb Ohta Jr.'s). Even if I'm at the music store playing a nice instrument, I still think: "man, I wish I had my Kamaka in my hands". But I almost always have my Kamaka with me, so it doesn't really matter.

Everyone else has already pretty much covered it. I'll vouch for the fact that a Kamaka or Moore Bettah or anything else like that is phenomenally better. A nice Pono for like $500 might sound and look great, but the workmanship of the even higher end instruments just really adds something. Maybe it's soul. Well, no, not maybe - it's soul. Deffinitly worth it to save up and get the best you can buy. Of course at a certain point, all money adds is bling, and for me that doesn't make the 'ukulele better, just more blingy. With every new instrument you buy, you gain more experience about the instrument and I do think it's good to trek the middle ground, so I say totally go for a $200 uke before you go all the way. The next one can be koa! Just my 2 cents.

PS: great signature. Peanut butter and duck tape makes the world go round.
 
A good ukulele is easier to play, sounds better, looks better, etc. I know that's been said before, but one other thing about that is that you will play it more because of those factors. And that's a good thing! Also, if you get a solid wood instrument, as opposed to a laminate, it will (generally) sound better as it ages.
 
Been to the middle of the road and it was OK, but lets just say that the upper end is way better.
 
haolejohn said:
$200 range is what I recommend for starters. You will get a solidwood ukulele for that price. My first uke was an oscar schmidt ou-2 and it just sucked. Once i got my first decent uke (mele concert) i was hooked. What are you looking at getting?
Click to expand...

maybe a thinline travel kala soprano. i just want something made of wood and soprano. after that i want the best i can get for 200. oh, and geared tuners are nice.

Chris Tarman said:
A good ukulele is easier to play, sounds better, looks better, etc. I know that's been said before, but one other thing about that is that you will play it more because of those factors. And that's a good thing! Also, if you get a solid wood instrument, as opposed to a laminate, it will (generally) sound better as it ages.
Click to expand...

i didn't know that. is it cause the wood becomes more relaxed and loose or something?
 
grubblybubbly said:
maybe a thinline travel kala soprano. i just want something made of wood and soprano. after that i want the best i can get for 200. oh, and geared tuners are nice.



i didn't know that. is it cause the wood becomes more relaxed and loose or something?
Click to expand...

For $200 you can get this: http://www.meleukulele.com/shopexd.asp?id=1
or this:
http://www.meleukulele.com/shopexd.asp?id=305

I know these don't have geared tuners but i don't see why Mele couldn't do that for you.
 
I would definately recommend a solid wood uke. I know that haolejohn is a big fan of Mele. You will find a huge difference in sound quality and playability over what you have now. But beware, you are opening Pandora's box.:)
 
dkcrown said:
I would definately recommend a solid wood uke. I know that haolejohn is a big fan of Mele. You will find a huge difference in sound quality and playability over what you have now. But beware, you are opening Pandora's box.:)
Click to expand...

what do you mean? that i will get addicted? if that's it, i'm sure i will!
 
You don't have to get a solid wood uke for $200.
I know solid wood ukes sound "better", with more resonance and tone.
But in the $200 range, a well made laminate uke may "overall" be a better instrument than a solid-wood instrument, from other features.
I didn't notice a huge difference between a laminate Koa Kala uke and an all-solid mahogany Kala uke, which were both priced around the same from MGM.

If it were my money, I would get the Kala Flame Mahogany Tenor with the new electronics and built-in tuner.
It may sound a bit gentler than a solid-wood uke, but it's just packed with features, is well built and looks pretty :D

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Flame-mahog...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4cedf79187

And yes, a good uke like the ones mentioned so far in this topic is a SIGNIFICANT upgrade from a Mahalo.
You form a new set of 'minimum standards' once you've tried something better.
And by no means is the Mahalo representative of laminate ukes, there are great laminates and the not-so-great.

Apparently the Kiwaya laminate ukes outperform most solid ukes in its price range. I also heard great things about the Flea/Fluke.
There is also the added bonus of not having to give a stuff about humidity over a $200 instrument if you go with laminate.
 
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