Good uke for travel???

Thanks for your replies guys. Wow, there's certainly food for thought among these suggestions. My "travel" uke criteria are simple a) it's got to be cheap enough not to matter if it gets stolen or damaged, b) durable enough to hopefully survive potential damage, and c) small enough to go in my suitcase. I'm realistic and realise I'm not going to get the best sounding uke but if the intonation is there and there's some volume it could be fun.

I'm seriously swaying towards the plastic Dolphin for the above reasons but on a portability level, has anyone played a Kala Pocket Uke and are they any good/value for money etc?

This thread's still going?

The Dolphin is (a) under $50, (b) as durable as any other uke, and (c) easily packed in a suitcase. Call up a good uke shop, and ask for the best-sounding Dolphin they've got. Or, if possible, play a few and decide for yourself. Seriously, it's the best option.

I haven't played a Kala pocket uke, but scuttlebutt is they're too small for most people to play comfortably.

But since you're still on the fence here's a little more to think about: If (c) is really important, you could get an Ohana sopranino---a couple inches shorter than a soprano, and a very sweet sound. These cost about as much as three Dolphins, or half of a Kala pocket uke.

Seriously, though, Dolphin!!

I am sure the kala and everyother thin uke is a fine instrument but it is not any easier to travel with.

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My Kala fits in the pocket on the back of my roll aboard suitcase, nough said?

I haven't played a Kala pocket uke, but scuttlebutt is they're too small for most people to play comfortably

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I say try one for yourself, I can only say that I love playing mine just as much as my Kanile'a.

One more thing to add to this thread before it dies, make sure you have your new uke set up by someone qualified to do it. Especially if you get a cheap uke. I had all three of my Kala travel ukes set up by Music Guy Mike. He told me the action is all over the place from the factory. This makes all the difference in the world. Good luck

A friend of mine took a beater uke to Antarctica, serenaded the penguins and left it there for a new-found friend to enjoy.

You may want to consider bringing a beater (or at least an inexpensive uke) to leave behind to spread the 'Aloha' and
help 'infect' the rest of the world with the love of uke.

I would also suggest somehow altering the appearance of the uke
so that when it randomly appears on YouTube you'll be able to recognize it
and take great satisfaction in its use somewhere
in the world!

keep uke'in',

What a great idea Uncle Rod. I watched a You Tube video on where we're going to the other night and one of the comments was about how poor the local population is. Apparently they have nothing, no extras in their lives so I might just do as you suggest and leave the uke behind, maybe to the local school and hope that they get as much pleasure as we do from the ukulele. Hey, you're turning me into a ukulele evangelist!

Sporin said:

following this discussion because I'm trying to figure out which uke to take to the beach for a week in May (Fort Myers).

I'm leery of taking either of my wood ukes because of the salt, sand, humidity, sweat, etc. I'm afraid they'll get damaged. The Dolphin seems the obvious choice but I feel like I won't be able to hear it well enough on a windy beach due to it's small size.

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Shouldn't worry too much. Just make sure you acclimate it slowly to the humidity. My Pono was exposed to the humidity, salt and sweat on a pretty regular basis when I lived in Miami and when I spent a week in Antigua it spent most of the time on the boat or on a beach. There's still some sand in it, but never had an issue. Just make sure you wipe down the metal parts after wards so they don't rust up if they happen to get too much salty water on them. Think about it this way, Uke's are from Hawaii.

I like Rod's idea, a lot......but I will say that it's my trusty flea that I take travelin' I can stuff it into my suitcase or carry-on and it's taken a beatin' and kept on tickin." (I actually stuffed three of them into my son's carry-on when were flying down to the Cerritos festival a couple of years ago. (He's a light packer....) And there's plenty of room in the gig bag to stuff your clothes, and other stuff along with the uke....if you need to. They're very light weight and I found that once I replaced the strings with fluorocarbon, that sucker stayed in tune forever. And you can decorate them to your heart's desire with decals, stickers, whatever......I love mine, and though I have a KoAloha that I play at home, my flea is my best friend on the road.....I think they're amazing.

Elaine
www.kani-ka-pila.com

The novelty of the pocket uke is neat, but it's super tiny. It's too small to do anything but basic chords on. I'd really go with the dolphin or a kala travel soprano. Personally I do a flea in a hard case. It fits fine under the seat on planes so no worries there

The best travel uke is the nicest one you can afford to replace. They are all small enough IMO. Ill be travelling all summer with either my captain backpacker uke, a Pono, or an Islander.

This is an awesome idea! Yeah, I'd go with a beater. If you've got the cash, you could go for a Blackbird but that's a big investment. The idea of leaving behind a beater for a perfect stranger to fall in love with the uke is fantastic. I'm so doing that on my next vacation.

Uncle Rod Higuchi said:

A friend of mine took a beater uke to Antarctica, serenaded the penguins and left it there for a new-found friend to enjoy.

You may want to consider bringing a beater (or at least an inexpensive uke) to leave behind to spread the 'Aloha' and
help 'infect' the rest of the world with the love of uke.

I would also suggest somehow altering the appearance of the uke
so that when it randomly appears on YouTube you'll be able to recognize it
and take great satisfaction in its use somewhere
in the world!

keep uke'in',

Click to expand...

ricdoug said:

Here’s an Airline solid body I performed on at the Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim in 2010:

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Hey Ricdoug
What did you think of the Airline electric?
–Lori

How about these for Beach Ukes?

BeardedGent said:

This is an awesome idea! Yeah, I'd go with a beater. If you've got the cash, you could go for a Blackbird but that's a big investment. The idea of leaving behind a beater for a perfect stranger to fall in love with the uke is fantastic. I'm so doing that on my next vacation.

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Yeah its a cool idea for sure-- great way to spread the love. Ive already given away two of my Islanders. HMS must think I am nuts since I have bought 4 of the same Islander model from them in the past year haha.

This uke is great for travel or playing at nights....or cruises...It has a punchy enough sound for its size....I was amazed of it...and it has great intonation.....you just cant go wrong...
http://www.captainukuleles.co.nz/backpacker.html
when it first came out...it was a bargin...130... and 150 for a pickup a great deal
I assume it has gone up though

Lori said:

Hey Ricdoug
What did you think of the Airline electric?
–Lori

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The action and intonation were great, Lori. They had it plugged into a class A 5 watt tube amp, so the attack was instant and it sounded like a high pitched electric guitar (guitars are their speciality). I'd have to play one through an acoustic amp to give an honest assessment. Ric

mm stan said:

This uke is great for travel or playing at nights....or cruises...It has a punchy enough sound for its size....I was amazed of it...and it has great intonation.....you just cant go wrong...
http://www.captainukuleles.co.nz/backpacker.html
when it first came out...it was a bargin...130... and 150 for a pickup a great deal
I assume it has gone up though

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Looks like you need some sort of wrench to tune the strings?

The carbon fiber stuff is definitely bullet proof but can be costly and attracts maybe unwanted attention esp. in that posh weave aesthetic. Flea is pretty good too, but you may wish to consider one of those all plastic jobs.

Fishing in India sounds great- Mahseer? Goonch?

Terence

First of all guys, thanks for the myriad of suggestions, wow, certainly food for thought there. Although a carbon fibre uke would be great they cost far more than I'm willing to spend. A Dolphin would be ideal I suppose if I was going to leave it behind (still an idea). The Ovation sounds like the type of thing I'm after but in every sound sample I've heard, to my ears, the Flea seems superior acoustically. I used to have an Ovation guitar and whilst great plugged in it just didn't work for me when played unamplified. So the Flea is on my shortlist as with all the fishing tackle I'll be taking carrying an amp is out.

This one sounds very interesting:

mm stan said:

This uke is great for travel or playing at nights....or cruises...It has a punchy enough sound for its size....I was amazed of it...and it has great intonation.....you just cant go wrong...
http://www.captainukuleles.co.nz/backpacker.html
when it first came out...it was a bargin...130... and 150 for a pickup a great deal
I assume it has gone up though

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But I'm not sure about the shape. It kind of reminds me of a Martin Backpacker guitar and they sound dreadful despite the "Martin" label; the size of the sound board has a lot to do with this. How does it sound compared to a "normal" uke? Are there any sound samples and does it need a wrench to tune it (they look like autoharp pegs)? Apart from these observations (if I could hear what it sounds like) this is within budget and could be shortlisted as I have time to order one from NZ.

The other uke I like the sound of, and that seems like it fits the bill, is the Ohana Sopranino; does anyone have any experience of one of these? They look like they'll take up the minimum of bag space whilst still being playable and, from what I've seen on You Tube, sound great for the size. It's slightly cheaper than the Flea but being wood might not be as durable. Any opinions???

And yes, Terence, it's the mighty Mahseer we're after!!!!:drool::drool:

I have heard the Ohana Sopranino, it sounds great. I did not play it though, just heard it.

Steelarts,

I have both an Ohana sopranino and a Bruko travel uke (the slim one). My two cents:

The Ohana sounds great and full, and as you would imagine a solid mahogany uke (albeit a higher pitch). You can play with different tunings (mine's tuned to D), which is fun, too. That said, I treat it like a solid-bodied uke. I'm not sure how well it would withstand travel. Plus -- I'm guessing this has to do with the scale -- it can be a bit of a bear to tune; it is very sensitive. I've also heard there can be intonation issues up the fretboard, although mine seems fine.

The Bruko is solid maple and has that distinct Bruko sound -- again, my guess is it's a result of the one-piece carved bridge and saddle. It's brighter than the Ohana, and a heck of a lot sturdier. It's still light, mind you, but it feels strong. There's fewer pieces in total, which to my mind means fewer opportunities for mishaps, and it's stained black, which allows for, well, less careful handling. I got mine used, so it had a couple of nicks on it. I added my first nick last night , and it just felt character-building. I would not have had the same reaction with the Ohana.

I also had/have a dolphin. I lent it to a student (a responsible one) and within twelve hours the neck was snapped from the body. They're great little instruments, especially for the price, but durable is not the first adjective that comes to mind. (Then again, if you don't sit on it then this point is moot.)

An earlier post, I think it was DNewton's, makes a valid point: You're not saving all that much space with a travel/short scale uke, so any durable soprano would work. Have you checked out the new plastic ukes through Kiwaya?

http://takumiukulele.com/noveltyukuleles.html

Cheers.