Advice on a specific Uke please.

Tonks

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Hey Guys!

firstly excellent site you have here! wasnt sure how much info i could find on playing a ukulele but this is a real treat!

Ok so on to the question in hand!

I'm a beginner at Ukulele, and by beginner I mean I don't quite own one yet :D
BUT! I have been offered one for a good price from a friend, its a;

Lanikai Concert Ukulele LU-21C

Any good? or do i need to politely decline? hows this going to be for a beginner coming across from acoustic guitar?

thanks in advance guys :)
 
cheers thanks looks like im onto a winner,

although im a lefty and its setup for right handed people, I assume I can just reverse the strings? (will probably put new ones in anyway)
 
The nice thing about ukes is that the strings are a lot closer to each other in thickness than guitar strings are, so you can (usually) get away with switching to lefty without modifying the bridge or nut at all. And that particular uke is great to start out with; go for it!
 
Lanikai is a fine ukulele to start with or even as a keeper for that matter. And the concert scale should be no challenge even for the stretchiest of chords. Just make sure that all is as it should be and that no major repairs are evident, and that all the straight parts are straight and all the curved parts are curved! Expect ukulele of this caliber to need at least some attention to the string action though, especially if it's never been been done before or it has enough age on it that things have changed just a bit. At the very least a string change is probably in order. I like Aquila's for starters.
Welcome, good luck, congratulations and have fun!

Chuck Moore
More Bettah Ukuleles
http://www.moorebettahukes.com
 
Thanks for the kind words/ advice.

Something about a ukulele that gets everyone smiling, certainly part of its charm :D

could you give me some advice on strings? I'm seeing stuff like

Aquila Nylgut Ukulele Strings Tenor C Tuning with Low G

at the moment im a bit :confused: obviously something il learn more on as i go along, but thought I would order some in even though I'm not picking up the uke for another week.

Thanks again!
 
I've heard those lanikai's are good for starters, and I'm getting one myself here within the next month :)
 
Yeah I want something decent as I made that mistake on an acoustic guitar, really hurt my playing as I thought it was me, spent some money on a good guitar and my playing really took off. fingers crossed on the Ukulele then!
 
The Nylgut string is shooting to be an old school gut type string in feel and sound, like all strings some people like some don't, I like them on some Uke's and not on others.

Tenor refers to Uke size.

C tuning is the standard gCEA tuning, and what seems to be folks are using today.

Low G refers to the top string being tuned Low G instead of the normal High g again some folk like some don't, mostly found on Tenor Ukes, but I have a Low G Soprano just because I can.
Some Q&A about High g Low G.
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5857

Hope this helps.
 
. . . Aquila Nylgut Ukulele Strings Tenor C Tuning with Low G
If you're just starting out, I would recommend getting a set with re-entrant tuning (gCEA) vs a low G set at least till you're comfortable with chord familiarity. You may not like the tone of a low G after learning songs with the regular tuning. Just my two €ents ...
 
Ah bummer!

He's Not wanting to sell it anymore (probably because I was so excited about getting it ^*&%£ so and so!)

But, all is not lost! This Ukulele gig looks like good fun so I'm going to buy a new one from a store, the model I was originally getting looks like a reasonable price new - does anyone have any information on what I should be looking for when buying a Uke? Obviously I cant play one to see how it sounds so any tips appreciated.
 
Ukuleles that you see in pictures, you can't really tell how big they are until you get them. The first ukulele i recieved was a kamaka TI Concert (i dont remember) but since i was 6 feet tall, my fingers couldn't grasp the frets well. I moved on and bought a tenor, which was perfect for me. The tenor is also the size that Aldrine uses in his videos. He does note that the sound is different between a tenor and a concert size, but if you have big fingers, i'd go with the tenor.

For a begginer and your not that tall, definitly go with the concert, then get a tenor if you become more experienced and you want a resonating sound. Hope this helps
 
Ukuleles that you see in pictures, you can't really tell how big they are until you get them. The first ukulele i recieved was a kamaka TI Concert (i dont remember) but since i was 6 feet tall, my fingers couldn't grasp the frets well. I moved on and bought a tenor, which was perfect for me. The tenor is also the size that Aldrine uses in his videos. He does note that the sound is different between a tenor and a concert size, but if you have big fingers, i'd go with the tenor.

For a begginer and your not that tall, definitly go with the concert, then get a tenor if you become more experienced and you want a resonating sound. Hope this helps


I'd have to disagree with this. I'm just about 6 feet tall and I play a soprano without any trouble. Aldrine is almost 5 feet tall and he plays a tenor. The best thing to do is pick up a few and try them out.
 
I'd have to disagree with this. I'm just about 6 feet tall and I play a soprano without any trouble. Aldrine is almost 5 feet tall and he plays a tenor. The best thing to do is pick up a few and try them out.



Wow... and im right in the middle... and i play a concert.... we should shoot like a 3 bears with ukulele short video with deach me and aldrine and then "goldyLocks" looking for the perfect uke... HAHA this tenor is too big... this soprano is tooo small... but this concert is justtttt right.. then we needa find a grnadpa bear to be playing a baritone
 
I'd have to disagree with this. I'm just about 6 feet tall and I play a soprano without any trouble. Aldrine is almost 5 feet tall and he plays a tenor. The best thing to do is pick up a few and try them out.

*@ Deach* Well it really depends on the style you want to play. I cant play the soprano at all, but you can.

*@ Tonks*But whichever way, don't go for huge ukulele like a baritone, but settle with a concert/tenor size. Check out any musican store, they'll be sure to keep a size or 2 for you to try out, then you can go online for a more variety or ukes that have good sound.
 
I'm 6' 2" with very large hands (I can never find gloves that fit) and I can play soprano. I started on a concert and now go back and forth between the two depending on which room I'm in and which one is closer to my outstretched arm.

It's not really about size as it is practice. I'd say that the extra scale on a tenor may make it more easily accessible initially to somebody starting. There's more room for clumsy fingers but it's not any harder or easier to otherwise play. The mechanics are the same.

Initially after moving to uke from being a long time guitar player I couldn't comprehend how anybody could play on a tiny neck like a soprano. It just seemed so crowded. My fingers got in their own way. Then I got one and practiced. It's not a problem anymore.
It's all about familiarity with the instrument and practice, practice, practice not about hand size. (you kids, always obsessing about size. is it too big? is it too small? geeesh...:rolleyes:)

Ultimately it's a choice about sound. Are you looking for a traditional ukulele sound, a slightly fuller version in the concert or a tenor sound. That more or less should inform your choice as to the uke you play.
 
Shoot make it hard... I have 4 different Uke's with different fret spacing.

Go back and forth between a Soprano and a Tenor, and have a Pono Soprano where the frets are closer together than the Kala Soprano you own, then pick up your long neck Flea just to mix up the fret spacing!!!!!

A G chord shape is the same no matter how close the frets are, just not as much room to be sloppy...

And sizing does'nt always relate to tone my Spruce top Tenor is higher in tone than my Mahogany Pono Soprano.
 
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