Yet another first Ukulele buying advice thread...

donluca

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 14, 2020
Messages
68
Reaction score
0
Context:

I've been playing classical guitar for 5 years and electric guitar for 3.
I fingerpick my electric guitar because I just can't get the right feeling with a pick and I use Yamaha Pacificas which are known to have a pretty thin neck (41mm at nut).

I have big hands but with slender fingers.

I'm now looking at buying a cheap (~50€) uke and I'm torn between the Kala Ukadelic (the old, wood series, the tropical night and day ones) and the Enya 25D.

I can't seem to find any review of the Enya 25D, has anyone tried it?

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Hi, welcome to UU!

If you're looking for a cheaper beginner uke, I don't think the absolute cheapest Kala models are very good. The Makala (same company) Dophin or Shark ukes are often more recommended but personally I don't like those either. Enya ukes are usually decent quality but they are harder to come by in Europe, and if you order from them directly you might have to pay some import fees. But if you know some European retailer that sells Enya then it is the safer bet, I would say.

As a beginner uke, I personally always recommend either the Flight travel ukes or the entry-level Baton Rouge ukes. If you don't mind the mostly plastic build of the Flight travel ukes, their playability is often really nice and the sound is surprisingly good. If you specifically want a wooden ukulele, Baton Rouge is really good for the money. Something like the V1 or V2 models are usually good for beginners and not too expensive. Flight makes decent wooden beginner ukes as well but their build quality tends to vary a bit more compared to the Baton Rouge. I always recommend buying even the cheaper ukes from a speciality ukulele shop but if you don't have any nearby you can get all the ukes I mentioned from Thomann, for example.
 
Thanks for the replies!

I can source both on italian websites (I'm from Italy) for ~50-60€ (54€ the Kala from a music instrument shop in Italy, 60€ the Enya from Amazon Prime, both prices with shipping included).

Thomann charges 20€ for shipping which is outrageous!

I've heard great things about both the baton rouge and the Flight.
I really wanted the Baton Rouge but lowest I can find it here in Italy it's 70€ + 15€ shipping which is out of my budget (both the v1 and v2) :(

The Flight... I have mixed feelings about it as I really don't like plastic in my instruments, I don't like the feel/idea.
Yes, I know, I might be a bit of a snob here and, yes, I've heard lots of good things about the Dolphin and, especially, the new Waterman Kala ukes which are made entirely of ABS plastic.

It's that I just prefer personally an instrument made of some wood, not necessarily the entire thing, but at least the top and, ideally, the neck. :p

Judging by your reply, it is my understanding that between the two you'd choose the Enya.

Are there such big differences in tone between Soprano and Concert?
From my research, I've read that you get the "typical" uke sound from a Soprano and the larger ones you get, the closer they become in tone to a guitar.
 
20€? Bloody hell! I had no idea, that's bizarre. I live way further from Germany than you and my shipping costs would be almost half that. I don't blame you if you don't want to order from Thomann...

Just for the record, the Flight travel ukes do have a wooden top and headstock. Otherwise they are plastic. And I know what you mean, I would personally also want a wooden neck on a uke, something like the Magic Fluke ukuleles which I've had a couple in the past. But in any case, I wanted to mention the Flight travel ukes because they simply are really nice for the money. Then again, if you only have one of those you would probably want to upgrade quite quickly if you start to get into playing the uke.

I had a closer look at the Enya since I wasn't familiar with that model. It actually seems to be a solid top model which is quite impressive for the price. And as I said, I know that Enya ukes are usually fairly good quality, so since you're on a limited budget I would say it's a pretty safe choice.

Regarding the size, or more accurately scale, generally the larger the uke the more it has volume and resonance resulting in a "deeper" or fuller sound, although again that's just a generalization. However, I wouldn't say a tenor sized uke is anywhere close to guitar in terms of sound simply because of the tuning. If you tuned the uke with a low G string then the sound would be deeper and closer to a guitar because of the wider range, but I still wouldn't characterize any ukulele sound as guitar-like outside of baritone tuning. The soprano is certainly the most traditional in terms of sound and size but these days I'd say the larger sizes are more typical, or at least more popular. And the difference between a soprano and concert is often quite negligible, although that also depends on many factors like the manufacturer or the build of the instrument. I mostly play sopranos simply because I prefer the size (not necessarily the tone although sometimes that as well). As this is your first uke I wouldn't worry about the size too much. Concert is usually a good compromise in terms of size, and since you have a guitar background you might enjoy the larger scale/fretboard more anyway.
 
Last edited:
Hi there!

I haven't played this EXACT Enya, but several of my students bought the soprano version of this (though not in blue!) Enya piles on the extras: The case, the tuner, "sand shaker", strap and all which seems very attractive to some... and to be fair the cases are quite nice! But: If they are giving you all these extras... what about the Uke?

The Enyas sound ok, but the tuners are really loose and didn't stay tuned very well. That's where the compromise is that allows them to sell it so cheaply. They do add the Nubone bridge and nut, which is something usually found on better quality ukes... but those strings are probably florocarbon fishing line. Again, not a big issue but...

I hear what you are saying about the plastic bodies: I learned to play on a Makala Yellow Shark. It got me over the hump, but it really does sound "plastic-y" in tone. (I gave it to a student later). I was so happy when I upgraded to a Kala KA-s plywood concert size, and for two reasons: First, it sounds LOTS better, and second, the concert size was a much better fit for me. Like you, I started out on a different instrument (bass) and so my fingers were already "string friendly", but I found that the soprano fretboard was a crowded house for my average fingers. I have since moved up to tenors and baritones. Yes they do sound more like guitars, and the bari is like a child sized guitar for sure. Honestly, I'd advise the concert as the best balance of the classic uke sound and accessible fret board. Particularly since you are transitioning from guitar...

So, back to the Kalas: Kala is a real ukulele company, located here in Petaluma, California, and they have a real customer service department. (I've been by their factory a few times, and they are super friendly... They have a playing room you can go into and try whatever you want!) They are committed to keeping their customers happy. As an example, I had an issue with a tuner: I emailed them with a description of the problem and the instrument type. Eight eight days later, the part arrived in the mail. No questions asked, just real service, free of hassles.

I rather doubt Enya is going to be there for you at that level if you find an issue.

SO: here is one more suggestion... Take a look at Cordoba (not Cordova, Cordoba) ukuleles. I had a $40 tenor of theirs here for a while and it sounded amazingly good. I sold it to one of my students and I still regret it! I'm not sure of the European availability of this brand, but you do seem to get a LOT for your money!

The Cordovas are really nice too but out of your price range!

Here is the danger of switching to the ukulele: They as so much fun you will soon be neglecting your guitars... I haven't touched my bass in 6 months...

Have fun!

Bill
 
Well, wow, thank you so much for your in-depth replies!

I've searched for the Cordoba (the 15CFM looks like gets nice reviews! And it comes also in an astonishing blue!) and lowest price I could find was 120€ + shipping... sadly out of my range.
That sapphire blue Cordoba looks absolutely gorgeous.

So I'm back to square one.
Kala, a known producer which makes uke and has good business practices vs Enya which is one of the many chinese manufacturers where if something goes wrong you're basically screwed. It has Amazon protection so if anything happens in 30 days I get my money back, no questions asked, but it something goes horribly wrong beyond that, guess I'm on my own.

Decisions, decisions... I feel like I'm leaning more towards Kala, if anything because of the amazing art it has on it, but the Enya with its very nice specs at that price (and all those accessories) is so tempting...

P.S.: and yeah, the 20€ shipping from Thomann is a travesty. I even emailed them and they told me that it's a flat rate ie: deal with it – No thanks.
 
Just so you know, the Kala you were looking at also has a plastic back and sides so it will probably sound a bit plastic-y. Probably very similar to a Makala Shark which I didn't like myself. I think Kala has some decent low to mid range ukes but they really start at the all laminate wood models. Anything cheaper than those sounds a bit rubbish in my opinion.

As for Cordoba, they are a guitar company first and foremost and I haven't had many good experiences with ukes from such companies. Not saying that their ukes are awful but you can usually get a better product for the same amount of money from a brand that's primarily a uke manufacturer.

While Enya is indeed a Chinese company, I don't think they operate without any form of customer service. I haven't dealt with them personally so maybe some that have could chime in, but I'd be quite surprised if they completely ignored if you found out that your uke had a defective tuner, for example.
 
Welcome to UU, donluca!
We're only human and there are too many personal preferences at play, so there's always going to be an interesting discussion.

I would like to address some of the aspects Bill (bbkobabe) raised here about the Enya(s) his students brought into his classroom.

Just like Bill, I have not played the 25D. I only own 1 Enya (the plastic Nova), bought to compliment other cheap end ukes, mostly laminate and a full solid mahogany tenor. My uke buddy bought their EUC 1XM as her travel and camping uke. Both of us love the models we bought, the tuners work, and the general build of the budget instruments is very good.

Still, strings are very personal, and many of us to match strings to a specific instrument. For some of us a one-shoe-fits-all approach works, though.
I love fluorocarbon strings, but I do find the Enya strings a bit too floppy. I prefer Worth Browns as well as Seaguar fishing line.

Although Enya is a Chinese brand, they have a serious operation in Houston, Texas. If you have any questions or complaints, the Enya Customer Services team is ready to help you from Texas. Don't think that you will get half replies or what not in broken English. They pride themselves on their excellent customer care, and rightly so!

Anyone who is looking for reviews, sound samples, the occasional rant (yes, I enjoy them!), will benefit from checking some of UU members' websites:
https://www.gotaukulele.com/
https://ukestuff.wordpress.com/ukeguide/

I think that both the Enya 25D and the Flight TUS35 are safe bets. I would obviously advise you to try and buy in a physical store, but that may have to wait for a while.
If the Flight TUS35 on Amazon is actually sold via the Music Room, it might be cheaper to order on their website. Barry's discount code 'gotaukulele' still gets you 10% off for the instruments on the Music Room website.
https://www.musicroom.com/product/a...es-flight-tus35-abs-travel-ukulele-black.aspx (other colours available as well).
 
Last edited:
Just so you know, the Kala you were looking at also has a plastic back and sides so it will probably sound a bit plastic-y.

Does it?
I swear I've found 6570438 different specs for those older ukadelic series.
The majority of them (whether made from copy-pasting from the original Kala website or from each other) put in the specs that it is made of poplar for the sides and back and agathis on the top.
They might be completely wrong though, I really should email Kala and ask them.


Welcome to UU, donluca!

Thanks for the warm welcome and detailed reply!

I agree with you on the personal side of things when talking about musical instruments, I was asking around mainly to see if anybody has tried the Enya 25D because I couldn't find much info about it.
And yes, the best way would be to actually play the instrument yourself, but unfortunately that's rarely an option.
It took me 10 different brands/type of electric guitar strings to find one that I actually felt comfortable playing, so I understand the different feelings about strings.

It's reassuring hearing about the Enya brand.

The Music Room store is fantastic! Very reasonable prices and free shipping for orders over 35€!
And there are a ton of cheap Flight ukes, some of them with very interesting colors and art.
Thanks for the discount code, that would make the Flight even more appealing albeit they are mostly made of plastic.

I'll definitely think about this, because the Flights have now made it into my selection, although I'm now more inclined towards the Enya... mumble mumble...
 
Does it?
I swear I've found 6570438 different specs for those older ukadelic series.
The majority of them (whether made from copy-pasting from the original Kala website or from each other) put in the specs that it is made of poplar for the sides and back and agathis on the top.
They might be completely wrong though, I really should email Kala and ask them.

From what I found, all of the Kala Ukadelic models that have some kind of graphic on them have at least plastic back and sides and either wooden or plastic top depending on the model.

If Music Room is a better choice for you then definitely check it out. Flight has some fully wooden ukes there as well, and they also have some other decent brands there, namely Brunswick, that I'd suggest you take a look at.
 
The discover of that MusicRoom website really was like opening the Pandora's Vase... suddenly I got a billion more choices.

I've looked at the excellent reviews provided by gotaukulele and added the following to my list of ukes: Brunswick BU4S.

Gotaukulele made a very positive review of the Concert size version, here's hoping it translates well to the Soprano version!

I've also sent a mail to Kala about their previous Ukadelic wood ukes to know exactly how they're made.

Right now my choices are:

Kala Ukadelic (waiting for a response from Kala, if it has ABS back and sides it'll probably get discarded)
Enya 25D
Brunswick BU4S

EDIT: also, I've just discovered GEWA which looks like it's a German musical instrument producer with their instruments made in Europe.
https://int.gewamusic.com/product/24331/gewa-ukulele-soprano-manoa-w-so-bl.html

Couldn't find a thing about those, but I'll just throw the Manoa in the mix and send them a mail to know more.
 
Last edited:
I'll second what Dohle said. Have a look at the fully wooden Flight ukuleles. I have the TUSL-35, which I quite like, but the raised transition lip between the plastic back and wood top is a bit annoying. If I had to do it again I'd get one of their all laminate wood models for a low cost ukulele.
 
I've no doubt that the Brunswick soprano is of similar quality than the concert. Regarding that brand, it's important to note that some speciality ukulele stores, like the Southern Ukulele Store, have stocked Brunswick ukes in the past which means that the quality of the ukes is sufficient for them to stock them. You can actually still see the listing and what they have to say about it even if it's no longer in stock, and there's a video as well: https://www.southernukulelestore.co.uk/brunswick-bu4s-soprano-ukulele-great-beginners-uke/

As a side note, they stock Enya ukes too. ;)

I've seen those Gewa ukes around but haven't tried them or seen any reviews. They seem to be quite ubiquitous in Germany at least but no idea about the quality.
 
I'll second what Dohle said. Have a look at the fully wooden Flight ukuleles. I have the TUSL-35, which I quite like, but the raised transition lip between the plastic back and wood top is a bit annoying. If I had to do it again I'd get one of their all laminate wood models for a low cost ukulele.

I've done some research and my eyes have fallen on the NUS380 which, to my understanding, it's the same as the NUS310 which was reviewed by gotaukulele but looks like it isn't up there with the Enya and Brunswick quality wise... Otherwise it looks 100% fine by me!
 
Well, guess what, Enya is just another name for a brand known as "Kaka" elsewhere and here is the review of the 25D on gotaukulele.

This is the Soprano version but it really doesn't bode well for the concert one.

Not good, not good at all.

I think I'm going to pick the Brunswick because it looks like the best all around.
 
Well, guess what, Enya is just another name for a brand known as "Kaka" elsewhere and here is the review of the 25D on gotaukulele.

This is the Soprano version but it really doesn't bode well for the concert one.

Not good, not good at all.

I think I'm going to pick the Brunswick because it looks like the best all around.

I believe Kaka (horrible name btw) is a brand Enya use for marketing their instruments in China, possible in other Asian countries as well. At least I don't believe Enya is any sort of mass producer of instruments that have a dozen different brands under them. They just use two different names in different markets, not a big deal in my book.

That being said, I'm certain the Brunswick will be a safe option as well, no doubt.
 
Looks like they try to capitalize on famous people names (Kaka, great soccer player, Enya, fantastic Irish singer/composer) :p

It is actually the other way around, AFAIK: the original brand is Kaka in Asia and they've made the Enya brand for the rest of the world, maybe due to the unfortunate name they chose (which would make perfect sense).
I wonder if the products marketed as Enya undergo any kind of additional quality check.

But, yeah, so far Brunswick looks to be the choice, although everyone looks to be speaking very highly of the Flight TUSL-35 despite having back and sides made of plastic.

I'll give it some more thought as I wanted to get it for my birthday in early September.
Also, looks like Brunswick is also available on Amazon Prime.
 
Yesterday, while doing a bit of late night reading on the internet about ukes, I took a look at the pineapple shaped ukuleles and... well, something clicked.

I don't know what that was, but it was a moment of "alright, I feel a connection to this, I want this one".

Now everytime I look at a "normal" ukulele my brain tells me "it's just a miniaturized guitar" and I have made an indissoluble association between the uke and the pinapple shape.

Yes, I know the original uke is a variation of the Portuguese cavaquinho which has the "8 shape", but my brain/feelings look like doesn't want any of that.

It looks like that the Flight NUP310 is the only affordable non-plastic pineapple option and it's even available on MusicRoom so I can support a proper store instead of Amazon and it even has good reviews from gotaukulele.

I think this is the way it'll go, I just love the shape and I have a good feeling about this.
Abrupt decision, definitely out of nowhere, but what can you do...

On a different topic although maybe I should open another thread about this: I love doing slides (with my fingers, not the plastic/glass/metal thing you put around your finger) when playing my guitars but I always struggled doing slides on my Classical which has, of course, nylon strings. It just seems that my finger gets "stuck" while sliding, as if the string was made of gum. I have no issues sliding up and down the entire fretboard on my electrics, both on the plain steel and wound strings.

Are there any strings you'd suggest for fingerpicking/slide on the uke? I've always read a lot of good things about Aquila super nylgut strings.
 
I know exactly how you feel. I have enough ukes to last a lifetime but I almost desperately want at least one pineapple uke since all my ukes are of the traditional double bout kind. Very recently, I ordered a Kamaka soprano and I probably would've ordered a pineapple one if the shop had had it available but unfortunately it didn't...
The Flight pineapple will suit you well I'm sure. Pineapple ukes typically have a slightly fuller sound compared to the regular shape, so a pineapple soprano would theoretically probably be somewhere in between a soprano and a concert in terms of sound.

Regarding strings, Aquila Super Nylguts are better than the regular Nylguts but both still have a slightly rough feel to them which is the reason I don't like Aquila strings in general. Both nylgut and nylon strings can feel a bit rough which can make doing fast slides tricky if you're very sensitive to that. I would recommend you try either fluorocarbon strings (whichever brand you prefer) or D'Addario Titaniums. Both have a much better feel for playing fast, in my opinion. Of course, strings are fairly cheap so you should probably test a few different types and try them out yourself.
 
Top Bottom