$100 uke

peanuts56 · Nov 25, 2019

A former music dept. colleague asked me for some help in finding a decent uke for $100. The instrument is for her daughter. Her daughter is a former trumpet student of mine and is about 17 years old. Initially I suggested she spend about $200 but I understand money is an issue. They have one son in college and will soon have to send their daughter off to college as well.
I looked at the Luna Tattoo model online but have not tried it. Any ideas?

bry · Nov 25, 2019

Mim has an Ohana Concert CK-10. 95 brand new. 85 b-stock. Actually she has a bunch of them. Great ukes and if you buy from Mims you know you will get a great set-up. Good luck!

ghostrdr · Nov 25, 2019

I just bought an Enya Nova for my nephew. It’s under a $100. I bought it because of all the great reviews and they live in Colorado and I didn’t want him to worry about humidity, baby-Ing it, etc. it arrives today!

Good luck!

Jerryc41 · Nov 25, 2019

bry said:
Mim has an Ohana Concert CK-10. 95 brand new. 85 b-stock. Actually she has a bunch of them. Great ukes and if you buy from Mims you know you will get a great set-up. Good luck!

You can't go wrong with Mim. Shopping for a used uke would get him more for less, and the used ukes I've bought have looked new.

glennerd · Nov 25, 2019

Yeah, if you get the right $100 uke, it will be perfectly fine.

It seems like the difference between a $100 uke and a $200 uke (in the same brand) is sometimes just bling. Not always the case, but be conscious of what you're paying for.

man0a · Nov 25, 2019

glennerd said:
Yeah, if you get the right $100 uke, it will be perfectly fine.

It seems like the difference between a $100 uke and a $200 uke (in the same brand) is sometimes just bling. Not always the case, but be conscious of what you're paying for.

Sometimes the $200 uke is just bling. Sometimes you get features that noticeably improve sound quality, like Kala's solid spruce top ukuleles for $150 or Mainland solid mahogany ukuleles for $200.

Does the Ohana CK-10 have fret markers on the side of the neck? That's my biggest complaint with Ohana. Some of their models have this feature and some don't. Enya usually doesn't have side fret markers either.

tm3 · Nov 25, 2019

peanuts56 said:
A former music dept. colleague asked me for some help in finding a decent uke for $100. The instrument is for her daughter. Her daughter is a former trumpet student of mine and is about 17 years old. Initially I suggested she spend about $200 but I understand money is an issue. They have one son in college and will soon have to send their daughter off to college as well.
I looked at the Luna Tattoo model online but have not tried it. Any ideas?

I bought the Alvarez mentioned in this article for under $100, and am very pleased with it (there is additional favorable press about the Alvarez in its marketing as a special Grateful Dead edition):

https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-ukulele-for-beginners/

Knowing what I know now, I would probably buy the Enya Nova per ghostdr's post. Lots and lots of favorable reviews/comments, plus it is a very rugged instrument.

Jerryc41 · Nov 25, 2019

tm3 said:
I bought the Alvarez mentioned in this article...

There's also the Alvarez series of Grateful Dead ukes, although it's unlikely a teenage girl would be a Dead head. : )

LarryS · Nov 26, 2019

If you can get them there look at Tanglewood ukes, Union series and Tiare series

https://www.tanglewoodguitars.co.uk/product-category/tiare/

Badger uke · Nov 26, 2019

Jim has a Flea for 150 listed on market place would be a excellent first uke.

besley · Nov 26, 2019

ghostrdr said:
I just bought an Enya Nova for my nephew. It’s under a $100. I bought it because of all the great reviews and they live in Colorado and I didn’t want him to worry about humidity, baby-Ing it, etc. it arrives today!

Good luck!

Absolutely go for the Enya Nova - which is on sale right now for just $80.

UkeStuff · Nov 27, 2019

In addition to the Enya Nova for $80 right now, I'd also send you towards the Enya X1M, which is HPL and Richlite, and $50.

rance · Nov 27, 2019

Mim has a B-stock Ohana SK-20 on Reverb for $105. The SK-20 has a solid mahogany top. I had one and it sounds better than any other uke at that price point that I have played.

old and slow · Nov 27, 2019

I'd be willing to give the Luna Bamboo a try if they made it in the size I was looking for. I think it looks real nice and is probably very durable. This uke is very appealing to me for some reason. A little over $100 though.

The Luna Vintage in red satin on sale for $89. Although I can't say I love the red satin, the look in general is a little more subtle than the Tattoo. But I don't hate the tattoo.

tm3 · Nov 27, 2019

Jerryc41 said:
There's also the Alvarez series of Grateful Dead ukes, although it's unlikely a teenage girl would be a Dead head. : )

Apparently the RU22C and RU22T are the same ukes as the Grateful Dead models but without the graphics.

Even if I was a dead head I'd gravitate towards that Enya Nova -- could always add a decal or something if bling was needed!

One other thing I would mention is that if at all possible I think it would help if the future owner could handle soprano, concert, and tenor ukes to see if she gravitates towards a particular size. I went round and round trying to decide but once I was able to hold the different sizes, and even though I could not play a lick, I realized that I liked the tenor. My wife OTOH prefers soprano.

glennerd · Nov 27, 2019

It's interesting, a few years ago, most of the recommendations would be Kala - barely mentioned here, and not even one of the models I would have guessed. Kala's still a good choice, but nice to see there are more quality selections in the lower end of the market now.

AQUATOPAZ · Nov 28, 2019

peanuts56 said:
A former music dept. colleague asked me for some help in finding a decent uke for $100. The instrument is for her daughter. Her daughter is a former trumpet student of mine and is about 17 years old. Initially I suggested she spend about $200 but I understand money is an issue. They have one son in college and will soon have to send their daughter off to college as well.
I looked at the Luna Tattoo model online but have not tried it. Any ideas?

Lunas are really nice looking ukes, but dollar for dollar, there are lots of other choices where you get more bang for your buck. That said, young girls love the look of Lunas, and she might practice more.

UkingViking · Nov 28, 2019

peanuts56 said:
A former music dept. colleague asked me for some help in finding a decent uke for $100. The instrument is for her daughter. Her daughter is a former trumpet student of mine and is about 17 years old. Initially I suggested she spend about $200 but I understand money is an issue. They have one son in college and will soon have to send their daughter off to college as well.
I looked at the Luna Tattoo model online but have not tried it. Any ideas?

I would stay clear of Luna Tattoo.
I had their pineapple, very dissapointed. Perhaps some of their ukes are better, it is probably quality control lacking, but I would stay clear anyway.

Someone suggests Tanglewood. I never played one, but I looked at some in a shop once. The satin finish seemed a bit poor, even compared to the entry level Makala MK I started playing on.

I would recommend the Makala of the cheap ukes I have played, but the childish looking logo she will probably not like. I assume that getting a Kala uke will provide a similar good uke that looks a bit more serious.

A lot of people here recommend Ohana. I only ever played my solid Ohana uke, so I can't 100% vouch for their cheaper models, but the one I have is really awesome for the price payed.

LarryS · Nov 28, 2019

Luna are incredibly trendy, they're all over Instagram. They certainly look good but I'd rather have my plainer Tanglewood. Its just quality and sounds amazing.

Lacole · Nov 28, 2019

Did you mention are you looking for a soprano or concert? I have an Ohana concert that I love. I would recommend that.

$100 uke

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