Jump to content

Help finding inexpensive ukulele


Killa J

Recommended Posts

  • Members

I'm looking at buying a uke for bringing to places that I don't want to drag around a guitar. I don't want to buy a crappy one, but I also don't want to spend a ton. I'm looking at a few, and I wanted to know if anyone had recommendations. I don't want to spend any more than $300. Is one of these any better than the other?

 

Hamano H-100

 

Pono PCO

 

Cordoba 24CK

 

Martin 5K:freak:

 

I always associated koa w/ ukuleles just because of them being from Hawaii, but it looks like a lot of the nice ones are mahogany. Is one preferred over the other besides just looking different?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

yo Killa J

 

i just got a tenor from MGM. the NGD report is a few threads down.

 

i cant say much about a pono concert, but i can tell you this though - they are not toys. they are well-made musical instruments. my pono tenor plays and sounds divine to me :thu:

 

 

ive got a cheap soprano (the smallest size) as well and I find them difficult to play, as i could imagine the difficulty in keeping the intonations true on such small instruments.

 

koa vs. mahogany? i went for mahogany because i dont want to pay the premium for koa, and i cant gawk at my instruments when im playing. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

yo Killa J


i just got a tenor from MGM. the NGD report is a few threads down.


i cant say much about a pono concert, but i can tell you this though - they are not toys. they are well-made musical instruments. my pono tenor plays and sounds divine to me
:thu:


ive got a cheap soprano (the smallest size) as well and I find them difficult to play, as i could imagine the difficulty in keeping the intonations true on such small instruments.


koa vs. mahogany? i went for mahogany because i dont want to pay the premium for koa, and i cant gawk at my instruments when im playing.
;)

 

 

I saw your NGD thread... the one you got was a little higher than I wanted to pay. I wonder if the less expensive Pono is as nice as the one you have.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

If you're feeling particularly pro-active, you could build one of the stewart macdonald kits. All solid wood soprano instrument for 100 bucks. I'm working on one at the moment, and it's great fun.

 

 

That looks really cool, but a little beyond my skills.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Wow, you put a koa Martin in there - thats a pretty nice uke. But Martin made literally thousands of good quality ukes pre war and often a basic style 0 can be picked up pretty darn reasonably (I think my dad gave $10 for mine at a yard sale - I had to buy him lunch). At the bottom of this is some pretty good information about these

 

http://www.provide.net/~cfh/martin.html

 

Here is the little guy with a couple of friends

 

Martins.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Personally, I prefer tenors as they're louder and good for fingerstyle. Most uke performers also prefer tenors.

 

Of the four you listed:

 

 

 

Pono PCO = I know this one is very good.

 

Hamano H-100 = I've heard good things about the Hamanos but have never played them.

 

Cordoba 24CK = The quality control of the Cordobas is all over the place. I wouldn't buy this uke unless I actually got to play it first (or had a return policy that covered shipping ... unless you're willing to pay for that yourself). The "koa" that it's made of is not Hawaiian Koa either.

 

Martin 5K = I haven't played this one either. Folks have told me that the current model (made south of the border), is not as good as the original Martin and they didn't feel it was worth the money.

 

 

IMHO, most folks can't tell the sound difference between Koa and Mahogany. They might say that they can, but I wouldn't wager that they'd succeed in a blind test. The build and quality of the uke is the biggest factor in the sound.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Personally, I prefer tenors as they're louder and good for fingerstyle. Most uke performers also prefer tenors.



IMHO, most folks can't tell the sound difference between Koa and Mahogany. They might
say
that they can, but I wouldn't wager that they'd succeed in a blind test. The build and quality of the uke is the biggest factor in the sound.

 

im kinda glad i didnt have to pay the premium for koa. i didnt exactly try out a koa uke, but i got the sound that i want from an all mahogany instrument. im happy. :thu:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

The main reason that I'd buy koa would be for tradition. But for that, I'd want to buy an uke made of solid Hawaiian Koa, by a reputed Hawaiian builder, and manufactured on the islands. An uke made of Hawaiian Koa but manufactured in Guangzhou, China, wouldn't quite cut it. :lol:

 

Most likely it would be a Kamaka or KoAloha. There's a hefty price-premium to pay for that "tradition" however.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

You did not say what size of Uke your are looking for. There are four sizes

Soprano,Concert,Tenor, and Baritone. I found good values in solid-top Ukes

at Hobglobin music web site.Many of their products are imported from European makers.Their price is also attarctive when you compare what other

interntet sellers are asking for similar quality products.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Somebody mentioned this as a steal on another board:

http://ukuleleworld2.com/product.php?productid=892&cat=2&page=1

http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/items/SK25.htm

(goes under the headline "is this a Bushman Jenny at reduced price?")

 

Skip Koa. I have a koa one, and I love it. But you don't need koa. Go for solid mahogany. That's a real uke wood still. Some have spruce or cedar topped ones too etc, but those are not the traditional stuff.

In your price range, it's most probably Chinese made you are looking for. I really like the the German Brukos too, but I guess they are not well priced in the States.

Baritone is more expensive, and although it's tuned like a guitar, I don't really know anybody who really likes them. I'd personally go for soprano, but tenors are real popular too (I never had one yet).

 

EDIT: Actually, I sisn't check your price range. My Koaloha sells for less than $400, if that's still inexpensive to you. To me inexpensive in ukuleles is around $150 or even sub-$100.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

The Martin uke was a joke - $4200 is a little out of my price range. Are Martins really made in Mexico now, or just the ukes? Other than being louder, does getting a tenor change the tone? I guess I'm looking for the "standard" ukulele sound if that makes any difference. It would probably be used mostly just for strumming. I hardly play fingerstyle on my guitar, so I don't think I would with the ukulele.

 

I'm pretty much down to the Pono and the Hamano. Now I just gotta decide.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I guess I'm looking for the "standard" ukulele sound if that makes any difference.

I suppose it depends on what you define as the standard.

, Britney Paiva,
, or
? Go tenor. Kimo Hussey plays both tenor and baritone.

 

Herb Ohta played a concert and soprano.

. Daniel Ho prefers a six-course tenor which is basically the same instrument as my Guitalele.

 

 

Or maybe this is the standard you were thinking of? :freak:**Shudder!**

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

is the standard you were thinking of?
:freak:
**Shudder!**

 

 

I'm at work right now, so I can't view the videos. Who is the "shudder" one? Honestly, I don't really know what I would call the classic ukulele sound. I'm not really even sure why I used that term. If a tenor sound better (and since it seems most pros use them from what I've been reading), I guess I'll go with one of those. I'm a complete novice when it comes to ukes. I've only played one once as far as I can remember - I just like how they sound and the portability can't be beat.

 

Oh yeah, does anybody recommend getting one with a pickup?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

hey Chiyodad,


do you prefer high g or Low G tuning?

I play both. It depends on the music. It's also a convenient excuse for owning two ukuleles. ;)

 

Most of the method and repertoire books are written for High-G and I believe that Jake prefers High-G. Low-G gives me more breadth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Low-G is easier if one is used to guitar. It's easier for picking like guitar, I mean.

 

Martin does make some guitars and some ukes in Mexico. But I doubt a $5,000 is Mexican! I have a Little Martin guitar (MIM), I like it. I've played some awful Mexican Martin ukes (the basic ones, go for $300 or something)... but in general they seem to be as good as sub-$100 solid wood Chinese ukes, so I would not compare them to vintage Martins (though I have done so, and a Jenny is way closer to the vintage than the new Martin).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 years later...
  • Members
Gone are the days when the ukulele was just an instrument for comical value. It was common to think of the ukulele as an instrument only played by men in flamboyantly printed shirts in a tropical setting.

Mom played one and taught me to play. I inherited her old Harmony ukulele. Since she wasn't a man (then again, mothers generally aren't) and never wore flamboyantly printed shirts, I never really made the association. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...