Ukulele Help Needed - Purchase
 

Hi All -

After years of playing guitar, I am interested in picking up the ukulele. I travel for work and have decided that lugging guitars through airports is not my thing. I have tried a handful of travel guitars but, have never really enjoyed their tone.

So, in an effort to keep myself busy while on the road, I am strongly considering adding a tenor or baritone uke into the mix. About all I know is that I do want to buy a good quality uke that I can grow with and one that won't frustrate me from a poor quality standpoint.

I don't have a specific budget or brand in mind. But, again, I would like to start with a quality instrument and if possible, work with a Forum sponsor for purchase.

Any advice, links, and direction you can provide would be very much appreciated.

Thanks so much!

For starters look at Antonioviolin.com. I recently ordered a Snail mahogany tenor from them.

I'm no expert on brands of ukes, but i've been very pleased with my Cordoba tenor. It was about $215 at GC two years ago, and has a cutaway and a good-sounding pickup. Intonation is good all the way up, and it records very well.

Like anything else, though, you need to play them. I've pulled other Cordobas off the wall at music stores that weren't as good as mine, and a few that were at least as good.

As with guitars solid wood will give you a better tone than laminated. Usual alternatives are Mahogany and Koa. I have a Gretsch tenor with low G that is a lot of fun and easy to transition most guitar songs from. A baritone may be quite a bit bigger and not be quite as punchy in tone. Most of the name brands are fairly similar in quality but be wary of the cheap solid wood Indonesian ukes they sell on eBay and have fancy inlays.

Thanks to all for the helpful input - much appreciated and I will happily take more!

Do you happen to have a link to the Gretsch? Thanks!

If you don't find something from a forum sponsor, I would suggest calling Jason at Lahaina Music (Maui).

We just came home from a Guitar/Uke workshop out there. Jason is the owner of Lahaina music, and also a great Uke instructor. I think he could school you on good options within your budget.

Hope that helps,
Gary
http://www.lahainamusicmaui.com/contact/

I always recommend the Kala thinline travel ukes, now available in all four sizes (soprano, concert, tenor and baritone). They are well made, sound very good, and every example I have tried intonates well, and come with a good gig bag too. ~$200-225 at most retailers for the basic non-electric, non-cutaway models.
https://kalabrand.com/collections/travel-ukes

Just picked up a MaKala MK-B and I really like it... Finish is open pore like the Ibanez guiters.. paid $85 on amazon
I'm new to Ukuleles so maybe I don't know better but I like it..

Pono. Pono. Pono.

Very well built. Their very basic no frills instrument is about $400, sounds as good as $1000 Koa ukes made in Hawaii. No comparison to the similarly priced instruments I played in stores, and I played a bunch. In the end I was not willing to pay $600-800 for Koa.

If you are willing to pay that much, you can't go wrong.

If I was in the market for another uke I would get this
http://m.ebay.com/itm/302291377197?_...75&_mwBanner=1

Also notable that Rocky is probably the top Gretsch dealer.

I have one of those too, not wanting to invest too much into a baritone, which rarely gets played (I usually opt for guitar if that is the range I want to cover). Makala are fine no-frills ukes that are easy to find.

And as Br1ck said, Pono makes superb instruments that you will never outgrow. I have a koa eight string they built, and have seriously considered their guitars too.

Pono, Kala, or Ohana - will run you $200-400ish range. Great ukes all around and you can't go wrong with ukes from any of these companies. Pono is owned by Ko'olau (ukes made in Indonesia rather than Hawaii).

Kamaka, Kanile'a, KoAloha, Ko'olau (owns Pono) and Martin - $1,000+ range. I'd start with the cheaper ones but if you know you're going to be playing the uke for a long time and you can afford it, go for these.

I started on an Ohana concert uke for many years (around $200 used at that time). They're like the Eastman of ukes - made in China, but solid mahogany, plays way above its price point. Bought a Kamaka HF-3 (tenor) 100th anniversary last year when I was on the Big Island and sold the Ohana.

Between mahogany and koa for ukes, I'm a traditionalist love the sound of a koa uke. And to pile on what others have said for your main uke you're better off with the tenor or concert. The baritone tends to be a good second uke (or third, or fourth, or fifth, you start to collect ukes like the old lady down the street adopts cats...).

Ohana Tenor: https://reverb.com/item/6199927-ohan...-ukulele-gloss

Kamaka HF-3: https://www.elderly.com/kamaka-hf-3-...-with-case.htm

In a uke, is it important to have solid wood for back and sides, too?

I know it matters to me in guitars but, in a uke was wondering if that also holds true. I understand the differences in caring for a solid wood vs laminate, but is the tone greatly affected? (generalities aside;))

Thoughts?

http://www.theukulelesite.com/kala-s...or-asov-t.html