Beginner ukulele

[Myvalk]

Thinking about checking out playing a ukulele and don't want to spend a lot in case I don't like. Any suggestions?
Thanx.

[mr. beaumont]

I have students with both Kala and Cordoba models, both sound just fine and stay in tune well.

[fazool]

I got our daughter an Ibanez mahogany uke for ~$80 from GC. Very nice little beginner uke. In fact, if Taylor comes out with a uke, as promised, I'll probably get her one as an upgrade

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Myvalk

Thinking about checking out playing a ukulele and don't want to spend a lot in case I don't like...

Bought my wife an Ovation uke (looks like a baby Adamas/Elite) about 15 years ago...

She didn't touch it even once in all that time...

Back in March we joined a uke group at the local community center...

Now she's playing at every opportunity, thinking in terms of a tenor uke of her own, and I recently added a Lanikai banjo-uke to my stable at her urging (no small feat considering what we own between us)...

IMO don't be afraid to spend a couple hundred or so on something a little better - as my parents' friends of the Semitic persuasion used to say, "trust me, you'll like..."

[Myvalk]

Thank you all for the input

[merlin666]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Back in March we joined a uke group at the local community center...

Yes a local uke group can be a lot of fun and motivating. For uke newbies it's important to know that there are basically three sizes with the same tuning (gCEA): "soprano" is the smallest with a very bright sound, "concert" is an intermediate size, and "tenor" is largest which is also often strung with a "low G" so is very similar to a guitar with capo on 5th fret. Then there are variations such as barirone uke, guitalele, banjolele etc which are all accepted in the uke "community".

As a first step I suggest you decide on one of the three basic sizes. To start with I picked a solid mahogany tenor and had it strung with low G which I really like. It was around $250. But now I am also considering a soprano and want to step up to koa, so that will be at a much higher price. Laminate wood ukuleles can also sound fine and a decent one will probably be around $150. Entry level is around $50 which will be ok, but you will probably want to upgrade that soon. Tiny necks can be a problem for playing comfort, so a good approach is to go to a store and just buy the one with the chunkiest neck in your price range.

[Bazmaz]

'beginner uke' and 'dont want to spend too much' are massively subjective. Some beginners dont want to spend $50, some will go higher - and that dramatically affects your choices.

As you play guitar - my best advice is this - spend as much as you would consider is the lowest you would recommend a beginner guitar player should spend on a guitar. It's a huge misconception that ukuleles must be cheaper because they are smaller. If anything the smaller tolerances mean it can be more expensive to get one right.

So if you follow that logic, i think you should be ok.

As for reliable beginner brands - hard to look beyond Kala and Ohana in my view.

[jricc]

I'll second the Cordoba brand. I picked up one of these
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Cordoba/...05954932063.gc
and it is a fantastic uke. I use it to teach ukulele classes at a local music academy. Sounds good, plays good and stays in tune.

I also have a slightly more expensive Kala koa tenor, but I like the Cordoba concert more.

[cattzap]

Love mine Cordoba. I did get one without a pickup. I'll never plug it in. Wrong. Get one with a pickup already in it. Now I have to go back and do that and it'll cost more than a uke with one.

[cattzap]

The U1 above is exactly what I got. Team it with a holiday and a coupon and it'll be less than that.

Lookup playing some blues uke. Cool stuff

[jricc]

I'll second the Cordoba brand. I picked up one of these
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Cordoba/...05954932063.gc
and it is a fantastic uke. I use it to teach ukulele classes at a local music academy. Sounds good, plays good and stays in tune.

I also have a slightly more expensive Kala koa tenor, but I prefer the Cordoba concert.

[merlin666]

I have a Gretsch and it has a comfortable neck, a step up from Cordoba might be the Gretsch concert:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GrchCStn

[henryp]

Originally Posted by merlin666

Yes a local uke group can be a lot of fun and motivating. For uke newbies it's important to know that there are basically three sizes with the same tuning (gCAE)

Is it possible to tune a uke to the same notes as four adjacent guitar strings, either EADG or DGBE so one can use basic guitar chord shapes?

[merlin666]

Originally Posted by henryp

Is it possible to tune a uke to the same notes as four adjacent guitar strings, either EADG or DGBE so one can use basic guitar chord shapes?

Oops I messed that up should be gCEA. The baritone ukes are tuned lower at DGBE. There are also other tunings used and possible, but the string gauges may need to be adjusted for that.

[Earl49]

I often say that if you want to positively, absolutely guarantee that you WON'T continue playing, then get the cheapest possible (unplayable) instrument.

As for starting out cheap, it is possible to find a half-decent playable ukulele for under $100, but you get a lot more instrument if can bump the price a bit. I often recommend stretching a bit to about $200 and getting one of the Kala thin bodied travel ukulele. https://kalabrand.com/collections/travel-ukes
These sound way better than such a thin body should, and every single example I've ever tried has a good setup and good intonation.

Standard re-entrant tuning for soprano, concert and tenor is gCEA (or GCEA if you have a low G string). Baritone ukes (20" scale length) are tuned DGBE like the four highest pitched strings on a guitar. It is also possible to tune a tenor uke (~17" scale length) to baritone pitches using baritone strings.

Here is a link to "Buying Your First Ukulele" on my club web site:
http://www.boiseukulelegroup.com/instruction.html
There is also other content there - chord charts, etc.

If you must stay under $100, look for the plainer Makala, Cordoba, or Lanikai instruments. Bling, electronics, and cutaways add cost but not tone. Hope this helps.