Ukulele recommendations
 

My granddaughter is 11 years old and has been playing a ukulele at school. With school not in session she’s built a ukulele out of a box.
I was thinking if I could find her a starter all laminate ukulele that she did not have to humidify it would be a nice surprise for her.
Any recommendations for a budget priced brand that’s decent quality and tone. What size would be best or any information that would help is appreciated.
I know nothing about ukuleles.

Most of the folks in our senior center uke group use entry-level Kala or Ohana concert or tenor ukes (I'd recommend the latter) - around $125-150 street depending on model; IME Lanikai can be hit-or-miss in terms of QC (I've also had some bad experiences with them in terms of warranty claims), and although some people I know have been successful with Luna and Oscar Schmidt instruments, both Kala and Ohana specialize in ukes and IME they tend to be more consistent in both tone and build...

I wrote a long response but somehow it disappeared. Anyways...

Kala is a good brand for budget ukulele. They stay in tune and that's the most important thing for a beginner. You can order a beginner kala soprano with bag and chord book, and maybe a tuner for just over $100.

Soprano or Concert sizes are what I'd recommend. Your grand daughter probably plays a soprano at school.

For $230+ there is a very good option in the Flea or Fluke ukuleles from
magicfluke.com. They are laminate tops and rotomolded body. Absolutely indestructable and sound pretty good. They have tons of projection. Mine has survived two small children and being lent to numerous H.S. students.

Kala make really good ukuleles for a very reasonable price. Basic mahogany laminate is sturdy and professional and comes in all sizes/models. Tuner is a good accessory too, as would a padded gig bag. There is a very good teacher for beginners on YouTube, "Bernadette Teaches Music". She is very good at what she does, specializes in ukulele, and has her own channel, referenced above.

I have no affiliation with Kala, but I do have a few of their instruments.

Don
.

I heartily recommend the Flight TUSL-35 Concert Scale Soprano. It is thoroughly reviewed HERE. I have one and it plays like a dream. I get plenty of offers for it but I'm planning to give it to my granddaughter.

It's just $55 at Amazon. Action & intonation are 99% good right out of the box.