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I’m thinking of buying a new instrument as I find my soprano uke a little too small. I’d like one with a solid wood top, made from wood that produces a rich sound with a lot of overtones (like walnut), available in Europe. My budget is 250 EUR.
What do you recommend?Hi,
I can’t recommend a specific brand because most ukuleles in this price range are made in China. So it depends on your luck what piece you come across.
In general, make sure the ukulele has at least 17 frets – there are arrangements here on RC101 that go that far.
And, of course, it should be in tune along the entire length of the fingerboard (so that it’s not a half tone off at the 12th fret).
From my own experience, I also recommend avoiding ukulele models that have sharp edges on the body – it cuts into the leaning right arm, making playing such an instrument uncomfortable.
If you don’t have a dealer nearby where you can try out multiple ukuleles, choose an online store where it’s easy to return the ukulele if it doesn’t fit your expectations.
Also, I wouldn’t completely reject models with laminated bodies. When they’re well built, they often play better than cheap ukuleles with solid fronts. And they can withstand humidity fluctuations better.Good luck with your choice!
And let me know what you choose, I’m curious. 😉@janaq1 I bought a cheaper one, but I think it’s going to be better than the price suggests – Flight Iris:
I’ve had bad luck with this ukulele 🙁 The factory used bad glue for the pickguard and it warped. I asked for a replacement and the replacement ukulele had the exact same problem. But in the meantime I also received some unexpected funds 🙂 So I decided to change my plan entirely and instead of a concert, I’m going to purchase this tenor for about 400 EUR:
Aaaand… Bad luck again. This ukulele is so badly out of tune I can’t 🙁 I don’t know whether I should return it or if a luthier can fix this…
@avicularia , I’m sorry you’re having such bad luck. I’ve unfortunately had a similar experience.
I recently bought a cheap ukulele and had a pickup installed at the dealer in Germany. (Localy offered ukuleles with pickups already installed were horrible – Flight was no exception). I expected that when they installed the pickup, they might check to see if the ukulele was in tune. But when the ukulele arrived, the C and E strings were significantly out of tune from the 4th fret! I was desperate.
If I hadn’t had it customized, I would have returned it.
Luckily, I found a luthier who adjusted the saddle, so the ukulele now tunes quite well.Anyway, after the experience of choosing and buying, I would now contact Alex from the Southern Ukulele Store https://www.southernukulelestore.co.uk from whom I bought my Moonbird. Check out their youtube channel.
A full ukulele setup is included. They will also advise on ukulele choice if you email them.
Right now I am really interested in the L.Luthier Le M6 Solid Mahagony tenor ukulele. Too bad I have exhausted my budget. 😢Previous experience:
About five years ago I was picking out a concert ukulele with a similar budget to yours. Luckily I found a local dealer, so I picked about 5 ukulele models and went to try them out. All the ukuleles looked beautiful, but none of them were in tune! I ended up leaving with a more expensive Koaloha Opio, which I had in my selection just for comparison – I didn’t really like it until I tried to play it. 😉The 3rd time’s the charm!
I traveled 120 km to a ukulele store, where I tested many ukuleles and picked the one with the best intonation, which turned out to be a cheap composite ebony tenor. It’s a little smaller than most tenors, which solves my problem of being unable to decide between a tenor and a concert 🙂
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