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| Which Uke - Beginner Questions - Ukulele - Ukulele - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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GBali Approved
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Hi people! I know that there are a lot of topics about which uke to choose for a beginner, but i have to ask it. So, I live in Hungary (Central Europe), and there aren't much choices I have. I only found 3 ukuleles. One, is a Samick UK50, which I could buy for ~63 USD, but I have read it here, that they are not too good. The other is a noname for 19 USD, the good thing in this is that if I don't like it, i would simply throw it away. Here's a link with a picture (there's hungarian text there, ignore it, they don't say anything important) http://www.conrad.hu/conrad.php?name=Products&cid=VkZaU1ZrMVZNVVZTVkVKUFlXeFZlUT09&pid=Vkc1d2FrMVZNVlZXV0hCT1lXeHJPUT09 Also, there is a Samick UK70 for ~120 USD, but its a bit too expensive for me. What do you think what should I do? Shall I search and wait until I can buy a good one? Or buy the cheap one, and hope its good? I will continue searching, maybe I will find other ones. Thank you! Last edited on Mon Apr 14th, 2008 06:37 pm by GBali |
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Preston Approved 
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GBali, welcome to ezFolk and ukuleles. Based on the photo, I would not buy the no name uke. While the Samick ukes are not the best uke (they are heavy and their sound is not very loud) they are well built and pretty. I have a used Uk 70 that I bought on ebay for about $75 US dollars. The Samick UK50 is not bad for $63. I don't know how hard or expensive it is to buy over the internet, but that is worth a try. I have bought several ukes that way. Music Guy Mike has an ebay store and is one of the most reputable dealers. http://stores.ebay.com/Musicguymics-Room I wouldn't buy a really cheap uke. I bought one for $30 US dollars and almost gave up the uke because this one was so hard to play and sounded so bad. Of the inexpensive ukes I have tried, I have found the Lanikai ukes to be pretty good for the price. The uke is popular in Great Britain right now and there are several dealers there. I am sure that some of our posters who are from GB. could help you find a uke in europe. Good Luck
____________________ My EzFolk Page: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1072 |
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GBali Approved
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Hello, and thank you for the fast reply  It seems like that there is a chance that I can get the stuff from ebay, but I think the delivering would be really expensive. I really like that Makala Ukulele, that Music Guy Mike sells, what do you think about it? I continued to search, and I found a shop where I could buy a Yamaha GL-1 uke. The problem is that it has 6 nylon strings, and I don't really know anything about that kind of uke. What is the tuning on that? Just like on a guitar? I would more like to buy a traditional uke, so if its much different, I wont buy it. Oh, and it would be ~102 USD.
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GBali Approved
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Oh I see now that the GL-1 isn't really an ukulele, its more like a small guitar. Anyway I managed to find a Stagg US60S uke for 96 USD. Anyone having experiences with it?
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Preston Approved
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As a beginner, I would stick with 4 strings. 6 string ukes are like a 4 string uke, but two of the strings are doubled. I have not played a Makala but it has gotten good reviews for a uke in this price range. I wouldn't go much cheaper because the quality will suffer. The Makala ukes music guy mike is selling are tenor sized, these are quite a bit larger than a soprano uke, the traditional and smallest uke size. There is nothing wrong with a tenor, they are the most popular size in Hawaii, but they are more expensive than a soprano. I would e mail Mike and see if he can sell you a soprano size (he may not sell this size). It should be a bit cheaper. He can also give you the cost of shipping. I have dealt with Mike and he is a very good man and I trust him a lot. Here is his e mail address: MUSICGUYMIC@AOL.COM * I just read your last post. Stagg is a UK brand and sold in Europe. From the description I have read, it looks nice for the price. Anytime you can get a solid wood (instead of laminated ukulele) it is usually better than a laminate This uke looks like a good buy. Last edited on Mon Apr 14th, 2008 09:42 pm by Preston ____________________ My EzFolk Page: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1072 |
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GBali Approved
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Thank you very much, you helped a lot. I will e-mail Mike, and decide soon. I will inform you, of my decision Again, Thank you.
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honu Approved
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GBali - I have an UK-70. Any Samick or Washburn is too heavily braced which results in a very soft harsh sound. I would not recommend a Samick or Washburn to anyone who is learning to play the uke or is an experienced player. I had originally bought it for practicing around the house, but the frets are too sharp to play for long durations and the plastic border on the fretboard is terrible. The first step is to find out what uke size you want to play. Being price sensitive, you have one choice - soprano size. The next question is to find out if you plan to buy one or two ukes as you progress. Many of us experience buying mulitiple ukes or some of us just buy one expensive uke and be done with it. Either way, any cheap or inexpensive uke will require changing the strings - there are issues with them. Contact musicguymic as Preston suggests. Musicguymic will set up the uke for you and he usually tests them and will match the strings to the uke. He has samples that you can hear on what the uke sounds like. Last edited on Mon Apr 14th, 2008 10:16 pm by honu |
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ezmember Approved
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The Kala Makala sounds good. I have Kala's and like them. You might ask Mike if he's got a Concert size uke, just a little bigger than Soprano. But Tenor is good too. You can't go wrong with either of those, and if you really want a tiny uke, go for the Soprano. Good luck and let us know what you decide.
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GBali Approved
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Hi again, I still don't have my ukulele I contacted MusicGuyMike, and the shipping would be 55USD, what is pretty expensive, so I have to buy my uke here. I found a Roling's UK-15N for ~57USD, does anyone have experiences with it? Here's a pic http://www.gfx.hu/sandhangszer/Roling%27s%20UK-15.jpeg I only found this info about it, but not sure if its about this uke  http://www.tikiking.com/uke_db/Rollingsdb.htmlLast edited on Wed Apr 16th, 2008 06:54 pm by GBali |
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honu Approved
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I have never tested the Roling uke. From the picture, it looks like a laminated wood top. Looks really similar to a Samick or Oscar Schmidt. Oscar Schmidt builds ukes under different names like Greg Bennett. Which by the way, most of the uke sound is from the top of the soundbox. So, the top needs to be thin. Most inexpensive ukes are heavily braced which distorts the sound. Too bad on musicguymic - to me the $55 USD is worth it. At least you will have a good ukulele to start with 'out-of-box'. No offense to you, but I have seen so many beginners quit because the uke sounds and plays terrible. They go for the cheapest. Most of us on this bulletin board, including Preston (Hi Preston!) have experienced this problem. I'm embarrassed to say, that I have 6 ukes. Then, they ask me why mine sounds so good. I made a significant investment in my uke, and even if I play lousy the uke still sounds good. So, the next question is, do you want to buy multiple ukes or just one or two? A decent beginner uke that is not traditional looking, but really is a player for the price is a Flea or Fluke. I use a Flea for practicing at home. Mine was $170.00 USD over two years ago. Last edited on Wed Apr 16th, 2008 10:37 pm by honu |
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GBali Approved
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Im back, and I bought an uke Finally I went to a shop, where they were selling both the Stagg, and the Rollins uke, an they said, that many people return the Stagg, couse its not good, so I bought the Rollins one. Its body is made of carbon fibre I think, and the top is solid wood, not laminate. The fretboard seems to be mahagony, but Im not sure about it. It has black nylon strings, which I will replace soon. When I tuned it and started playing, it sunded really bad, but I realized, that the strings got really out of tune really fast. After the 10th time I tuned it it sounds great (for me at least) so Im happy with it If you would like, I can upload a sound sample, just tell me where to upload it The only bad thing about it, is that it is heavy. Last edited on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 07:38 pm by GBali |
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Preston Approved
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GBali, congratulation on the uke purchase. New strings usually stretch for a while. You may also need to tighten the tuners (each should have a phillips screw) if the tuners are slipping, which is common. I would recommend Aquilla or Worth strings. They seem to get the best reviews on uke bulletin boards. I have both and like them. Aquillas are made in Italy, so you should be able to get them. Keep us updated on your uke experiences. Hi Honu! Last edited on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 08:24 pm by Preston ____________________ My EzFolk Page: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1072 |
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Urmilla Approved
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Last edited on Tue Jul 1st, 2008 06:13 pm by Urmilla |
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| Current time is 07:13 pm | |
| ezFolk Forums > Ukulele > Beginner Questions - Ukulele > Which Uke | |
