A Good Concert / Tenor Ukulele under $500 (Big hands)

[Wico]

Hi I'm looking for a Ukulele with
* Good action
* Stays in Tune
* Relatively wide Nut width (for bigger hands)
* Beautiful Ukulele sound
* Concert or Tenor size body.
* Good value / quality for the money
* High G Tuning .


I'm a beginner but I still want to enjoy learning the instrument rather than get a poor sounding ukulele that constantly gets out of tune.
Any suggestions?

[mikehalloran]

Most tenors will fit that bill except for the under $500 part.
I really like Kala at your price point. Sweetwater has many.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/search ... kala+tenor

Most Kalas under $500 are very thin laminates but quite resonant. This solid acacia cutaway model is an exception (koa is a species of acacia). When I was a dealer (perhaps I still am but haven't done this in a long time), I sold quite a few and many of my friends still play theirs.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... lectronics



The preamp is ok for plugging in and has a built-in tuner.
https://www.fishman.com/wp-content/uplo ... _Guide.pdf


You can make a baritone work, too, with the right strings. If your hands are like mine...
https://www.elderly.com/products/aquila ... ne-uke-set

Yes, really. I used to teach children to play guitar and often started them on baritone uke. When they got to college, a set of these worked great.

Here was my baritone with 'em


They are extra-long versions of the NylGut Concert strings. I use them on most ukes tuned reentrant with the high G. If I get in a uke that does not have NylGut or an equally high quality string, then it gets a set of these.

[stubbsonic]

I have an Alvarez tenor. It plays well, sounds pretty good. Nothin' fancy but well-made for the price.

[mhschmieder]

It is good that you set your budget at $500, if you are serious about long-term 'ukulele playing, as quality goes up significantly after the $250 mark or thereabouts, but it is also true that there are some real quality bargains out there, including at the beginner to intermediate level, from several brands, but especially Pono and Kala.

The Ukulele Site has excellent video demos of a gazillion models (in all price ranges) and is very helpful for coming to decisions.

As I like to double instruments a lot, with distinct sound vs. a blurred composite result, I go for different woods and shapes in my guitars, 'ukuleles, etc. The decisions are semi-arbitrary, but I went for all solid koa for my soprano, all solid mahogany for my concert, mango and the pineapple shape for my tenor (Low G tuning, but it is built to support either and defaults to High G), and an unusual ebony body with cedar top for my baritone (using non-re-entrant tuning).

The fact of the matter is that koa, acacia, and mahogany, are more similar than they are different, when applied to a small instrument like a 'ukulele. Even mango is a bit close to all three of those woods, and koa is a type of acacia anyway. Any of those four woods will get you a fairly traditional sound that is tonally well-balanced. Of the four, mahogany is usually the cheapest, but sometimes mango is. The only caveat is that mango might not hold up as long, or as well, over time or to different climates.

At your chosen budget, there's no need to consider laminates vs. sold woods. And don't feel like you have to buy koa wood, as the other three woods are fairly similar in sound and other factors will matter more, such as body shape (there is some variation here in terms of traditional narrow-waist vs. modern moderate-waist design), pineapple shape vs. concert guitar shape, etc.

[mhschmieder]

As the 'ukulele has become very popular in recent years, new models are coming out all the time, and the serious players who don't "go for the gold" (as I did for three of my four voicings) and spend $700 or more; even $1300 or more in some cases, are buying mostly in the $350 to $600 range, which is also where there's some of the fiercest competition at the moment.

As you aren't looking at the budget range, I won't discuss those. In your given price range, my personal experience is that the higher-end Kala models and the Pono line are the best value and bang-for-buck in terms of sound, playability, and construction. Kala only recently started taking the higher-end seriously but have quickly stepped up their game. Even my cheap concert model (mahogany) in the old "Nunes" style, is VERY high quality overall.

I have owned a LOT of 'ukuleles over the years, and though I almost went for a traditional brand at one point, I personally feel that there isn't much need to look beyond those two brands at the moment, as there are so many models available. There are other brands that I recommend as well, but they have fewer models and aren't as good bang-for-buck. With Kala and Pono, the intonation will not be an issue.

I specifically do NOT recommend Cordoba and a few other brands, as they don't "play" or sound like 'ukuleles as they were designed as tiny versions of instruments those manufacturers have more of a specialized background in (such as classical guitar), and intonation is wonky. There's no need to consider brands that don't specialize in 'ukuleles, in today's market.

[mhschmieder]

Setup work is important as well, which is why I use the specialty vendor mentioned above. Not dissing our sponsor though, and I bought my Kala from them as I recall (or possibly from Elderly; I look at Sweetwater first and then go to Elderly if not available at our sponsor). It's more about wanting to support the Native Hawai'ian luthiers and shops, as they have a struggle on those islands with cost of living and unequal opportunities. Great customer support and lots of help in deciding what you want/need.

Make sure to humidify your 'ukes, depending on your climate zone. These are semi-fragile instruments compared to flat-top folk guitars; especially due to the woods involved. Your specific climate will determine which device is the best one for you, but they're all cheap (under $30) so the cost shouldn't be the main factor.

Strings matter too, and vary considerably. I no longer use Aquila NylGut; I never liked their feel (they cut into my skin) and they have unusual tension due to their design, and I suspect this isn't the best for the instrument's longevity or for tuning stability either. In each case, I have what came with the instrument, except for the Kala Concert, for which I bought Worth strings (I forget which colour; those notes are at home).

Lots of specialty string vendors now. The microfiber strings are usually the best vs. nylon, and last longer too, with less chance of breakage. But the better manufacturers all ship with good strings to start with. It's not too hard to find YouTube videos comparing different string manufacturers and types. Note that tenor and baritone models often ship with a "mixed set".

[mhschmieder]

BTW this is one instrument where I do not recommend buying used. The simple reason is that construction quality and bang-for-buck has been improving exponentially over the past five years, due to the market having heated up since the 'ukulele revival really kicked into gear.

The luthiers are all quickly learning from mistakes, or simply finding better ways of doing things. But also beware of the trend of the past two years towards "wall hangings" (as I call them). Maybe some of those are great instruments, but they're not worth considering until you've had a good length of time on a more traditional model that uses one of the four "normal" woods (acacia, koa, mahogany, mango), and one of the three "regular" shapes (concert guitar, modern modified concert guitar, pineapple).

[mhschmieder]

If you visit Hawai'i, and especially if you walk into an instrument shop, you will make immediate friends with the shop clerks if you pronounce the instrument's name correctly. I am noticing more and more people picking up on this, thankfully. It's a sign of cultural respect.

The actual spelling has an apostrophe in front, but that is awkward with a capital letter, which is why it's usually left off. Otherwise people use lower-case and spell it 'ukulele. This indicates the phonetic pronunciation of an "oo" vs. a "you" sound, just as with the country name "Ukraine" (which westerners pronounce incorrectly, but I studied Slavic languages so have seen the Cyrillic and it is an "oo" and not a "you" character at the front).

Other than saying "Aloha" and "Mahalo" while on the islands, pronouncing the name of the 'ukulele correctly, makes a huge difference in how the locals perceive you, and how friendly will be the responses to your questions and your interactions.

[Lajinka]

I just started ukulele recently, after a lifetime of playing fiddle, guitar and all mandolin family instruments.
I chose this Hricane Tenor Ukulele UKS-3. I purchased this ukulele for a class I was taking in college and also for my future career as a music therapist. I wasn't expecting this ukulele to be the one I used for a long time, I originally purchased it until I could purchase a better one.