Things to consider when buying a ukulele:
Be wary of fun and funky designs and colors, as you are likely
paying for design instead of quality and tone.
Be wary of the popular ukulele product “bundle.”
Try to invest ALL the money you want to spend at this moment into only the ukulele instrument itself, and a tuner. The more you are able to spend on your instrument, the better the sound will be.
Plan to spend at least $60-$100+ for an acceptable beginner ukulele. The biggest downside (besides sound quality) to the cheaper ukuleles is that they aren't made as well, which actually makes them harder to play. For example the distance of the strings from the fretboards and the frets themselves may not be filed down on the sides. They also often have a hard time staying in tune, especially when you first purchase them because of the
quality of the tuning pegs.
What to look for in a quality instrument:
Wood
Ideally the ukulele will state what wood it is made out of. Elements that could be made from different woods include the body, the neck, the bridge, and the fretboard. Solid wood will have better sound quality than laminate. You might try digging in to the details to find out which parts, if any, are solid wood.
Koa is the traditional wood for ukuleles, but isn’t as easy to find for beginner ukuleles.
Mahogany is good quality for the body and will give you louder projection and a good clear tone compared to other woods available for beginner ukuleles.
Nubone is the best quality synthetic bone material.
Strings
Aquila Super Nylgut Strings
Where to purchase?
- I suggest you support your local independent music store if you have a great one near you.
- Sweetwater is a reliable online music equipment retailer. They have great search tools (you can search by size or brand and even specific woods or solid wood vs solid top)
- Austin Bazaar is another online retailer of music equipment.
- Then of course there is Amazon.
Here are a few recommendations for ukulele’s that are currently available online with direct links to purchase:
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Tenor Size Ukuleles
Lanikai MA-C Mahogany Concert size Ukulele
To Purchase on Sweetwater: Click Here
I do not earn a commission from Sweetwater purchases. I recommend a variety of ukuleles from a variety of sources.
Cordoba 15CM Concert size Ukulele - Mahogany
To purchase on Sweetwater: Click Here.
I do not earn a commission from Sweetwater purchases. I recommend a variety of ukuleles from a variety of sources.
Alvarez RU22C Regent Series Concert Ukulele
To Purchase at Guitar Center: Click Here.
(top recommendation on Wirecutter see article here)
I do not earn a commission from Guitar Center purchases. I recommend a variety of ukuleles from a variety of sources.
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Sporano Size Ukuleles
Epiphone EpiLani Soprano Ukulele - Natural Satin
To purchase on Sweetwater: Click Here
I do not earn a commission from Sweetwater purchases. I recommend a variety of ukuleles from a variety of sources.
Ohana SK-30L Long Scale Tenor-Scale Neck Soprano Ukulele
To purchase on Uke Like The Pros: Click Here
I do not earn a commission from Uke Like The Pros purchases. I recommend a variety of ukuleles from a variety of sources.
A few accessories that Melanie recommends
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Snark tuner
A Snark tuner is ideal. (It’s called a guitar tuner, but it’s for ukuleles also.) Click the photo above to go to Amazon to purchase this tuner.
Kyser Ukulele Capo
Everyone loves this Capo, it is the best one we have found.
A to Z Binder dividers
You will want to print out the PDFs of your song sheets. Along with a three ring binder which will be essential to hold your song sheets, you will enjoy having these A to Z binder dividers to help you sort your music. We will be learning about 50 songs over the course of a year's time. I introduce four new songs every month.
Penetrex Pain Relief Cream
This cream works wonders for those achy Ukulele hands and wrists! Use as a preventative and relief!