OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
UKULELES AND UKULELE ACCESSORIES
What To Consider When Purchasing 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 to $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 thequality 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.
Ranch Concert Ukulele 23"
We recommend this 23 inch Classical ukelele bundled with this Ukulele soft case. Item availability is subject to changes with the Amazon store.
To purchase on amazon: Click Here
Concert Ukulele 24" Pineapple Shaped
We recommend this 24" pineapple shaped concert ukulele. Item availability is subject to changes with the
Amazon Store.
To purchase on Amazon: Click Here
Ranch Concert Ukulele 24"
We recommend this 24" concert Ukulele bundled with this Ukulele soft case. Item availability is subject to changes with the Amazon store.
To purchase on Amazon: Click Here
Luna Tattoo Concert Mahogany Ukulele with Gig Bag
We recommend this beautiful Luna Tattoo 24" Concert Ukulele. The traditional Hawaiian tattoo design is laser etched with an open pore finish, so the player can feel the design. With this long-scale version, you'll enjoy the stable feel and satisfying response of comfortable action. Come with soft carrying case.
Item availability is subject to changes with the Amazon store.
To purchase on Amazon: Click Here
RockJam Concert 23"
We recommend this 23" concert Ukulele bundled with this Ukulele soft case, strap, tuner, and replacement strings.Item availability is subject to changes with the Amazon store.
To purchase on Amazon: Click Here
A few accessories that Melanie recommends
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Let us know your favorite ukulele accessories and we can share them here.
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Super Tight Snark Tuner
We recommend the Super Tight Snark clip on Tuner for your tuning needs. to purchase on Amazon you can click here.
Snark Rechargeable Chromatic Tuner
We recommend the Super Tight Snark clip on Tuner for your tuning needs. to purchase on Amazon you can click here.
Silver Snark Tuner
We recommend the Super Tight Snark clip on Tuner for your tuning needs. to purchase on Amazon you can click here.
Kyser Ukulele Capo
We recommend this Kyser Ukulele Capo. to purchase is on Amazon you can click here
Rock Tips Liquid Callus
We recommend Rock Tips Liquid Callus to help with sore finger tips. To purchase on Amazon, click here.
Gorilla Tips
We recommend the Gorilla Tips silicone finer tip protectors to help with sore finger tips. To purchase on Amazon, click here.
Batteries for Tuners
We recommend these Lithium batteries for your tuners. To purchase on Amazon: click here