tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post6411930990180162545..comments2024-03-26T17:50:42.904+00:00Comments on GOT A UKULELE - Ukulele reviews and beginners tips: Why Do We Accept Cheap Junk Ukuleles? The Ready Ace ReviewBarry Mazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15731777711884288947noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-53027693170821150612021-06-22T12:54:36.786+01:002021-06-22T12:54:36.786+01:00A Makala Waterman, at £30, seems like a good value...A Makala Waterman, at £30, seems like a good value, well-regarded, fun, and durable instrument for beginners (like me!)Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07512830236590123143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-1542521076244570192021-06-22T12:53:15.041+01:002021-06-22T12:53:15.041+01:00A Makala Waterman, at £30, seems like a well-regar...A Makala Waterman, at £30, seems like a well-regarded, fun, durable option for beginners(like me!)Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07512830236590123143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-85476949480091659102019-02-05T01:54:28.324+00:002019-02-05T01:54:28.324+00:00Piccolo was my first thought when I read that line...Piccolo was my first thought when I read that line about small /= cheap.<br /><br />Followed by recorders. Quality wood recorders run a few hundred bucks but most think only of the $5 plastic things schools use.ST Doghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17309003175148881864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-79425911828640862872016-08-05T21:41:19.743+01:002016-08-05T21:41:19.743+01:00Ironically, my parents had bought me a cheap, albe...Ironically, my parents had bought me a cheap, albeit not completely a toy, uke when I was a kid. I never really played it, but it's that memory that made me choose this instrument 20yrs later.<br /><br />And also the price. In my opinion decent ukuleles are generally pretty inexpensive compared to a lot of instruments. I wouldn't bet much on a 300€ violin, and my brother who plays the bagpipes told me the usual price range for a decent instrument is around 1000€..<br />But in any case the sad part is that people are not really inclined to pay more than 30~40€ for a ukeOolongteahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09695593043500348000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-87098189152780394242016-04-28T19:46:10.811+01:002016-04-28T19:46:10.811+01:00Considered burning it Larry - but the thought of t...Considered burning it Larry - but the thought of the toxic fumes from that thick paint scared me!Barry Mazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15731777711884288947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-42339417371599650902016-04-28T19:17:31.726+01:002016-04-28T19:17:31.726+01:00One good thing about these crappy ukes. It makes ...One good thing about these crappy ukes. It makes us glad to play ours!<br />Please tell me you burned this one!LarryShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17723096857163954170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-37150918196870203452016-02-01T00:57:43.532+00:002016-02-01T00:57:43.532+00:00As a hopeless "ukaholic" I would recomme...As a hopeless "ukaholic" I would recommend, that when buying a uke, take someone, not unlike myself, with you to avoid the pitfalls! or pay mega bucks! <br />Music shops on the whole seem to be quite happy to stock inferior ones. I rejected 4 models before I found a tenor I considered good value!(£45 new) Very happy!<br />Me? 30 yrs in the trade! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17381612725027341170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-8962823108922515212015-07-24T02:54:26.528+01:002015-07-24T02:54:26.528+01:00Speaking of small musical instruments that are any...Speaking of small musical instruments that are anything but cheap... try looking up grenadilla wood piccolos. A cheap one will set you back over CAN$2,000, and you don't even want to know what the expensive ones cost.<br /><br />I am a beginner with a cheap ukulele, but in my case it was cheap because it was old, battered, had no strings and needed minor repairs I could do myself. I also think the thrift store may have mistaken it for a toy guitar. It seems fairly decent so far, and it is certainly better than the one in your post. That one is truly horrific.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-75418143641628959452014-09-08T13:02:13.682+01:002014-09-08T13:02:13.682+01:00Buy cheap, buy twice, you say?
I've just purc...Buy cheap, buy twice, you say?<br /><br />I've just purchased my third uke (the aforementioned Octopus), with the other two being more or less unplayable. <br />My reason for having a uke was purely as something small and portable, that I can noodle away on where it's impractical to take a full sized guitar. I had no real ambitions to perform or even record with it.<br /><br />My first was a nameless thing that I bought for a fiver from a lad at college. It had a nice looking grain on the top, but had frictionless friction pegs and intonation that was so far out it was never clear which fret was actually the 12th. I learned the chord shapes, but it always sounded awful, and when a string broke (which meant two strings broke, as it was just one string wrapped under the bridge) it went in a cupboard and never came out.<br /><br />I must have mentioned that I was considering getting another one, as a friend bought me one for Christmas. To my ignorant eyes it looked pretty impressive, with it's padded mock-leather bag, glossy, glossy black finish (it was like, how much more black could it be? And the answer was none, none more black), postcard of an attractive bikini clad woman on a beach, and a body shape usually associated with Freddy King or Randy Rhoads.<br /><br />Maybe it's my heavy fretting hand? Maybe it's those tuning pegs and I should replace them with geared tuners? Nope. Despite going back to it again and again, I just couldn't get it to sound pleasant.<br />A quick bit of Googling last month, and it seems that there's a unanimously agreed reason why my Mahalo Vkulele wasn't emitting the sweet sounds I'd hoped for.<br /><br />Third time lucky, hopefully.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-79255102270551679462014-09-07T07:54:26.347+01:002014-09-07T07:54:26.347+01:00Evie - Sorry but I cannot agree with any of that....Evie - Sorry but I cannot agree with any of that. The post above covers it really, but here is the main thing. There ARE good cheap ukes out there (check out the Octopus Soprano reviewed on this site). They DO exist. It's just that the vast majority are terrible. So why are others doing so badly? You say that you believe that the uke you have isn't all that bad, but then immediately say that it doesnt stay in tune long. In which case it fails as a musical instrument. Buy with an informed choice, read up on reviews and cheap AND reliable can be found - what bothers me is the huge number of terrible ukes. I would never put one in the hands of a child - what a perfect way to put them off for life.Barry Mazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15731777711884288947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-68253849886452572012014-09-07T02:18:02.164+01:002014-09-07T02:18:02.164+01:00I think this is a great review, but I do think peo...I think this is a great review, but I do think people need to take into consideration the benefits of cheap ukuleles, I recently bought a cheap uke off eBay for around £20 as a complete novice I wanted something affordable that I coud throw away if I thought it wasn't for me, I simply wanted to have a feel for the size of a uke and have a go at some basic chords. Luckily for me I believe that the uke I purchased isn't all that bad, granted it doesn't stay in tune for very long but hey ho. This cheap uke has really helped me decide that I want to continue to learn and am looking for a higher end uke for this, people aren't completely brain dead if you buy an instrument for £8 no ones going to be expecting amazing results, but surely a child getting a cheap uke and strumming away on it because they don't know the difference between a 'good' and a 'bad' ukulele is better than them not having one at all right? <br />-Evie Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01733708880759033843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-55842285726788332802014-04-04T08:56:15.361+01:002014-04-04T08:56:15.361+01:00Well said Kate!Well said Kate!Barry Mazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15731777711884288947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-37983565653168307502014-04-03T22:57:14.633+01:002014-04-03T22:57:14.633+01:00An excellent article, Barry - thanks. My husband F...An excellent article, Barry - thanks. My husband Fred (C. F. Casey Guitars) starts his ukes at $550 Cdn. They're worth every penny. But so many people are shocked, thinking - as you stated - that because it's small, it should be cheap. They don't realize that the same skills that go into building a guitar go into building an `ukulele. It's gotten to the point where, if someone says to me after I've explained this, "But why should I pay $550.00 for one of your ukes when I can get one in Walmart for $30?" I just smile and say, "I think that a Walmart uke would be perfect for you."Kate Ferris and Fred Caseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01987981626253729251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-24121483516399317082014-03-18T09:50:34.710+00:002014-03-18T09:50:34.710+00:00There were terrible ukulele-shaped things for sale...There were terrible ukulele-shaped things for sale 20 years ago, then marketed as 'souvenirs' or 'props' rather than 'toys'. Price and quality were at the same low point. It isn't new, but the scale is.<br /><br />Ask any music teacher about the awful new instruments their pupils bring along, and everyone will answer: classical guitars, trumpets, flutes and even accordeons (which have unusually high starting prices). That's hard discounting for you, and relatively new. Hard discounting supermarkets have discovered that they can sell shiny instrument-shaped objects for less than a day's wages, and that's something new. And perhaps worth a rant: are those lidl-offers cheap stepping stones to good instruments (or bicycles, or fishing equipment, or whatever hobby you'd like to start), or are they impassable hurdles?<br /><br /><br />What has also changed, is that there now are cheap beginner's instruments available, in the Makala/Aloha/Korala league.<br /><br />To make it a bit more clear, here's a price chart:<br />- dirt cheap, unplayable 7£ ukulele: not new, marketed either as souvenirs or carnival toys<br />- supermarket 15£ ukulele: new for the last 5 years, marketed as a serious instrument with a gig bag and a bookle and sometimes a tuner, but with a lousy construction and very hard to play<br />- 30£ ukulele, sold in music shops: new for the last 10 years, in a growing variety, perhaps not-so-nice sounding but very playable<br />- anything with a much higher pricetag, all of it better sounding, easier to play or much fancier to look at: it had almost dissappeared in the 1990s, but came back with a force since the millenium turn.karlhttp://ukulogie.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-70884391602223468392014-03-18T08:12:31.470+00:002014-03-18T08:12:31.470+00:00Good article Baz and good comment CliffGood article Baz and good comment CliffSonsdadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17429650022652179027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-82633418364532420402014-03-17T18:20:03.851+00:002014-03-17T18:20:03.851+00:00I also had a comment earlier from a uke teacher wh...I also had a comment earlier from a uke teacher who said he has kids turning up for lessons with ukes this bad, and their parents then paying more for the lesson than they did for the uke....Barry Mazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15731777711884288947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-64353818022476240112014-03-17T18:19:25.875+00:002014-03-17T18:19:25.875+00:00I think you are missing my point a little. I have ...I think you are missing my point a little. I have no issue with cheaper ukes, and own several. I do have an issue with a uke where the frets are misplaced and the bridge is wrong, or a uke I had where the neck was set in such a way that it was impossible to string without the strings bottoming on the first fret (unless) I raised the nut to about 1cm high... These are sold to unwitting new players, and particularly children as instruments and are capable of putting them off.<br /><br />Your playing Zahra is sublime and many many leagues above most beginners. The vast majority of buyers of these may only have intentions of strumming in uke clubs, and for those, this thing is uselessBarry Mazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15731777711884288947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-75614689699246255552014-03-17T18:15:34.132+00:002014-03-17T18:15:34.132+00:00I think they average person paying for a £10 isn&#...I think they average person paying for a £10 isn't looking to perform in a concert hall, if they are happy with their purchase then there is no harm. The validity of an instrument is not due to its craftsmanship but merely its recognizable construction. I own ukuleles that go as cheap as £30 and i have an electric guitar that cost £15, it has no truss rod hehe, i find them a challenge to work with but they are capable of producing musical sounds. If i have a ukulele that buzzes you can bet il use that buzz in a musical context, if its a guitar with no truss rod then il bend the neck as i play.<br /><br /> The first uke i played was a friends that cost her £15, first thing i did was start tapping on it, i saw the potential not the bad craftmanship. A lesson can be learnt from the early blues players that would nail a string to the side of a wooden shack with two bottles at either end and use it as the first version of what we recognize now as the diddlybow They produced music just as valid as a musician with a £5000 custom scientifically-engineered perfect-intonation instrument. I always say that i work toward a time when i am able to master one string, a musicians true talent is shown when they are confronted with limitations not when they feel musically safe. I known so so many musicians whom would be lost if you merely removed one string from their instrument. Someone whom plays a stringed instrument should be able to pick up any stringed instrument , any tuning and be able to create music, a skill often repressed by scales and chordal theory, forgetting the true essence of the music. <br /><br /> There are no unplayable instruments, there are only challenges to our creativity. I put a pickup in my pocket ukuleles to try and show this to be true. I love getting to know an instrument that buzzes with out of tune intonation, those are extra features not hindrances . i have a few instrument that i made "unplayable" purposefully to always challenge my creative process, all of which i never tune , just pick up and listen and adapt, molding harmoniously into the character of the instrumentAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06022231282454449295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-5690621210297966282014-03-17T17:49:00.482+00:002014-03-17T17:49:00.482+00:00That is a great idea Cliff - I will make an edit.That is a great idea Cliff - I will make an edit.Barry Mazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15731777711884288947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-38909142045869286702014-03-17T17:43:20.538+00:002014-03-17T17:43:20.538+00:00Great post. Perhaps a link to a post or three abou...Great post. Perhaps a link to a post or three about the better "inexpensive" ukuleles available? Let's keep grammas and grampas and aunties and uncles (and a few parents) finding playable instruments for the kids. I've given away a number of Makala Dolphins and Sharks, often restrung with Aquilas, with a good inexpensive tuner and a learn to play ukulele book. Only one has gone on to purchase a finer instrument... but all still play and care for their plastic backed ukes.Cliff Adamshttp://www.vibrocounts.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-15386579285036843352014-03-17T17:16:26.772+00:002014-03-17T17:16:26.772+00:00The same thing happens with other instruments and ...The same thing happens with other instruments and with bicycles. How many people buy a $150 bike then decide that they don't like riding because they got a lousy bike. But you also don't have to be priced out of either hobby. My tenor Hora sounds nearly as nice as my Lanikai but cost me 100 lei (less than 20 pounds).mcphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15286460467097669368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-89871930185118451842014-03-17T15:18:41.242+00:002014-03-17T15:18:41.242+00:00Just need to hope people looking for ukuleles are ...Just need to hope people looking for ukuleles are able to use a search engine to find a site like yours, ukulele underground or reddit to at least ask for where to start looking for a ukulele.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-6873115418302422242014-03-17T14:07:52.074+00:002014-03-17T14:07:52.074+00:00Unfortunately cheap beginner guitars are built the...Unfortunately cheap beginner guitars are built the same way. I bought a $100 CA guitar on sale for $25 thinking I could make it playable. Hah, fat chance. Not only is it hard to play physically (I'm an somewhat experienced guitarist) but also will not tune. I could see a kid giving up trying to learn almost immediately. Why do they make instruments that won't tune and is unplayable? Obviously the makers and sellers have their own interest in mind.. $$Mark Sanche https://www.blogger.com/profile/02252752560373009496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-50670555169956994042014-03-17T13:20:28.842+00:002014-03-17T13:20:28.842+00:00ha ha - thanks Jim!ha ha - thanks Jim!Barry Mazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15731777711884288947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724767841739249964.post-3759870794356974802014-03-17T13:18:23.093+00:002014-03-17T13:18:23.093+00:00Thanks....sadly, a very funny commentary style.......Thanks....sadly, a very funny commentary style....maybe they DID vomit into it. MORE interesting, were the Collings ukulele ads that surrounded it as I read. Big Jim Allen, St. Pete, FL<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com