Buying A Ukulele
Lanikai pineapple (LU-21P)
If you are considering buying a ukulele the following information may helpful.
For beginners, Blue Moon Ukuleles are reliable ( available from: Hobgoblin Music www.hobgoblin.com ) Blue Moon ukes are used in Hampshire schools, are robust, have proper machine heads and cost about £20. Lazy ukuleles are also good value for about the same price (pianocoversonline.co.uk). Makala ukuleles come in attractive colours, have a dolphin shaped bridge, are well made and sound great for about £30 (available from nevadamusic.co.uk). Mahalo ukes are widely available and of reasonable quality for under £20. For all ukulele purchases it is worth searching the internet for the best price.
Avoid cheaper ukuleles with friction pegs. These do not have geared tuners and difficult to tune.
Well made ukuleles need a fretboard made from a separate piece of hardwood, such as rosewood, set into the neck. You need to ask the supplier for this information. Many cheap ukuleles have fret boards formed out of the softwood neck itself and the level of precision in the manufacture is very poor. As a result some of the chords will sound horrible even when the strings are tuned properly. I have found the cheapest Ashton and Sponge Bob ukuleles to be of inconsistent quality and therefore not to be recommended.
When you buy a new ukulele you will not be able to play it straight away because the nylon strings need time to stretch and it will not stay in tune. After a couple of weeks of tuning the strings will settle down and it will stay in tune. The easiest and most accurate way for most people to tune a ukulele is to use a cherub ukulelemate digital tuner available from Amazon, virtualvillage.co.uk or djmmusic.com
