My grandson is learning to play in school and wants one of his own for Christmas. I know next to nothing about ukes or their makers, so I told my daughter I’d ask you mother pluckers for some help. 
How old is he? What kind of budget do you have? Does your budget take into account his age/and or likelihood he’ll continue to play?
He’s only ten, but mature for his age. He shows a lot of interest in the world, in science and history. Whether or not he will stay with the instrument is something I can’t answer, but I would like him to at least have an instrument that sounds good and that is constructed to last for a few years, anyway. It would be foolish to spend $500 on this, but I think a couple hundred would be warranted.
Two great options:
–An Ohana from Mim’s Ukes. Ohanas are great for the money and come in more colors and styles than you can imagine. Mim is their largest dealer and personally sets every one of them up before she sends it out, which makes a HUGE difference over one just bought from Amazon or somewhere else. Drop her a line and she’d be happy to help you find the right uke. I’ve bought three from her.
–A Mainland from Mainland Ukes. A one-couple operation based in Nashville, Indiana that produces their own brand of ukes. (They’re manufactured in Asia somewhere but they’re assembled by Mainland Mike and his wife Tookta at the shop in Nashville.) A little pricier than the cheaper Ohanas, but they’re right in the sweet spot of price vs. quality. I have a red cedar concert and a mahogany longneck concert pineapple, and I love them both dearly.
(DISCLOSURE: All of these people are friends of mine. Tell them Jonathan and his Four-String Fiasco sent you.)
I have a Fluke Uke that sounds great. Would probably sound better when played by somebody else, but I like it.
Ike.
No idea what you’re on about.
Another question. Is a soprano uke a good size for a 10-year old?
I’m biased, since it’s the company I work for, but Fender has really stepped up their uke game lately. I got to mess around a little with the Grace VanderWaal model recently, and it’s a nice instrument. We have decent, less expensive ones as well.
https://shop.fender.com/en-US/ukuleles/
And yes, soprano is the perfect size for a 10 year old.
You might ask him what size he’s playing at school and whether he’d want that size or a different one. I usually recommend a concert size for adult beginners, just because they’re usually easier to play with adult-sized fingers, but a soprano is more traditional and easier for kids. You could really go either way.
Well, there’s this poster named Ike who apparently has a thing for 4-stringed instruments. You might want to shoot him a PM.
Ah, I see. The only thing I could think of was the president.
You’re in good company.
Paging Ukulele Ike to this thread.
I’m definitely no expert, but I’ve had good results with Kala ukes for my teens the past couple of years. The lower-end ones are reasonable, and they have a very nice sound.
I’m getting another Kala soprano uke for one of the kids this year. He’d prefer to try a charango, having heard Young the Giant using one, but I know even less about them.
I have a small arsenal of ukes. My current favorite is a pineapple shaped Lanikai soprano, similar to this, but mine doesn’t have strap buttons. Has a nice bright sound. Wasn’t terribly expensive, either.
I’m also fond of my Lanikai 8 string tenor, but I think it’s best to start with a basic soprano and branch out from there if you want.
The nice thing about the uke is you can get a decent sound without spending a lot of money. Here’s a comparison of a $20 Mahalo uke (I have one, and it’s not too bad) and a $1000 Kiwaya uke. $20 Ukulele vs $1000 Ukulele Comparison - YouTube
Thanks for all the input. After much back and forth with my daughter, I found out that they use baritones in the school, which surprised me. I looked at a Kala baritone, but it got a lot of complaints about buzzing strings and cheap quality. We finally settled on a Lohanu tenor, which gets 98% rave reviews out of 2100 given on Amazon. Comes with a gig bag, tuner, free lessons, etc. and has an unconditional lifetime warranty for $100.
That is odd.
But hey, now what is being learned on the Uke can easily be translated to guitar later. So… It’s sorta like learning two instruments in one? (my daughter was taught to play guitar chords by only playing on the top 4 strings at first. So it even seems to be common teaching practice these days.)
I have a Kala soprano which I love and came in to recommend, but Barritones are a whole other kettle of fish. The one you got sounds nice, and a tuner is a great idea.