Here’s the scoop: My SO is a professional musician (mainly guitar, but all stringed instruments capture his fancy). Every time we go into any kind of music store, or heck, even toy stores, he always makes a beeline to the ukuleles and plays with them, but never buys one (despite wanting one really badly).
Clearly, it is time for me to give him one for his birthday. The trouble is, I have no idea what I should get. He wouldn’t use it onstage, but I bet he’d use it in recordings. He has declared many times his love of “shitty” guitars, and likes to mix them in with his super-expensive ones to get a nice variety of sound. All of which is to say, the cost doesn’t necessarily need to be high.
So. How do I go about finding a decent ukulele? Where? What should I ask about? What should I look for?
Well, first you need to know whether he wants a tenor, soprano, baritone or banjo uke.
Second, you don’t want to spend less than $50 minimum, and more like around $100 to get one that’s halfway decent to learn on.
Try here to start - although these are at the bottom end of the playability scale. Don’t even think about a uke under $50, and if you can afford it, go higher.
You can sort by price range there. Rogues are pieces of crap - the Oscar Schmidt’s aren’t good, but they’re not bad either.
A good rule of thumb is the distance between the strings and the fretboard. If there’s quite a distance, it’s a piece of shit and not worth buying. Look for something where the strings are no more than about 1/8th of an inch above and truly parallel to the fretboard.
My sister used to have one that was plastic, and had plastic frets. It was crap.
In addition to the action, make sure that every string on every fret rings true and clear, with no buzzing sound. Look for quality materials. Look for quality workmanship, especially in the tuning pegs and bridge.
picker has good advice (why do we keep running into each other in these threads?)
My mom collects ukes - has over 40 or 50. Oy.
Anyway, you just need a good tone - what you should probably do is either get one that is 100% guaranteed returnable/exchangeable (if you really want him to get something physical as the gift) or just tool up a gift certificate and let him pick.
It is a GREAT idea - you should be applauded. At the same time, musical instruments represent a very personal choice…
I should comment on this quickly. 1/8" is not a hard and fast rule. It’s a pretty good approximation, but is largley a matter of taste. And no good instrument is going to have perfectly parallel strings (but they should be pretty close). A bridge of adjustable height is worth looking for.
If you really want to know what your SO will like, take a close look at his high-end instruments. A uke that is set up like those is one that he’s going to enjoy playing.
I should add one more bit of advice, then I’ll shut up.
Find one of his band members, or a friend, or even a complete stranger who plays guitar or mandolin. Drag this person to the store with you. Trust his advice.
One of his good friends/bandmates works at Willie’s American Guitars, which is the best guitar shop in town (the Rolling Stones people came in last week, for example). I’m-a ask John to help me out, but I wanted to be educated enough that I won’t be a total idiot when looking, you know?
And yes, I know that no fretboard is perfectly straight, but that note will help me remember to look carefully at it, and its relationship with the strings.
Interestingly, I just put a Martin and a Kamaka up for sale with the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society. They have several on consignment. Might be worth checking into.
If there’s anything in an ukelele that isn’t glued down, it’s not a good thing. Loose braces are bad. Small rodents are right out. It’s good to look for those things in an ukelele. (note that I’m using the Hawaiian oo-keh-lay-leh pronunciation that requires “an.”)
You sent them from Oregon to Hawaii? (I am assuming your profile of means you are in Oregon - if wrong, sorry). Bummer - there is a HUGE market for them in the 48 lower states if you know where to look. My mom networks a lot - there is a ton of traffic in uke’s - gotta love the internet!
