Buying a ukulele can be an overwhelming and tricky job, especially if you're looking for a beginner or basic ukulele. There are so many from which to choose, and quality is not always a function of price. Keep in mind though, that if you want more than a toy and want a ukulele that you can play seriously, it's unlikely that you will get much acoustic value by responding to a pitch of ukuleles for sale $30 or $40 (pun intended).
Basic ukuleles come in four sizes or types. They range from the largest, a baritone, down through tenor, concert and soprano, each a little smaller than the previous. You can find anything from a high quality, well playing instrument down to what is little more than a toy. There truly is a very wide range of style and quality.
So how do you decide? My recommendation is that you get serious about the intended use you plan to make of your ukulele. Your primary focus should be on how seriously it will be played, even if we're just talking about having some serious fun. Let that seriousness be your deciding factor as you compare quality, acoustic value and price.
Is your purchase a gift for someone else? How serious will that person be about his or her playing? The same question should apply to the age of the person who will be playing the ukulele and that person's level of playing proficiency-how serious? Or is this for someone who is just learning to play-is he or she serious about it? You get my drift.
Although you can expect to pay more for quality, it may not necessarily be as a direct proportion. There are some exceptions; while you can expect to get what you pay for, some very well playing instruments are still very reasonably priced. A good principle to follow is that whether for a beginner or for an established player, and regardless of the age, the more serious you are, the more you can expect to play, and the higher the quality you will need. Successful melding of quality and price should be your goal and will for the most part determine your budget. With that in mind, let's look briefly at the four types of ukulele.
Soprano For a beginner the soprano is a good place to start. Early ukuleles were just about all soprano-sized. It's the smallest, and from the beginning it became the classic size with the classic sound. Many gifted ukulele players swear by the soprano. Simple to play by comparison, nothing quite compares to strumming away on the smallest, some say the purest, ukulele.
It has been said that a soprano ukulele is easy to learn but hard to master. It is good for playing chords and for strumming, but when it comes to fancy stuff, finger picking can be tricky. When compared to the other standard three, the traditional sound offered by this basic uke can seem thin and without much resonance.
Being smaller, sopranos will usually be priced lower and you will have more from which to choose as compared to the other three. A smaller instrument can also be good for smaller people, like kids. Don't be fooled though, many of the best ukulele players are large people with large fingers who favor sopranos.
Concert Halfway between the soprano and the tenor is the concert ukulele. This can be a great compromise if you want to strum and finger pick, and for those not comfortable with the tenor size uke. Concerts offer more resonance for a fuller tone but maintain the unmistakable sound of a ukulele and not a guitar. It has the same tuning as the soprano, gCEA, and the same traditional sound, but with serious practice you can learn to play whatever you want to play.
It can be a good compromise for those who like to strum and fingerpick and are more comfortable with a somewhat larger size. It has the same gCEA tuning as the soprano, with a similar sound but more resonance and a fuller tone. It's not a guitar, but if you can get serious again (which means to seriously practice), you can learn to play just about anything.
Tenor The tenor ukulele can be used for more advanced solo playing i.e. Jake Shimabukuro. It has more of a guitar-like tone, more finger room that allows faster play, and lends itself to more complex runs. Its size produces a deeper, fuller, more resonant quality in sound and tone. The fourth string can be tuned an octave lower, giving it even further range.
Baritone If you already know how to play a guitar, or if you are learning to play guitar, then learning to play a baritone uke will be easier for you. Tuned like the bottom 4 strings of a guitar, the baritone uke can complement your guitar practice and vice versa. You don't have the two top strings (base) so it's like a guitar with no top end. The baritone ukulele produces a crisp, fuller sound that resembles a small guitar.
In summary, let's get serious again. If you consider quality coupled with cost, add in your level of musical ability and interest in playing, you are now ready to go shopping. There's one additional possibility I'd like you to consider. And it can make your ukulele selection more meaningful than ever. Think about the possibility of building your own ukulele, either from scratch or by assembling one from a ukulele building kit.
The internet is loaded with ideas that can show you how to produce your own creation from scratch, and many sites offer a basic ukulele building kit that you can start with, and then add other components as you desire. You may want to check out the tramp art music culture where good quality instruments are made from everyday components, using a multitude of boxes for surprising resonance, i.e. a cigar box with a wooden back or a simple box you can make yourself.
Either way, completed instrument, or your own construction from scratch, or build from a cigar box ukulele kit or a conventional kit, the ukulele can be an unparalleled means to some serious fun, with one overriding factor-you can't play a sad song on a ukulele. The best of luck to you if you decide to purchase a completed instrument, and, if you decide to build from scratch or from a kit, good luck and good building. - 29968
Basic ukuleles come in four sizes or types. They range from the largest, a baritone, down through tenor, concert and soprano, each a little smaller than the previous. You can find anything from a high quality, well playing instrument down to what is little more than a toy. There truly is a very wide range of style and quality.
So how do you decide? My recommendation is that you get serious about the intended use you plan to make of your ukulele. Your primary focus should be on how seriously it will be played, even if we're just talking about having some serious fun. Let that seriousness be your deciding factor as you compare quality, acoustic value and price.
Is your purchase a gift for someone else? How serious will that person be about his or her playing? The same question should apply to the age of the person who will be playing the ukulele and that person's level of playing proficiency-how serious? Or is this for someone who is just learning to play-is he or she serious about it? You get my drift.
Although you can expect to pay more for quality, it may not necessarily be as a direct proportion. There are some exceptions; while you can expect to get what you pay for, some very well playing instruments are still very reasonably priced. A good principle to follow is that whether for a beginner or for an established player, and regardless of the age, the more serious you are, the more you can expect to play, and the higher the quality you will need. Successful melding of quality and price should be your goal and will for the most part determine your budget. With that in mind, let's look briefly at the four types of ukulele.
Soprano For a beginner the soprano is a good place to start. Early ukuleles were just about all soprano-sized. It's the smallest, and from the beginning it became the classic size with the classic sound. Many gifted ukulele players swear by the soprano. Simple to play by comparison, nothing quite compares to strumming away on the smallest, some say the purest, ukulele.
It has been said that a soprano ukulele is easy to learn but hard to master. It is good for playing chords and for strumming, but when it comes to fancy stuff, finger picking can be tricky. When compared to the other standard three, the traditional sound offered by this basic uke can seem thin and without much resonance.
Being smaller, sopranos will usually be priced lower and you will have more from which to choose as compared to the other three. A smaller instrument can also be good for smaller people, like kids. Don't be fooled though, many of the best ukulele players are large people with large fingers who favor sopranos.
Concert Halfway between the soprano and the tenor is the concert ukulele. This can be a great compromise if you want to strum and finger pick, and for those not comfortable with the tenor size uke. Concerts offer more resonance for a fuller tone but maintain the unmistakable sound of a ukulele and not a guitar. It has the same tuning as the soprano, gCEA, and the same traditional sound, but with serious practice you can learn to play whatever you want to play.
It can be a good compromise for those who like to strum and fingerpick and are more comfortable with a somewhat larger size. It has the same gCEA tuning as the soprano, with a similar sound but more resonance and a fuller tone. It's not a guitar, but if you can get serious again (which means to seriously practice), you can learn to play just about anything.
Tenor The tenor ukulele can be used for more advanced solo playing i.e. Jake Shimabukuro. It has more of a guitar-like tone, more finger room that allows faster play, and lends itself to more complex runs. Its size produces a deeper, fuller, more resonant quality in sound and tone. The fourth string can be tuned an octave lower, giving it even further range.
Baritone If you already know how to play a guitar, or if you are learning to play guitar, then learning to play a baritone uke will be easier for you. Tuned like the bottom 4 strings of a guitar, the baritone uke can complement your guitar practice and vice versa. You don't have the two top strings (base) so it's like a guitar with no top end. The baritone ukulele produces a crisp, fuller sound that resembles a small guitar.
In summary, let's get serious again. If you consider quality coupled with cost, add in your level of musical ability and interest in playing, you are now ready to go shopping. There's one additional possibility I'd like you to consider. And it can make your ukulele selection more meaningful than ever. Think about the possibility of building your own ukulele, either from scratch or by assembling one from a ukulele building kit.
The internet is loaded with ideas that can show you how to produce your own creation from scratch, and many sites offer a basic ukulele building kit that you can start with, and then add other components as you desire. You may want to check out the tramp art music culture where good quality instruments are made from everyday components, using a multitude of boxes for surprising resonance, i.e. a cigar box with a wooden back or a simple box you can make yourself.
Either way, completed instrument, or your own construction from scratch, or build from a cigar box ukulele kit or a conventional kit, the ukulele can be an unparalleled means to some serious fun, with one overriding factor-you can't play a sad song on a ukulele. The best of luck to you if you decide to purchase a completed instrument, and, if you decide to build from scratch or from a kit, good luck and good building. - 29968
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