Uke direction

I am thinking of getting a ukulele to goof around with, take on vacations, let my kid play, etc. Does anyone here have any direction they can provide as to what makes/models to look at? Here is my wish list, and I'll try to prioritize:

1) Something in the $150-$200 range would be a max for me. I don't want to be too concerned when my 4 yr old picks it up, but I don't want a toy either. In a perfect world, it would be the D25 version of a uke (sound of a much better uke for half the price, and an ability to resell w/o losing value...a recognized name)
2) Sound, obviously
3) I think I would want a tenor or baritone (I guess baritone would be bigger??). I'm 6'5" and like playing dreads and jumbos. a soprano uke is darn near impossible to play for me.
4) Something vintage (if I can get it in that price range) would be cool. Or even just pre-1990 is fine.

I want to hop on the bay to start looking, but I would like some direction first.

Thanks!!!

hi Brian:

Ukes can be a lot of fun. As a tall person, a larger instrument might be best for you. There's also the tuning issue - I have a baritone uke which is tuned like a guitar, so the transition between the 2 instruments is relatively easy.

Of course, there's nothing to prevent you from tuning a smaller uke like a guitar (or using any tuning that you wish to).

I can't recommend any brands, but shopping around and playing a variety of instruments is always fun. Enjoy the search!

Hey Brian - like a baritone, you can also tune a tenor uke like a guitar, with the D string a "high D", so you get that uke sound (it's called "re-entrant tuning"). Then your normal guitar chords will work fine.

Check out www.fleamarketmusic.com for info on ukuleles, including ukes that people are selling. For a bang around uke it is hard to beat a "Fluke" ukulele. In your price range and a very cool uke - check them out on fleamarketmusic.

walrus

Hi Brian,

I bought a Kala concert uke for my wife at Christmas. It's got a spruce top and mahoghany back and sides, beautifully made wee thing. Complete with a bag and tuner about $175 USD.

I figured that would be a great one for her to learn on, later if shes keen I'll try to find one of those Hoboken models :lol:

Cheers, Ian

NB: fretboards are pretty small on ukes, might pay to check that out.

Hey Brian
I used to own a fluke uke and it was great althoough a bit of an unusual shape....sure sounded good though...best of luck in your ukelele adventure...they are a ton of fun! :wink:

Brian,
Just this last week I picked up a nice baritone uke. Oscar Schmidt, Ou53. Solid spruce top and lam rosewood back and sides. It's been very fun messing with. I really like the tone. Not as "plinky" (is that even a word :lol: :?: ) as the smaller bodied ukes. Pretty mellow sound. Like others have noted, it's tuned like the top four strings on a guitar so the transition has been fairly easy.

I bought it on line for $130 shipped.

I have an Ohana Tenor, sweet little uke. The two things I would suggest is: Solid Wood and closed tuners. I got it shipped to my door for $190 last May. I have mine tuned standard with a low g string (unwound), it's like the top four strings of a guitar at the fifth fret, so it was easy to adapt too.

Let me agree with littlesongs - when I had a few ukes, I had some dealings with Music Guy Mike - he's A-OK.

walrus

I have a couple of nice koa ukuleles but, bang-for-the-buck, the Fluke and Flea (concert and soprano, respectively) are hard to beat. They sound very nice and are durable. Unlike some modestly-priced instruments, these aren't toys or wall-hangers. They're real instruments that don't make playing harder than it has to be. Although they have friction tuners, they hold tune well (although nylon strings need to stretch out and take a while to stabilize). Personally, I think they're an excellent first uke and even if you get really good, you'll still enjoy playing them.

I have one of these, and it comes with a recent horror story. . . a bit later with that, though. These are all mahogany, and Vega made built in the 50s with the Arthur Godfrey baritone ukelele fad. It's a totally usable instrument and you won't feel bad if it gets a nick or two, or sand in the soundhole. Dealers have tried to pump the prices up on these, but they often go from $150 - $300, depending on condition and model. There's a deluxe model out there, I think.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Arthur-...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5190a775cc



Now the horror story. I've been going through the American folk songs with my boys with one of these, and I usually hang it up on the wall. My wife hung a painting above it slightly to the left. One day I heard a crash, and I rushed in to find the painting had fallen, crashed into the uke, and knocked it down. I thought it only suffered a few dings, but I just saw that the waist now has a lateral crack (with the grain). It's not destroyed, but it bums me out. It will need repair sometime soon.