Popular Brands
Kala Ukulele
Kala Ukuleles are a relatively new ukulele brand, but have made a big impact. They are a great choice for people who want a well-made, quality ukulele at a decent price. They are particularly good for people who are getting more serious about playing the uke and want a quality ukulele without breaking the bank. […]
Ohana Ukulele
Ohana ukuleles are some of the cheapest solid wood ukuleles around. A number of their instruments are solid mahogany yet priced at under $200. That’s very rare. Obviously, with the instruments being so cheap, they are not made in the US but China. As you can see from Ken Middleton’s review below, this means that […]
Lanikai Ukulele
Lanikai are part of the Hohner music company. Initially their ukuleles, being made in China and laminated, were at the cheaper end of the scale (although they are increasingly moving into higher end ukes) but that hasn’t stopped them getting some high level support. Lanikai are a bit hit with the indie crowd. The most […]
KoAloha Ukulele
KoAloha started making ukuleles in 1995 and have quickly become very highly respected. There are an impressive number of top ukulelists using KoAloha ukuleles including Herb Ohta Jnr, Daniel Ho, Britt Paiva and Victoria Vox. KoAloha ukuleles are all made of solid Koa wood (hence the name: koa+aloha=KoAloha) and built in their factory in Hawaii. […]
Oscar Schmidt Ukulele
Oscar Schmidt are an offshoot of the Washburn guitar company. They started out as the ‘folk instrument’ wing of Washburn and seem to focus on Autoharps more than ukuleles. Oscar Schmidt ukes tend to be at the cheaper end of the price scale but have a good reputation for quality. I have an Ashbury Concert […]
Ukulele Reviews
Makala MK-T Tenor Ukulele
Makala are Kala‘s introductory range of ukuleles. If you’re looking for the cheapest but playable tenor, this is a good buy. But it’s worth getting one with set-up and some decent strings (like Aquila) if you can find them. On Video gnarlieone plays Roy Smeck’s Magic Ukulele Waltz on a tenor Makala. On eBay On […]
Kala Travel Spruce KA-SSTU-S Ukulele
It might seem like the soprano ukulele is already an exceptionally portable instrument, but Kala have taken that idea one step further. They have made it even more compact by shrinking the width of the body (to an inch and a half at the widest). The uke has a solid spruce top making it very […]
Lanikai LU-21 Standard Soprano Ukulele
The LU-21 is the ukulele that Lanikai is most famous for. It’s a huge hit with beginners, with good reason. It’s a well made uke with geared tuners (essential on a cheap uke). It’s made of Nato wood – which is advertised as an alternative to mahogany but is a long way from it. Still […]
Buying Tips
Top Ten Ukuleles
Here are the ten best ukuleles as rated by Uke Hunt readers: The list is determined by a Bayesian average of ratings submitted to the site (that means the number of ratings as well as the average of the ratings is important). So if you think your uke deserves to be on the list you […]
Which Ukulele?
Buying a ukulele can be a very tricky task – particularly if you’re buying one for the first time. The Ukulele Review section of this site aims to help you make a decision by giving you reviews, information and videos of on a wide range of ukuleles. Which Brand of Ukulele Should I Buy? – […]
Best Starter Uke?
I certainly screwed up with my first ukulele purchase. I went in to my local music shop, picked up the only ukulele they sold and bought it without even trying it out. It was a no-name, badly-made hunk of junk. I hated playing it and it spent most of its time under a desk breeding […]
Which Size Ukulele?
There are four main sizes of ukulele. From smallest to largest, they are: Soprano Concert Tenor Baritone What’s the best size ukulele? It depends what you want to do with it. If you like to play a lot of solo pieces, a tenor ukulele will give you more room to play and more volume. If […]
How Much Does a Ukulele Cost?
One of the appeals of the ukulele is that it is relatively cheap compared to other instruments. But, as always, for a quality ukulele, you’ll need to spend a little more. The very cheapest ukes available can be bought for less than $20. These ukes will usually be playable and most people start off with […]
