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 the [...]

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 famous [...]

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. As [...]

KoAlana Ukulele

KoAlana ukuleles are KoAloha’s budget range of ukes. These ukuleles are still solid wood but sapele rather than koa. They are produced in China and finished in KoAloha’s Hawaii factory.
The comments I’ve read on the net about them seem very positive. At their low price (under $200), they do seem like a very good deal. [...]

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

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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 much [...]

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 it’s [...]

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?

- There’s a [...]

Best Ukulele for Beginners?

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 you’re buying your first ukulele, the soprano [...]

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 this [...]