Greg Bennett (Samick) Ukulele
Samick ukuleles are made under the auspices of Greg Bennett (who mainly make guitars). Samick themselves are a Korean company who make a wide range of budget level instruments.
They’re cheaper ukuleles but have had good reviews from what I’ve seen on the net.
A Samick ukulele (the UK70) has even been spotted in the hands of Beirut’s Zach Condon.
On Video
On eBay
On Amazon UK
Samick Ukulele Video Review
Review by Chris Cannon
Greg Bennett UK70 Ukulele Video Review
Review by Kyle.
15 Comments
just bought one today :)) i <3 it!! it has a nice sound and its not t expensive. (my first uku)
i think its awesome
I have one of these on hold for me & I love it! I went to the store today & tried it out & it’s great! First of all, the looks, AMAZING! It’s so pretty! The sound is great too, maybe better because it had Aquila strings which are great. Also, I don’t think that the first & fourth strings are close to the edge! They were in perfect positions. Overall, I love this ukulele & I can’t wait to get it & take it home! 🙂
I bought one of these initially as a cheap uke for my Low-G string. It had a much deeper sound than the other ukes, and was ideal for the low-G option.
My only problem was that the sustain was very short, making it not overly great for some tab work.
The one I had was laminate only, no paua/abalone binding. and i also noticed the it was much deeper than the usual sizeing (as in body thickness). This probably contributes to its nice loud deep sound also.
Great for a beginner or 2nd Ukulele strung as low-G, but not overly great if you want to do complex finger work and need that little bit more sustain
My dad bought this for me as a gift when I started getting frustrated with the cheap £10 uke I’d learned on. The difference is insane, it sounds so much better, and it’s just a nice weighty feel to it. Really lovely.
This was my upgrade when I decided that I was gonna take the uke seriously (I had a Dolphin uke before that, but have also played a Kala and Ohana uke before).
The Aquila strings that it came with make a huge difference – the A string snapped, and I lost a lot of sound quality when I replaced it with the supplied A string.
It has a beautiful, deep sound, and is really a joy to play!
Just my GB Uke today! Great sound and awesome price!! This uke legit from head to toe! 10 thumbs up! Must swoop one today!
I’ve had my UK70 for a week. I re-strung it with Aguila strings which were a huge improvement on the stock items. It’s a pretty uke and very shiny – I especially love the abalone inlays – with a lovely tone for the price. A good first uke. I go with most of what Chris says in his video, though my particular instrument doesn’t have any sign of burrs on the fret edges.
Usually sold (in the UK) with a gig bag, spare Samick strings, a digital tuner (not the clip-on type) and an A4 paper chord chart. Of these extras the gig bag is probably the most useful.
I got a UK50 concert uke from my wife as a birthday present over a month ago and have not been able to put this instrument down. The construction is solid (no fretboard problems), sound is rich and it stays in tune (geared). Surprized by how good the Nato wood body sounds, and in my personal opinion, it looks much better than a UK70.
Just put in new Aquila standard-C concert strings, and it does sound a bit louder and longer.
My only complaint is that the headstock flares open to soon and leaves little space for your hand when playing chords on the first fret.
I’ve had my UK70 for the last six months, and in-between uni studies and work; let alone family as well! I usual play my uku say three times a week!! But overall its a solid deep-sounding uku, nice tones and easy for a beginner who wants to get serious without breaking the bank. Nice to add to my growing collection. Ka kite ano
HUH!! Forgot to add my rating… Here you are
I’ve had my UK-50 for about a year. It’s a good solid instrument. The sound is good and it’s a perfectly good starter uke. I think the Lanikia LU 21C it a slightly better instrument for about the same price. The neck on UK-50 is a bit wider as is the body and the action is definitely higher than the Lanikia.
All of the Bennett ukuleles are list in the “discontinued” section of the GregBennettGuitars website. Bummer. See my comment in the Mitchell section here for some (rather obvious) cross references.
I have the Bennett UK-70 concert. One thing to note is that the advertised “solid spruce top” is a laminate. I do not know whether it is actually an all-spruce plywood soundboard or just a veneer of spruce over a cheaper material. I’m sure the rosewood on the back and sides is veneer. I suspect that the Koa models are also all laminate.
It is really pretty. Maybe even a tad overdone. The abalone inlay and ivory-ish binding are perfect–no gaps or fills. I must admit that appearance played a big role in my purchase. I’ve had other ukes in that price range, but they look like I fished a chunk of plastic and paint our of the toybox. This one more resembles a custom instrument. I’m not so embarrassed when I open the case in front of others.
And it plays well. (Unfortunately, I don’t.) Frets are level and well dressed. (Some of the fret ends could do with a bit more filing, but they’re much better than those on my Kamaka.) Intonation is okay. (I need to lower the action a tad to improve it, but haven’t gotten around to it.)
Some on the ‘net have complained about the slack in the open gears on this model, but I have not noticed any. However, it seems to lose a lot of volume to the heavy finish and plywood soundboard. (Which is probably for the best in my case.)
I don’t know how their consistency is, but I feel that mine was a good value for the money.
I own 3 Gregg Bennett Items the electic Avalon, a beautiful acustic D8 which has Abaloe all around the top of the guitar and sound hole,it sounds like it has scalloped bracing.and finally my GB uke sounds awesome,I would love to try a jumbo from him if I ever can find one.
I have a UK 50 model and find it brilliant. This is my ‘go to’ that is always sitting nearby to play during TV adverts. Excellent value for money.
The uke is a UK-60 natural looking no frills (they don’t do a thing for the way an instrument plays) . I have owned a few Samick guitars and they were fine instruments, I gifted one to my son and another to a friend. People who pass Samick by because it isn’t a (Brand Name) are selling themselves short. The only problem I have is with the Tuning gears, they are rough and slip & hang up so getting in tune and staying in tune are a bitch right now. I will take it in to my friend Bill Stevens (the man, the legend, the myth) if there is a fix he will know and take care of it and it will be better than new when he is done. If not I’ll use it to paddle my canoe.
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