Lanikai Kohala HU-212 Ukulele

Ratings

An ultra-cheap beginner's ukulele from Lanikai.

On Video

Gaengsta96 strums a few tunes on an HU-212

On eBay

On Musician's Friend

Lanikai HU-212 - $34.00

Lanikai HU212 Ukulele Review

Model: Lanikai HU212
Cost: £30
Wood: nato
Tuners: Geared
Frets: 12

Having begun my ukulele playing career on what was effectively a children's toy, I decided to aquire myself a new uke of a higher quality, there was however a major limitation in funds on my part so I was forced to look for a ukulele under £40.

For this price you can buy a lot of basic ukuleles (hell you could buy two and play ukulele tennis!) but the quality of sound on these cheap ukuleles is often lacking and the sound is clumpy and soulless this is why Lanikai's Hu212 should be held in such high regard.

The Ukulele is made of Nato a wood found in the Caribbean and south America, often used in acoustic guitars for a cheap alternative to mahogany as such it has a gorgeous dark brown colouring with light red tinge, the grain is also slightly pronounced which is highlighted nicely by the finish which was faultless, the fret markers are a subtle pearlescent plastic.

Initially getting it to stay in tune was a challenge to say the least and following spending a considerable period, pleading, threatening and swearing at the uke I was able to get all the strings in tune at the same time and once the strings had set it held tune remarkably well seldom dropping out of tune which was a pleasant surprise considering the price paid.

the Frets are brass and the string nuts are plastic all are well aligned and give a sweet and bouncy tone to the uke, however one does find that on the higher frets (from the 7th up) it does become slightly buzzy.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the uke was strung with GHS black nylons from the factory which saved me on replacing them however upon closer inspection and a little confused counting I was somewhat confused to find the fret markers to be on the 5th, 7th and 10th frets which takes some getting used to.

The action of the uke is nice and there is no buzzing or muting, the tone is surprisingly rich for such a price and it plays very well.

This uke is definitely worth the extra money for any beginner who thinks they might be sticking to the instrument as its quality far outstrips the price mark as well as more experienced players and is well worth waiting a while before you perfect ukulele tennis.

(I'm seriously considering uke tennis anyone up for doubles?)

Review by Cardboard Frog

Specifications

Size: Standard Nato Ukulele
Construction: Nato top, sides, and back
Fretboard: Nato
Frets: 12
Tuners: Chrome/Ivoroid Geared
Binding: White