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 sort of ukulele – I did. However, if you’re serious about the ukulele, it’s worth spending a little more.
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A friend of mine let me borrow his beautiful Oscar Schmidt (not one of the cheaper ones either) pretty much permanently, but I decided I’d rather make myself a personalized one. Bought the wood. I’m trying to finish it within the month.
a friend of mine let me play his custom made Uke. its entirely hand made one of a kind acording to his spec. he paid SGD450 for a Concert with Hard Case. The fertboard is inlayed with mother of pearl flower motif body trimmed with mother of pearl fromt and back. looks sweet and sounds sweet too.
I love these comments! I bought a super-cheap ukulele a few weeks ago, on a total whim, because I thought it would be fun to take camping this summer. I didn’t expect to fall completely in love with this instrument! I don’t mind the less-than-quality sound (it’s just for camping, after all) but now that I’m hooked, I know I’m going to want a better instrument soon.
I came across an ukulele just over a year ago and fell in love… My family didn’t quite share my passion as it had cost about £15 and turned out to be an old abandoned gift of my older brother’s. And so, after getting sick of all my friends advancing in their guitar lives, I decided to change the legacy and be the first person (as far as I know) to buy an ukulele within 100 square miles. Living in England, most of the ukes are made in America so you rarely get it cheap, with postage being around £30. Anyway, I’m not made of money and managed to scrape enough together to buy an £85 Concert Ukulele, complete with gig bag and tuner. Now, it’s not top of the range and I’m actually thinking of upgrading but… Damn, this thing changed my life. I play it every single day and I’ve actually run out of difficult tabs off of the internet! I should really be concentrating on my exams and all I can do is play this hunk of wood, just a shame it wasn’t Electro-Acoustic or else I’d be delighting the neighbourhood with it day in day out, scraping up enough to buy another. The moral of the story is, to me, if you’re thinking of buying an ukulele for around £30, don’t. Go bigger, spend at least £70 I’d say… From my friends that I’ve convinced ukuleles are the way forward with its emaculate melodies, everyone that’s cheaped out and not spent the dosh has regretted it and ended up spending another £70 at least in order to get an uke good enough. But damn it’s worth it! Dont go cheap! But then again, dont waste and splash out on something you’ve never tried before… Beginner? I’d try borrow someone elses first for a quick fiddle, and if you dont have any friends (I know you too well, internet;)) and are scared of wasting money, you can get ones for around £15 to just fiddle, but I tell you now… It has nothing on an extra £60. I advise spending between £70 and £90 on your first uke, it’s worth it!
I just got myself a tenor Peavy Composer ukulele from a pawn shoppe and I love it! Great find, stays in tune, frets spaced perfectly, light, offset accounts a really help add a bit of bass. They’re affordable, lovely, and paired with Aquila strings nothing can go wrong!
my school has like 50 ‘ukes and i asked how much did they pay the said like 3,000 dollars in total
I’ll add that if you must buy a very inexpensive ukulele, don’t be fooled by decorations. Decoration is cheap compared to building in quality. It’s easy to paint a pretty picture on a piece of junk to make it attractive to the inexperienced player. It’s much better to have a plain but well-made instrument than a pretty one that can’t play in tune. If you have only a little money then put that money where it matters most: the best materials and workmanship you can afford.
I was in Maui last week on vacation and I only wanted one souvenir, a midrange ukulele. I found a little uke shop in Lanai right off the shop row. They had the full range from $50 to $5000 ukes. I picked out a $300 Ali’i long neck tenor made of African wood and with very good finish and hardware. The guy that sold it to me was a colorful character who could play divinely. In fact he stuck mine under my arm and proceeded to teach me right there on the spot. He also put it next to a $1500 model and we plucked them string for string and they sounded identical. I’ve always wanted to play some instrument before i leave this world, and I can play a few tunes on the piano but pathetically. On my bucket list is to play “Over the rainbow” on a decent uke. Well, I’ve started. He also showed me how to tune it off my iPhone using the app “Pitch Lab”. Aloha
Thomas, Chino Hills CA USA
I agree with Dean (above) when he says buy the best you can. My mum always drummed it into me as a young fella (I’m now 74)to “Always buy the best you can afford – even if you have to save for a while!”
I reckon Al at Ukulele Hunt is tops! He gives a great service to all! Well done, mate!!
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