Oscar Schmidt Ukuleles
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 Koa uke which is exactly the same as the Oscar Schmidt Concert OU5 (it's simply branded differently for sale in the UK). If that's the case, then I can highly recommend it. When I say 'koa' it is, of course, laminated rather than solid (meaning there's a thin layer of koa wood on top of cheaper wood underneath). Having said that, it still makes a good sound and is the easiest to play of all my ukuleles. The action is low and the intonation is very good. I've recommended it to a few people as a great first uke.
Oscar Schmidt ukuleles recently got a bit of TV exposure thanks to Jason Castro using an Oscar Schmidt OU5 for his performance of Somewhere Over the Rainbow on American Idol.
On Video
On eBay
On Musician's Friend
Oscar Schmidt OU-2 Ukulele Review
I own an Oscar Schmidt OU-2. She's a sweet little honey colored concert Uke named 'Plinky'. It's the perfect Uke for me. I recommend this model for any first timer (like myself) who has larger hands. I have been playing for only five months and already can't get her out of my head, hands and heart. The tone and action is rich.
I love the geared tuners. They helped me win my first battle with tuning the Uke (I had a Soprano which would fall out of tune constantly which had friction tuners. I was happy to learn that it wasn't my ear after all).
This Uke has enriched my life. I watch musicians much differently now.
Review by Michael