The ukulele isn’t the loudest instrument around so if you’re looking to go gigging, you’re going to need some form of amplification. There are a few ways to amp up your uke. You could get a transducer pickup – which attaches to the body of your ukulele and picks up the vibrations. Or you could get a semi-acoustic ukulele i.e. a traditional acoustic ukulele with a pickup already installed.

However, doing it those ways can create a problem with feedback if you’re not very careful. So a great way to go is to get a solid body electric ukulele. The choice of solid ukuleles isn’t anywhere near as wide as it is for standard ukuleles, but there’s still a good choice. So which is best?

Solid Electric Ukuleles

I have two solid body electric ukuleles: the RISA Uke Solid and the BugsGear Eleuke. You can read my reviews of them here:

RISA ukulele review
Eleuke review

As you can see, I do have some gripes with both ukes. Overall, I’d say the RISA was the clear winner. It’s very easy to play. And a lot of fun. As you can tell of this video I made to demonstrate it.

I’m told the RISA’s Uke’Ellie fixes all the grumbles I had with the Uke Solid. However, it is quite a bit more expensive. So if you can afford, definitely take a look at that one as well.

It seems like more and more people are buying ukuleles these days -the New York Times certainly seems to think so – and there are sure to be plenty of ukuleles on Christmas lists this year. But buying your first ukulele can be a tricky task. Unlike buying a guitar, your local music shop isn’t likely to have a big range of ukuleles for you to try. You will get a much better selection online – particularly on eBay. But that does mean you won’t be able to try before you buy. So here are a few pointers to help you decide which ukulele to buy.

Visit Buy a Ukulele

On my other site, I have buy a ukulele section on my other site with reviews, descriptions and videos of all the most common ukuleles around (both new and vintage). There’s are also plenty of ukuleles for sale listed here.

Set Your Price Range

You can pick up a ukulele very cheap – less than $20 – and many people start with one of those ukuleles. I certainly started with a very low quality, cheap ukulele, but I wouldn’t recommend it. It wasn’t until I got a better quality ukulele that I started to really play seriously. Buying a slightly better quality uke will encourage you to play more – since you’ll sound better. A price range of $50 – $75 will get you a good starter ukulele, but even $30 – $50 will be an improvement over the cheapeset.

Where Can I Buy a Ukulele?

If you want to buy a ukulele in the flesh, there are a few dedicated ukulele shops around the globe. Most of them, of course, are in Hawaii but there are a few others around such as Duke of Uke in London, UK.

Also, you should be able to find a small selection of ukuleles at your local Guitar Center or Musician’s Friend. Their websites have a reasonable selection of ukuleles, but I can’t say how many they’ll have for sale in the store.

The other option – and the one I’ve taken by far the most often – is to buy a ukulele online. The biggest choice of ukuleles to buy is on eBay. Some people are reticent about buying on eBay, but really most of the sellers are as reputable as any online seller. If you look for a power seller with a very high rating like musicguymic or Ukulele4U, you should be absolutely fine.

Which is the Best Ukulele to Buy?

Obviously, this depends on your price range. You can buy Makala ukuleles cheap. They also come in pastel shades with dolphins on – which makes them great for kids.

A little more expensive are the Lanikai LU-21 range. These seem to be fast becoming the ukulele of choice for beginners – perhaps because of support from Beirut’s Zach Condon and Jason Mraz. You can read a bunch of Lanikai ukulele reviews here.

Slightly further up the price scale is the Oscar Schmidt OU5 koa ukulele. I have the English version of this (an Ashbury Concert Koa ukulele) and it’s long been my day-to-day ukulele. You can watch me play the Ashbury ukulele here. I can highly recommend it.

What Size Ukulele should I Buy?

Traditionally, the standard, most common ukulele size is the soprano. But more and more people are choosing to buy a tenor ukulele as their first uke (probably under the influence of professional tenor players like Israel Kamakawiwo’ole and Jake Shimabukuro). A tenor ukulele will give you a bigger, more guitar-like tone and also makes it easier to play fancy stuff. But for a beginner, the fundamentals are the same whichever size ukulele you choose to buy.

There are very few dedicated ukulele shops around, so most people find they have to buy a ukulele online. There is a massive selection of ukuleles for sale online, so it can be very difficult to make a choice and be confident in your selection.

Finding the Right Ukulele

Before you buy a ukulele, it’s well worth doing a bit of research first. Look at the ukuleles in your price range and make a short list to check out. There’s an increasing amount of information online about various brands of ukulele. I have written a ukulele buyer’s guide with reviews submitted by readers.

Search for the ukulele on YouTube: As well as finding reviews, you’ll also get a good idea of the sound and the popularity of the instrument.

Look on ukulele forums: There are endless discussions on forums about the the qualities of various ukuleles. If you can’t find anyone talking about the uke you’re interested in, ask and you’ll most likely find someone who has played that ukulele before.

Buying on eBay

There’s no doubt that the biggest selection of ukuleles for sale online is to be found on eBay. That includes both new and vintage ukuleles. Some people are wary of buying on eBay, but there’s really no need to be. The important thing is to check the reputation of the particular seller. The most respected ukulele sellers on eBay are musicguymic and ukulele4u.

One thing to check when you’re buying on eBay is whether the seller provides setup. A big advantage of a specialised ukulele seller is their expertise. For a beginner in particular, having a ukulele professionally set up can be the difference between getting a ukulele that’s a pleasure to play and one that’s so frustrating you give up.

Buying on Musicians Friend and Guitar Center

There are high-street retailers who sell ukuleles online Musicians Friend and Guitar Center in particular. Their selection isn’t as wide as eBay and they don’t have the same expertise, but they do have a reasonable selection and there are advantages. You do have the reassurance of real, physical stores that, if required, you can go to with problems and return the ukulele if you’re not satisfied. The sites are also useful in that they usually have a number of reviews of each ukulele.

The internet is a great place to get a ukulele – all my ukes except my first were bought online. So if you have to buy a ukulele online, don’t feel you’re settling for second best.

Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (or IZ for short) is one of the most popular and most recognisable ukulele player. His version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow has become on of the songs most associated with the ukulele. With him inspiring so many people to pick up the uke, many people are wondering which ukulele he played.

Israel Kamakawiwoole’s main ukulele was a Martin Tenor. You can see him using it in the famous video for Over the Rainbow. He had this ukulele strung with Low G strings.

Where Can I Buy A Tenor Martin Ukulele?

It’s not that easy, or that cheap. Martin don’t make tenor ukuleles any more, so you’ll have to try to buy one second hand. You can usually find one or two on eBay. You can expect to pay around $1,000 for one in good condition.

If you’re looking to buy a ukulele in London, there’s only one really option: Duke of Uke. It’s where all the hipnoscenti go to get their ukes. Rumour has it, that’s where Pete Doherty got his ukulele and you can read the long list of celebrity visitors on their site which includes The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, Danielle ‘Rio En Medio’ Stech-Homsy and Patrick Wolf.

You can find the Duke of Uke on Hanbury Street.

Photo by emsef under CC license

There are a few places to go to discover the value of a certain vintage ukulele. The best place is eBay. More vintage ukes are sold online there than anywhere else. Go to the advanced search section, click where it says, “Show completed listings only,” and type in the make of uke you’re interested in. That will show you those ukuleles sold on eBay in the last two weeks, which sold and at what price. Granted, it’s not a very long time period. But it will at least give you some idea.

Another option is Elderly Instruments. They have a wide range of vintage instruments for sale and they know what they’re doing when it comes to pricing. I’ve found the way to search the site is via Google, rather than on the site itslef, since that way it shows you instruments that have already been sold.

How much is a plastic Maccaferri Islander baritone worth?

The subject of this post arose when I mentioned that I was flabbergasted that someone was trying to sell a baritone Islander with a Buy-It-Now price of $500 and a starting bid of $300. A bit of research shows that Elderly had one for sale at $100.

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