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Buying a ukulele can be an overwhelming and tricky job, especially if you’re looking for a beginner or basic ukulele. There are so many to choose from, and quality is not always a function of price. Keep in mind though, that if you want more than a toy and want a ukulele that you can play seriously, it’s unlikely that you will get much acoustic value by responding to a pitch of ukuleles for sale $30 or $40 (pun intended).
You can choose from four different types, all of which are considered basic Ukuleles—soprano, concert, tenor and baritone. Each type correlates to a different size, and all are available in a wide range of style and quality, anywhere from what amounts to little more than a toy to a high quality, well playing instrument.
Before your purchase, it is important to consider the use you plan to make of your ukulele, and how “serious” you are about that use. We’re talking serious fun here, which depends on the quality and playability of the instrument itself. Suffice it to say, regardless of all other considerations, the primary focus should be on how seriously it will be played. Let that seriousness be your measure of both quality and price.
Is your purchase a gift for someone else? How serious will that person be about his or her playing? The same question should apply to the age of the person who will be playing the ukulele and that person’s level of playing proficiency—how serious? Or is this for someone who is just learning to play—is he or she serious about it? You get my drift.
Whether for your own use or as a gift for someone else, beginner or pro, young or old, the more and better you expect to play the higher the quality you will need and, as a rule, the higher the quality the more you can expect to pay. There are of course exceptions, but you can expect to get what you pay for. Once you determine the quality and price (your budget), next is to decide which of the four instruments will supply your need.
Soprano
The earliest ukuleles were nearly all soprano sized—to a purest, it’s the classic size with the classic sound and is less like the guitar than the others. But, as many gifted ukulele players will attest, there is nothing quite like strumming away on a soprano, and it’s the thing you are naturally drawn to do. Being the smallest and most common, it’s a good place to start, particularly if you are a beginner.
It has been said that a soprano ukulele is easy to learn but hard to master. It is good for playing chords and beginner strumming, but when it comes to fancy stuff, finger picking can be tricky. When compared to the other standard three, the traditional sound offered by this basic uke can seem thin and without much resonance.
Being smaller, sopranos will usually be priced lower and you will have more from which to choose as compared to the other three. A smaller instrument can also be good for smaller people, like kids. Don’t be fooled though, many of the best ukulele players are large people with large fingers who favor sopranos.
Concert
Halfway between the soprano and the tenor is the concert ukulele. This can be a great compromise if you want to strum and fingerpick, and for those not comfortable with the tenor size uke. Concerts offer more resonance for a fuller tone but maintain the unmistakable sound of a ukulele and not a guitar. It has the same tuning as the soprano gCEA, and the same traditional sound, but with serious practice, you can learn to play whatever you want to play.
Since it is a little bigger, the concert sounds bigger than the soprano, with more middle range and a somewhat deeper, mellow, more alto sound. It’s bigger, but not by much, and some say a concert is easier to hold than the smaller soprano. The concert is an instrument that offers the best of both worlds, traditional ukulele sound with more complex playing potential.
Tenor
The tenor ukulele can be used for more advanced solo playing i.e. Jake Shimabukuro. It has more of a guitar-like tone, more finger room that allows faster play, and lends itself to more complex runs. Its size produces a deeper, fuller, more resonant quality in sound and tone. The fourth string can be tuned an octave lower, giving it even further range.
Baritone
If you already know how to play a guitar, or if you are learning to play guitar, then learning to play a baritone uke will be easier for you. Tuned like the bottom 4 strings of a guitar, the baritone uke can complement your guitar practice and vice versa. You don’t have the two top strings (base) it’s like a guitar with no top end. The baritone ukulele produces a crisp, fuller sound that resembles a small guitar.
Once you factor in cost plus your level of musical ability and interest in playing, that seriousness I referred to earlier, you are ready to go shopping for whichever ukulele best fits your need. There is, however, one additional consideration I want to mention, one that can make your selection even more meaningful. You can shop around for whatever suits your serious fancy, or you can consider making your own ukulele from scratch or building one from a kit.
The internet is loaded with ideas that can show you how to produce your own creation from scratch, and many sites offer a basic ukulele building kit that you can start with, and then add other components as you desire. You may want to check out the tramp art music culture where good-quality instruments are made from everyday components, using a multitude of boxes for surprising resonance, i.e. a cigar box with a wooden back or a simple box you can make yourself.
Either way, completed instrument, or your own construction, the ukulele can really be an unparalleled means to some serious fun, with one overriding factor—you can’t play a sad song on a ukulele. The best of luck to you if you decide to purchase a completed instrument, and if you decide to build from scratch or from a kit, good luck and good building