Thursday, March 25, 2010

Okay here is the dilemma

When I first started  playing Ukulele I went to the local music store,  Herreid Music and I bought the cheapest ukulele they had, a baritone Hilo, because why would I drop a hundred dollars on an instrument that I wouldn't like after a month or two?

To me this instrument sounded fine, was the perfect size, though not anymore, and was in my price range. I was definitely happy with my purchase, but after upgrading to a more expensive, and better sounding Flea ukulele I learned that my forty dollar baritone sounded like those souvenir ukuleles you get in Hawaii. It was plain awful. I couldn't believe I put up with it for so long.

Now just to be clear, Hilo's instruments have tons of potential. I have played some beautiful sounding Ukes made by Hilo. Its mostly my fault anyways. I was naive and didn't play the instrument to make sure it had a sound body, and a good tone before I bought it. But what if I did have a good ear for music?


Most people I know that play the Ukulele have started out playing cheap little instruments. Some almost gave up the Uke because their $15 Ukulele would never give them the perfect sound they wanted, no matter how hard they practiced. This bothers me because I think the ukulele has  the mellowest sound of all the stringed instruments. And some never get to hear the potential.

So help me out here... Is it better to buy a cheap Ukulele early, and put up with its sound to make sure you like it? Or should you save up and buy a Ukulele that will stand up to  the name that the little instrument has made for itself ?

Stay Tuned
~Ethan

1 comment:

  1. For my first uke I went for better quality for 3 reasons:
    1. I give up easy when something gets tough, but I'm too cheap to buy something on a whim then put it aside without getting value out of it. So spending more on a good one encouraged me to hang in and get value for money spent.

    2.If I really like uke-ing I'd wanna upgrade anyways, so might as well start with the best i could afford.

    3. A no-talent beginner like me could sound deadly on a cheap uke ... everyone sounds better on a good instrument.

    That said, I didn't break the bank... I bought at mid price range and it should see me past the fumbling, woolly stage.

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