I’m hearing from quite a few folks that they are considering getting a ukulele for Christmas! This is great!
If you are considering a ukulele for Christmas, this post will be perfect for you. I want to take a look at some things you need to consider and then some really great ukuleles out there.
Keep reading, but you’ll definitely want to make sure you’ve checked out my post on the 5 Best Ukuleles to Buy for Beginners.
The Biggest Thing You Need To Consider
Here’s the deal. The sky is pretty much the limit when it comes to ukuleles. This is why it is important to set yourself a budget. This budget will help you narrow your options. My guess is you are just starting out or this is a Christmas gift for someone you don’t want to spend a ton. The good news is that you can get a really decent and playable uke from $50 – $100. Anything cheaper, I would be careful, unless however, you are buying a Makala Dolphin ukulele.
What’s the Best Ukulele for You?
There are a few different sizes of ukuleles: soprano (smallest), concert, tenor, and baritone (largest). Soprano ukes are the most common ukuleles and are usually the cheapest. Concert and tenor ukuleles are a little bit bigger and are great for those with slightly larger fingers.
Disclaimer: All of these ukuleles, I recommend based on my research. I have not played all these ukuleles, but I can recommend them based on what I’ve heard from trusted ukulele players and reviews. My recommendation with anything is to take a look at what you might like. If you just don’t know, these are excellent ukes or at least excellent places to start. These are just ideas and suggestions.
Ukuleles from $49 – $100
Luna LU-11 – Great for Beginners
Lanikai LU-11 Soprano Ukulele – $49 – This will be your standard, soprano ukulele. As far as cheaper ukuleles go, this one gets great reviews. It even comes with a free instructional book to get started (be sure to download my free lesson book too). This will be the smallest uke you can buy, so if you have larger fingers, you might want to consider the next one.
Lanikai LU-21c Concert Ukulele – $89 – This is a concert ukulele so it will be slightly larger than a soprano. The fretboard will be a bit longer which means you can play chords higher up on the neck easier. If you have larger fingers, it could be easier to play a concert uke. The sound is also a bit warmer than the jangly sound of a soprano ukulele.
Oscar Schmidt OU13 Soprano Ukulele – $99 – With it being more expensive, this soprano uke will probably be made with a little bit more quality than the Lanikai LU-11, however, if you are just beginning, it might be really hard to pick up on these differences.
Ukuleles from $101 – $200
Silver Creek Soprano Ukulele – $149
Lanikai LU-21T Tenor Ukulele – $115 – Tenor ukuleles are the next step in size from a concert ukulele. I have a tenor ukulele and I love the extra room on the fretboard and the warmer tone. The Lanikai LU-21T would be a great tenor uke if you are on a budget.
Silver Creek Solid Soprano Ukulele – $149 – This is a step up from cheaper soprano laminate made ukes. The top, sides, and back are made out of solid mahogany and a one-piece mahogany neck. This should provide a pretty noticeable difference in tonal quality compared to cheaper soprano ukuleles.
Fender Nohea Koa Tenor Ukulele – $199 – This uke is made out of all Koa, a wood that is from Hawaii and typically used in ukuleles because of its bright, clear tonal characteristics.
Ukuleles $201 and up
Martin OXK Soprano Ukulele – $279
Martin 0XK Soprano Ukulele – $279 – My grandpa owns this ukulele, and it’s one of the nicest ukuleles I’ve ever played. If you know anything about guitars, you know Martin makes some of the best guitars on the planet, and so it’s only reasonable that fine craftsmanship would be present in their ukuleles. This ukulele has excellent definition and clarity and feels great in your hands.
Lanikai NK-C Natural Koa Concert Ukulele – $299 – This is a solid Hawaiian Koa top, back, and sides with a flamed maple neck. Visually, this ukulele looks very impressive and beautiful to play.
Martin Cherry Soprano Ukulele – $1499 – Alright, so this is probably out of the budget for Christmas, but one can dream right? It’s constructed from 100% environmentally sustainable, certified wood that includes cherry top, back, sides, neck and blocks, basswood linings and braces, a katalox fingerboard and bridge and a maple bridge plate. Any takers?
Again, this is just to get some ideas going. What ukulele would you recommend to a friend? Let’s hear your comments.
Woo! I’m super excited to have found this site! i just started learning and I had my first ukulele “debut” at the dinner table with my ‘rents last night 🙂 Thanks for the great info… I downloaded your book and it’s been great help.
That’s awesome! 🙂
thank you so much…you have posted so much information…can you see all the happy faces from people on your website?…and thank you for the opinion on different ukeleles…i know it is only an overview…there are so many different kinds, that it’s difficult to name all…everyone has different likes and dislikes…
Wouldnt agree with many of those suggestions to be honest – where is the Makala Dolphin in the cheap section? Where are the Kala’s, the Fleas and Flukes, the Mainlands??
Also – not a single K Brand uke in the $201 and up section??
That’s fine if you disagree 🙂 I’m glad to hear your recommendations too. Thanks for including those.
I knew in writing a post like this I would inevitably overlook some great ukuleles out there. It’s hard to cover them all. I’ve had many questions from friends who have noooo idea where to look. Hopefully, for those looking to get started, it points them in the right direction and gives them a place to start looking and searching.
My Christmas uke got here yesterday! It’s a concert Eleuke — a size I didn’t have yet, and my first electric. I debated the Eleuke against the Fluke-SB, but since I already have a Fluke tenor, I went with the Eleuke. It’s muuuch cuter than the online photos of it convey — I’m quite pleased, and with its built-in amp and headphones, I can practice easily without bothering anyone (well, the singing’s a different matter…)
I started with a Makala Baritone, locally available and under $100, and expanded the collection from there with a Tenor Fluke and Soprano Ohana bell-shaped ukulele.
Hopefully, four’s enough 😉
Thank you for your great recommendations. I’m so jealous of your eleuke! For a few months now, I think it would be the coolest to have an electric uke. One it’d be nice to be able to plug in to a PA, but then two, I think it’d be really fun to run it through my electric guitar rig for fun! Hopefully some day…
Now you just need a concert uke to round out your collection. I have a tenor right now, and I think I’d like to either get a concert or a soprano uke next.
I know its a bit late for this christmas but I would go with the Mainland’s they are a beautiful uke, excellent quality and a great company to deal with. A lot of uke for a very reasonable price.
My first uke was a Stagg us80s and even though the tuners were not the best it’s a great uke and I still play it a lot.
I’ve heard really great things about Mainland ukes as well. Actually thinking about getting a mahogany concert uke from them.
The Oscar Schmidt OU6LCE Acoustic Electric Tenor Ukulele is the second ukulele I’ve owned, and I’d recommend it to any intermediate to advanced player. At around $325 it’s pricy, but well worth it. It sounds amazing and all my ukulele playing buddies are extremely jealous 😛
Thanks for the great website Brett! I am an intermediate Uke player (and a K -6 general music and 5th & 6th grade band teacher) and I have been getting my students into Ukes for the past year. I personally own a tenor Pono Uke and LOVE it!! I have a class set of soprano Hilos for my students and they are very inexpensive but seem to be holding up pretty well. I just signed up to get the free book and am toying with the idea of your stumming course. I definitely would like help in that department. I do have one question though. Would I be able to access the classes from any computer (home and at school)? I want to be able to review them before my classes come in and during my prep times. Thanks again for coming up with a great resource for us music teachers who love to play but want to be better examples for our students! Thanks again!
Hey Leesa, that’s so cool you’re teaching your class how to play ukulele! I’ve actually heard from a couple different teachers the past month that are doing something very similar. There’s this underground community of you all and it’s awesome!
The “Ukulele Strumming Tricks” course is all accessible online from any computer, your iPad, iPhone, etc. This means if you have an internet connection at school you can login. I think it could work great for you!
Hey brett,
i was wondering if you could give me some more information about that Fender Nohea Koa Tenor Ukulele. i was hoping to buy it by selling one of my guitars but i wanted to know if the price matched the quality of the ukulele.
thanks 🙂
Hey Camilo, I’ve never had the chance of playing the Fender Nohea Koa tenor, but it gets pretty great reviews. Do you have a Guitar Center or other type of music store nearby? The best thing to do if you can is to try it out. If you do order it online, I know a lot of music websites usually have a pretty generous return policy.
If you are looking for a top end uke you would have to seriously consider one of the K’s and really spoil yourself and buy a collings
Have you heard anything about the Luna Ukulele’s? Can get one for about $120 with electronics and gig bag. They look nice and seem to be a nice unit but I can’t find one local to play first. Thanks for the great site!
Have you heard anything about the Luna Ukulele’s? Can get one for about $120 with electronics and gig bag. They look nice and seem to be a nice unit but I can’t find one local to play first. Thanks for the great site!
I’ve heard great things about the Luna ukuleles. Usually online music stores have a return policy, so I think it’s worth a try!
I’m looking for a decent class set at a reasonable price. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Hi Elizabeth, I don’t have a lot of experience with using a ukulele in the classroom, but I would try contacting a ukulele manufacturer to see if they do any discounts if you’re ordering ukuleles in a large quantity. My post here might give you some ideas:
http://www.ukuleletricks.com/5-best-ukuleles-to-buy-for-beginners/
Just wondering what people’s experience with KoAloha is? See that other all-Koa ukes can be bought for much less than Ko’s prices, so begs the question: why spend 3 times as more on a KoAloha? Cheers for any replies/advice.