What Is the Best Ukulele for Beginners?

When you decide to buy a ukulele, you might be wondering: “what is the best ukulele for a beginner?”

I used to be in your position, so I researched, reviewed and picked out a list of important things about  ukulele for your reference.

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The 3 things need to be clear about buying good ukulele for beginners

1) Soprano vs. Concert vs. Tenor vs. Bariton – Which one is best for beginners?

• If you buy ukulele for kids, the soprano ukulele is the good choice because of its small neck and frets.
• If you buy ukulele for adults, the concert uke and tenor uke is the best choice because once you get some experiences, you will want more frets to play some songs.
• The baritone ukulele is best suited to well-played ukers.

2) Acoustic ukulele vs. Acoustic-electric ukulele?

Personally, I think both acoustic ukulele and acoustic-electric ukulele are good for beginners as well as experienced players, just a matter of price and quality.

The acoustic-electric ukulele is equipped with EQ and/or pick up that help you play through amplifier as well as recording easily. I mean acoustic-electric ukulele is suitable for performing on stage or clubs.

3) Do you really want to PAY for the GOOD ukulele (good sound and good looking)?

If you say “yup!” then great! The good sound and good looking ukulele will inspire you to learn playing it day by day.

Please believe me, a poor sound and ugly uke would soon destroy your passion.

A good ukulele for beginners has price range from $50 to $100. If you buy a cheap ukulele under $50, it is just a toy rather than a music instrument.

So, what is the best ukulele for a beginner?

This is a question that I searched and looked for an answer when I want to buy a best beginner ukulele.

After spending a lot of time on in-depth researching by visiting forums, blogs and other official uke sites, I reached a conclusion that there are 3 factors which make a quality ukulele. They include brand, materials and strings.

1) Best ukulele brands for beginners:

As for brands, you can’t go wrong with Kala, Luna, Cordoba, Oscar Schmidt, Lanikai. Personally, I prefer Kala because my first ukulele is Kala KA-T (bought it 2 years ago) and it has still worked well.

2) Best wood for good ukulele: Solid wood vs. Laminated wood vs. Plastic

Most of best ukulele is made from solid-wood and its price is over $100. The benefit of solid wood is the sound will be better over time if you play regularly.

The ukulele is made from laminated wood is less affected by temperature and moisture than the solid ones. That means it is more durable and becomes a popular choice for beginners as a result.

Plus, the price of these ukulele is very reasonable. With around $50 to $100, you have many options for a good quality uke to start your passion.

And there are so many cheap ukulele which are made from plastic out there. Most of them are just toys for kids rather than a real instrument.

3) The best strings for ukulele: Nylgut vs. Titanium vs. Traditional nylon or PVDF

The ukulele strings have an enormous effect on the uke’s sound/tone. There are three main kinds of uke strings: nylgut, titanium, and nylon.

So which one is the best for ukulele? It depends on your taste, in the table below I’ll list down all the characteristics of each one.

What about best brand of ukulele strings? Aquila and D’Addario are popular choices of most ukers in the world. I have played with both brand and I feel that:

• Aquilar’s strings are a bit lower in tension and a little bit more warm.
• D’addario’s strings are a bit higher in tension, thicker feeling and a little more bright

Side note: Each set of ukulele-string-size will best suited to individual ukulele type. For example, you do not use soprano-ukulele-strings for tenor-ukulele-strings and some things like that.

Conclusion

It depends on what you want however, you should choose the one that is fit and most comfortable to play with.

In my opinion, if you are beginners, a good choice is soprano, concert and tenor ukulele rather than baritone ukulele because they are easier to learn, easier to get started on, and you can go a long way with them.