dropDavid, on Twitter, asked me the following, "hey uke guy 😀 i need professional advice, should i buy the lanikai lu21 concert uke? is it a good buy for the price?"
Well friend, I think you are gonna be psyched. Let me start out by saying that I have been the proud owner of a CK-TEQ Lanikai Ukulele for about 5 years and I absolutely love it! I know we aren't talking about me or my ukulele, but look at this pretty thing!
Lanikai CK-TEQ Tenor Curly Koa Acoustic Electric Ukulele
Anyway, I did some research on the Lanikai LU-21 and it looks like a pretty great ukulele for the price.
Lanikai LU-21 Soprano Ukulele
$49 is a great price for your first ukulele and looking through the reviews, it sounds like a good value. There were a total of 12 reviews with an average rating of 4.5 stars. Not too shabby! Lanikai ukuleles are well made and they sound great. Like I said, I'm totally in love with mine. I don't think you'll be disappointed at all.
Another uke you might look at is the Oscar Schmidt OU2 Concert Ukulele. It's only $7 more and it looks beautiful. I've never personally played one, but I hear people say that they are quality instruments.
So, this morning I headed over to Musician's Friend to see what was on clearance. Oftentimes their ukulele deals don't get the big splash that their other specials get, but it's still worth the search because sometimes you find something really special. For example, today I found this
Lanikai LU-21TE Acoustic-Electric Tenor Ukulele Rosewood Fretboard.
It's only $99.99 and that includes free shipping! Also, there are 10 reviews and the average rating is 4 1/2 stars! Someone was just asking me, on Twitter, about good deals on Tenor ukuleles. Well, this is it! You need this one!
From the product description:
The Lanikai Tenor Ukulele features Shadow electronics for rich, amplified tone. It has Nato top, back, and sides. Rosewood fingerboard and bridge with die-cast geared tuners and binding on the top.
Lanikai ukuleles including the LU-21TE uke, have great playability, sound, and aesthetics at a price that will surprise you.
I, personally, own a Lanikai tenor acoustic-electric and I love. But, I'm pretty sure I paid $399 for mine. Dang!
Update: Some of the reviews of the pick-up in this ukulele aren't especially favorable, which is weird because the overall ratings are very high. But, I think this is boiling down to price. It's a little bit tricky to find a tenor acoustic/electric ukulele for under $200. The other Lanikai model that hits this price point is the Lanikai S-TEQ.
Lanikai S-TEQ Spruce Series Tenor Acoustic Electric Ukulele
But at $189, it's nearly double the price of the Lanikai LU-21TE over at Musician's Friend. Also, after doing some reading, I believe that it uses the same pick as the LU-21TE, so it might not be the best way to spend your extra $99.
To make it more confusing, if you want to spend a little bit more, you could get the exact ukulele that I own, the Lanikai CK-TEQ.
Lanikai CK-TEQ Tenor Curly Koa Acoustic Electric Ukulele
Now, I know that $279 is a lot of money, but it's only $90 more than the Lanikai S-TEQ, albeit it's $180 more than the Lanikai LU-21TE. I've owned my CK-TEQ for something like 5 years and I play it almost every day. I love it to death! So, I'm not sure if that makes your decision any easier, but it looks like the world isn't exactly overrun with budget acoustic-electric ukuleles. And, that's unfortunate. I can tell you that the CK-TEQ doesn't use the same pickup system as the other two ukuleles. Mine uses a 9-volt battery, and not a watch battery and I don't have any complaints with it. I like the sound I get out of it when I go into an amp or PA.
Anyway, I wish you the best on your acoustic-electric tenor ukulele purchases. It might be time to talk to Santa, right?
So, after watching that awesome Mr. B video earlier this week, I really got a taste for a banjolele! I currently have a metal body resonator ukulele (although kind of a cheap one, I'll take pictures later) and I really like the sound of it. Every time I play it, I feel like I should be wearing a straw hat , chewing on a piece of grass and drinking a mint julep.... all the while singing through a old conical megaphone apparatus.  Well.. the banjolele sounds seems like it takes that concept to the next level even. And I HAVE to get to the next level, right? 😉 In case you need a refresher. Here's Mr. B, The Rhyming Gentleman, performing on his banjolele live. I love that he references the Pharcyde in this one!
Yay. I just watched it again and I'm invigorated! Ok. Time to get serious. The first place I looked was Musician's Friend. And I found this pretty little Goldtone Banjolele.
Hay! That's not too bad, right? I'm just psyched that someone is still making banjoleles so I don't necessarily have to buy a vintage instrument that I'll never be able to maintain (I'm not handy). Here's some notes:
Unique banjo-like tone from the Gold Tone Banjolele brings uke parts to the foreground. Curly maple headstock is a perfect complement to the bound ebony fretboard with snowflake inlays. Brass tone ring on the 8" head and maple rim.
Goldtone Banjolele Features:
Maple neck
Ebony fretboard
Curly maple headstock
Archtop design for formby-style strumming
Brass tone ring
Adjustable truss rod
Bone nut
No-knot tailpiece
Ooh! I kept searching and found the fancier big brother, who goes by the name of
Goldtone Banjolele Deluxe. (Yup, just like the sandwich)
Goldtone Banjolele Deluxe - $449.25
Here's some notes about the Deluxe version:
Bound ebony fretboard with snowflake inlays, curly maple headstock, and bound full-walled maple resonator provide luxurious visuals. Resonator design, one-piece flange, 8" head, and bone nut pump out big stage tone with generous volume.
Goldtone Banjolele Deluxe Features:
Unique design
Maple neck
Bound ebony fretboard
Maple resonator
Brass tone ring
One-piece flange
No-knot tailpiece
13-3/4" scale
8" Remo head
Archtop design for formby-style strumming
Bone nut
But... what if you are a handy man (or lady) and you don't mind a bit of a project? Well, I found a few ebay auctions that you should check out. These aren't for me, personally, because fixing things makes me have to put money in the swear jar at my house and my kids don't need rocket bikes (see... the swear jar is pretty full).
Banjo Ukulele Banjolele Rolando, Winner, etc. LOT OF 5!
Defintely check this auction out, there are lots and lots of really detailed pictures so there won't be any surprises when those sweet banjoleles arrive at yer casa.
The next auction that I checked out was for a 1930s-era banjolele that looks pretty similar to the bottom banjolele in the picture above.
VINTAGE B & J MELE BANJO UKULELE banjolele project
There ya go, fixer-upper-types, get a bidding! Just to be complete, I also searched Amazon to see what they have in the way of banjoleles. First I saw one for $199 but the review made it sound like garbage. Then I found the Goldtone instruments again because it looks like Musician's Friend sells them through Amazon also. But, I'll include one of them because maybe you are already heading to Amazon to buy something else completely random.
Goldtone Banjolele - from Amazon.com
So, there ya go. Say, if one of you guys buys one of the banjolele projects on ebay, please contact me. If you write a review about it for my site I'll buy you a Uke Thong!
So, a friend of mine is really into Travis Bean guitars.   You might even say he's obsessed. But, it makes sense, they are beautifully made custom guitars. So, I get to thinking, what's the ukulele equivalent of a Travis Bean? You know what I mean? Let's say I hit the lottery and I want to buy a fantastic NEW ukulele. Who is making those? Who are the ukulele master craftsmen?
Well, I'm not sure I have the definitive answer, but I definitely think ASD Hawaii is in the running for the title. Here's a snippet from their webpage:
one look and you will see a difference in ASD ukueles.  ASD ukuleles are different. but they are not different for the sake of being different. instead, as form should follow function, so does the design of ASD ukuleles. each component of the ukulele has been purposely designed to maximize sound quality and playing comfort. ASD ukuleles are created differently in both sight and sound and may change your preconceptions about ukuleles.
Well.. I certainly like the sound of that. I did some searching on eBay and found this beautiful Tenor Ukulele that they make. It's like a work of art!
Kinohi asd tenor ukulele w/case
I can honestly say that I've never seen a ukulele body shaped like this tenor ukulele. Wait, I know what you are wondering. Where is the sound hole? Well, go to the eBay auction page and look at the other thumbnails (I haven't figured out how to link them here, yet). Go ahead... I'll wait. 😉 Pretty cool, right?
So, being someone who plays ukulele, you are used to being happy and the center of attention, right? I mean, let's face it, people count on us to play the clown a little bit, right? If you ever saw me play, you'd know it was true. Seeing a big guy playing this tiny little instrument just brings a smile to your face.
Now... imagine if that ukulele was decorated to look like a frog. Huzzah!
Hmm... that thumbnail is freaking tiny!  Sorry about that, but if you look at "Stagg Frog Ukulele with Gig Bag" you'll see the whole deal. I did some searching on the Internet and the only other one of these that I saw was on a site that I didn't know much about. Besides, everyone has an ebay account, right? 😉
Anyway, here's some more information from the auction:
Traditional soprano Ukulele w/Â Frog graphic top, in black nylon gigbag - Top: nato - Back & Sides: nato - Neck & Headstock: nato - Fingerboard & Bridge: nato - Tuners: geared pegs w/ "antique white" plastic knobs - Scale length: 349 mm, (13.74 in.) - Fingerboard Dim. 177 mm (7 in.), 12 frets - Neck & Head: 300 mm (12 in.) - Body: 240 mm, (9.3 in.)- Total length: 540 mm, (21.25 in.) - Finish:Â Frog design.
Now get out there and make a fool of yourself! But, for god's sake, do it tastefully.
