If you have ever dreamed of a Kamakawiwo'ole heaven, then you have come to the right place. Concert ukuleles are for everyone from the young to the old, beginner to the professional. A concert ukulele fits right in the hands of anyone who would love to play it. You can get fantastic offers for the best concert ukulele with a deep and mellow tone at an affordable price. We are here to help you identify the best cheap concert ukuleles that will give you the joy of playing music using a professional concert ukulele.
Contents
What is a Concert Ukulele
A concert ukulele is a stringed instrument that belongs to the lute family. Two main types of ukuleles are mostly put side by side. The concert ukulele and the soprano ukulele. The concert ukulele is slightly longer and larger than the soprano ukulele. The concert ukulele has a more extended fretboard but can produce the traditional sound that a ukulele is well known for. Soprano ukuleles and traditional ukuleles produce a bright sound that might set it apart from a concert ukulele. However, the difference lies majorly in the size because the tuning is similar.
Which is the best concert ukulele?
Rank | Product Image | Brand Name | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | [amazon fields="B073Q6KLGQ" value="thumb"] | ||
2 | [amazon fields="B072JT9WLF" value="thumb"] | ||
3 | [amazon fields="B01M1L6OSX" value="thumb"] | ||
4 | [amazon fields="B0041OT5MU" value="thumb"] | ||
5 | [amazon fields="B003L7VQMA" value="thumb"] |
Best Concert Ukuleles
1. Ranch Concert Ukulele
[amazon box="B073Q6KLGQ" template="horizontal"]
Ranch is a great concert ukulele for beginners with a top made of a Sapele finish. The concert ukuleles have an excellent tone quality and make it to the top of our best concert ukuleles list. The beginner ukulele has a warm sound and is easy to play, making it an attractive instrument of good quality that many love. Ranch concert ukes are easy to tune, and the kit comes with a clip-on tuner that accurately picks any change in the chrome die-cast tuners.
The concert ukulele comes ready for action with Aquila strings pre-installed. The nickel silver fret wires are accurately spaced for easy playing. Ranch enjoys great concert ukulele reviews because of the easy setup and a sweet island-y vibe. In addition, Ranch provides a basic chord chart in the set and online tutorial videos that you can access through your browser.
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2. AKLOT Concert Ukulele
[amazon box="B072JT9WLF" template="horizontal"]
AKLOT is made of a solid mahogany body that puts the ukulele at the top of this list. Hard ebony wood is known for its distinct tone that sounds great even to experienced ears. A longer sustain provided by the ukulele gives a beautiful ring that will mesmerize anyone within the listening range. The concert size ukulele is perfect for adult beginners and beginners of any kind. The ukulele comes with a tuner and copper geared tuners that ensure you are always tuned before starting a jam session.
The AKLOT set comes with a strap, plectrums, extra strings, gig bag, a tuner and an instructional guide.
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3. Donner Concert Ukulele
[amazon box="B01M1L6OSX" template="horizontal"]
Donner is a gem made out of African mahogany to give unique sounds you can only dream of. The ukulele is made to produce a warm, rich sound that will blow the mind of any listener. The ukulele is easy to tune in and always ready to go. The beautiful sound hole ring will give you the motivation to start learning right away. Luckily, Donner has included an instructional DVD in their set to aid any beginner who might be interested in learning.
Donner has other unique accessories, including a strap, a tuner, picks, and a soft polishing cloth for you to keep the uke neat during a presentation.
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4. Cordoba 15cm Concert Ukulele
[amazon box="B0041OT5MU" template="horizontal"]
When you hear the name 'Cordoba,' prepare to be taken over by the Spanish musical spirits. Cordoba makes the best string instruments, one of them being a concert ukulele. When you lay your hands on this instrument, hold on tightly to it and never let it go because it will bring an unlimited supply of happiness to you and those around you. The Cordoba ukulele has a bright and rich sound that is great for beginners and students alike.
The Cordoba body is handcrafted, and the instrument has been created, unlike its manufactured counterparts. Therefore, the ukulele feels good in the hands because it was made to feel so.
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5. Luna Tattoo Concert Ukulele
[amazon box="B003L7VQMA" template="horizontal"]
The only thing as memorable as the name of this ukulele is the sound it produces. The ukulele comes with a gig bag to ensure you bring it with you everywhere you go to bring love and joy with you. The ukulele is lightweight and has a great look and colors that will keep your audience captivated before you even strum a chord. The tattoo prints on the ukulele look fitting given the Hawaiian vibe you are about to experience with the uke.
Luna Tattoo is for all seasons with its sound that puts it at the top of Luna instruments list. In addition, the walnut fingerboard gives a comfortable feel to calm you down before you start playing.
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Features To Consider When Buying The Best Concert Ukulele
a) Nut Width
Mostly, the concert ukulele nut width ranges between 1.38” and 1.5”. A wide nut requires a wide neck, creating more room for your fingertips between the strings. This isn’t a massive concern for most players, although larger-statured people with big hands often find that a wider nut makes for more effortless accuracy. However, some manufacturers don’t state the nut width. Therefore, you might want to move on to the next brand if you’re concerned about this factor.
b) Acoustic or Acoustic-Electric
One of the terms you’re going to hear thrown around while you’re looking for uke is “acoustic-electric.” An acoustic-electric instrument is a fully acoustic instrument with a pickup/amplifier in it, which allows it to be amplified. When you’re not using the amp pickup, the instrument still has an excellent acoustic tone, but you also have the option to amplify it easily.
There is a trade-off inherent to getting an acoustic-electric instrument. When you get an instrument with a pickup in it, you’re paying for both the pickup and the instrument itself, so you’ll get less acoustic tone relative to the money you put in.
If you’re pretty sure you’re never going to play live, an instrument without a pickup may be the better option. Likewise, if you’re planning on gigging regularly, you’re going to want an acoustic-electric instrument.
c) Fretboard Material
The fretboard of a ukulele is the elongated part that has strings. It is sometimes referred to as the fingerboard. Most often, the neck is made from the same wood as the body of the concert ukulele. This is both for sound, tonal and aesthetic reasons. However, if the body is made from an exceeding softwood, the fretboard may produce a harder type. Common wood types used to make a fretboard include mahogany, maple, koa, walnut, elm, and rosewood. What’s unique about the fretboard is that it is carved from one piece of wood. Any chips or strains can quickly damage the integrity of the concert ukulele. As such, one piece of wood needs to be used to keep it as sturdy as possible.
d) Scale Length
The Concert ukulele scale length is usually 15 inches in size. The scale length might vary a bit in different brands; however, the scale length should not be a matter of concern for you as it’s a matter of preference rather than an indicator of quality.
e) Sound
When picking a concert ukulele, ensure that you like the way it sounds. The best way to get a preferred uke is to either visit your local music shop and try different ukuleles until you find one you prefer, or create a shortlist of ukes available online and see if you can find clips of those ukuleles being played.
f) Quality of wood
- Spruce- Spruce as a material is very high-end focused, with a bright tone with plenty of punch. However, it can sometimes sound a bit brittle, depending on the size and the other materials used in an instrument’s build.
- Maple-Maple is renowned for its richness and clarity. It’s similar to rosewood but slightly brighter. When maple is used in a well-built instrument, it’s arguably going to be one of the most defined instruments in a mix.
- Cedar- Cedar is warmer than both mahogany and spruce and is described as being very bass-heavy. Cedar is great if you’re looking for a soft-sounding instrument, though it does lack some punch.
- Mahogany- Mahogany is a warm-sounding tonewood commonly used in ukes. It has strong low-end frequencies, decent mids, and glassy (though understated) high frequencies. Koa has the same response.
- Rosewood- Rosewood is a mid-range focused wood, incredible if you’re looking for volume and clarity. It does a great job of being audible in a mix, though it can sometimes sound brittle like spruce.
How to Care for your Concert Ukulele
i) Keep it Clean
The best concert ukuleles are made from unique materials that include a mahogany body or Hawaiian Koa wood and rosewood fingerboard, making it possible for the instrument to produce great sound. The sound produced is dependent on the body of the concert ukulele and how well the materials resonate. Rich sound is produced when the sound vibrations hit the body to produce a sweet, resonant sound. You can keep the concert ukulele clean by using a padded gig bag at all times to keep dust away from the ukulele. Dust accumulates on the body of the concert ukulele, ridding it of the rich sound quality. Avoid any spillages and clean the ukulele using a soft polishing cloth.
ii) Restring Regularly
The best concert ukuleles are made to sound good. A great concert ukulele will ring in the hall, giving a captivating sound that gets the audience's attention. Newer strings on a quality ukulele give off a louder sound that matches other musical instruments. A concert uke is made for concerts, and new strings will do any performance justice. Be keen to change all the strings even when only one string is broken.
iii) Do Not Strum Too Harshly with a Pick
When playing a good concert ukulele with a pick, you will get a good deep tone and bright finishes that sound good. However, the pick might scratch the surface of most ukuleles if used aggressively. Whether the wood is excellent, like solid mahogany wood or solid spruce, you need to go easy on the concert ukulele. The satin finish and other quality materials on most concert ukuleles are for elegance that you can keep by carefully handling the ukulele.
iv) Storage
Do not store the concert ukulele in a place with moisture. The maple wood, walnut fretboard, mahogany neck, walnut bridge, nut and saddle material that make up the best concert ukulele can all be damaged by moisture. Ensure you store the concert ukulele in its case or a gig bag in a warm and dry environment to ensure excellent sound quality is not tampered with. In addition, the hard ebony body on the best concert ukuleles can get damaged by dust or moisture.
Final Take
Music is a beautiful thing that can appeal to people from all walks of life. However, lousy music is terrible music universally as well. Therefore, treat your concert ukulele like a tool that can bring different cultures and people together. But, on the other hand, the best concert ukulele will not do any good if you handle it carelessly.
