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Affordable, lightweight Ukulele?


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  • #1311670
    Matthew Stenger
    BPL Member

    @matthewstenger

    Locale: the beautiful northwest

    Not looking to spend top dollar on a Uke specifically built for backpacking.

    Just want a decent Ukulele, hopefully not much more than a pound that I could lug around with me while backpacking.

    Ideally less than $100

    #2059623
    Max Dilthey
    Spectator

    @mdilthey

    Locale: MaxTheCyclist.com

    My buddy has a backpacking guitar. he thru-hiked with it. Quiet, but fully functional and only about 1.5lbs.

    #2059626
    W I S N E R !
    Spectator

    @xnomanx

    I used to play this one:
    http://www.guitarcenter.com/Mitchell-MU70-12-Fret-Concert-Ukulele-103815981-i1171408.gc
    Good quality, but not a bank breaker.

    I were to buy another, I'd just get a cheaper one, something like this:http://www.guitarcenter.com/Rogue-Hawaiian-Soprano-Ukulele-519269-i1150534.gcIf

    #2059638
    Matthew Stenger
    BPL Member

    @matthewstenger

    Locale: the beautiful northwest

    I will be thru hiking with mine.

    Do you know what he did for a case/water protection?

    I am currently trying to brainstorm ideas.

    I'd like for the Uke and the case to be 24 oz or less.

    #2059657
    Delmar O’Donnell
    Member

    @bolster

    Locale: Between Jacinto & Gorgonio
    #2059680
    Diane “Piper” Soini
    BPL Member

    @sbhikes

    Locale: Santa Barbara

    You can find cheap ukes really easily. They have a $50 one at the bookstore on campus at the university where I work.

    Another alternative, and what I like to play, is something called a Strumstick. Gosh it's so much fun to play! It's nothing like a ukulele or a guitar as far as tuning and chords go, but they do make a ukulele version of it if you can't adapt to an instrument tuned in 5ths with a diatonic fret scale.

    #2059757
    Keith F
    Member

    @hamerica

    Locale: Northern Virginia

    Kala makes some nice cheaper ukes. Best sounding ukes for $100 or less in my opinion. Pretty light too, I'd weigh mine but I'm out of town at the moment.

    #2059759
    Will Webster
    Member

    @willweb

    Have you considered building a strum stick-type instrument?

    YouTube video

    #2059767
    Ryan Bressler
    BPL Member

    @ryanbressler

    I bought a cheap rogue brand mandolin off musicians friend and it sounds and plays well. My brother got one that arrived needing a fret job so I'd double check their return policy.

    Temperature and humidity swings are hard on instruments so I'd go cheap and plywood and be ready to tune it every time you play it.

    #2059771
    Kevin Burton
    BPL Member

    @burtonator

    Locale: norcal

    REI has one that's also a water filter.

    Jk.. :-P

    #2059780
    Matthew Stenger
    BPL Member

    @matthewstenger

    Locale: the beautiful northwest

    I had not, but I will probably attempt making that, thanks!

    #2059796
    Ali e
    Member

    @barefootnavigator

    Locale: Outside

    Craigslist has tons of great cheap ones,a hundred bucks should get a really nice one and they are all very light, mine is bamboo.
    http://artofhookie.org/2012/01/11/cabin-fever/ukulele

    #2059882
    Steven Diogenes
    Spectator

    @stevenn

    I was traveling with a cheap soprano that I ended up tossing because the intonation was so bad. I picked up a 24 oz Kala Tenor and the sound is so much more full.

    As far as lightest, here's a list I found of sopranos and a couple tenors:

    Scale Length-Brand-Model-Construction-Weight/Grams
    Soprano-Makala-Dolphin (Yellow)-ABS/Laminate 459
    Soprano-Makala-Dolphin (Purple)-ABS/Laminate 433
    Soprano-Makala-Dolphin (Pink)-ABS/Laminate 468
    Soprano-Mainland-Chili! -ABS/Laminate 433
    Soprano-Mainland-Honeybee-Mahogany 396
    Soprano-Lanikai-LU-21 – Lam/Mahogany 360
    Soprano-Gstring-M1 Longneck-Koa-366
    Soprano-Vintage-No-name 30's-Mahogany-300
    Soprano-Vintage-Camp Uke – Birch?-303
    Soprano-Martin-20's Style O-Mahogany 260
    Soprano-Martin-50's Style O-Mahogany 283
    Soprano-Kamaka-Keiki 70's-Mahogany-343
    Soprano-Sailor-SPC-S-Cherry/Spruce-393
    Soprano-KoAloha-Pikake-Koa-355

    Tenor-KoAloha-Super Concert-Koa-568
    Tenor-LoPrinzi-Model A-Mahogany-556
    Tenor-Fender-No'hea-Lam/Koa-662

    http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?46574-The-weight-of-your-Ukulele

    #2059927
    Maggie Harlan
    BPL Member

    @maggiemaeflower

    Locale: Ohio

    +1 on the Kala

    I think mine was around $30 from Guitar Center. The sopranos are smaller and I'm assuming weigh less. If you want to get better sound from a cheaper uke, change out the srtings to Aquila brand. They made a huge difference for me.

    #2059942
    Greg Whalin
    BPL Member

    @gwhalin

    Locale: Hudson Valley, NY

    Did some research on awesome sound out of cheap Uke's while back and settled on:

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0056I8STQ/

    That said, I immediately replaced the strings with:

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003NJF1G8/

    Awesome sounding and not too $$

    #2060812
    Maggie Harlan
    BPL Member

    @maggiemaeflower

    Locale: Ohio

    I just had to share this photo from my 2011 AT hike. Looks like someone got a little frustrated!Uke

    #2064673
    BlackHatGuy
    Spectator

    @sleeping

    Locale: The Cascades

    Just discovered Jake Shimabukuro. Wow.

    #2064698
    Trace Richardson
    BPL Member

    @tracedef

    I think http://outdoorukulele.com (14 oz when I last communicated with them) is the way to go as mentioned since it's hard plastic and isn't as fragile as a wood one and have no issues with moisture … they used to have a camo colored one …. and they're only $100 ….

    That being said, I beat the hell out of my Martin Tenor 2 recently over about 6 weeks beach hopping / Island hopping around Hawaii …. cut limes for some Dos Equis on the back and even rolled a doobie (medicinal, of course) on it on Black Sand Beach on Maui and it fared fine, but the tuners were rusted to hell and had to disassemble and clean them completely …. they looked like they had been on the beach for years … apart from knicks and scratches, wood was stronger than I anticipated ….

    #2064756
    Link .
    BPL Member

    @annapurna

    Since this is Backpacking Light ,then it's all about carbon fiber ;) Here is a VIDEO

    #2064772
    Trace Richardson
    BPL Member

    @tracedef

    Love carbon fiber, but damn …. ugliest instruments I've ever seen! Not cheap either. :)

    #2064778
    Link .
    BPL Member

    @annapurna

    Yes as you can see in my post it was not a serious suggestion, but I actually really like the way it looks , but to each their own.

    #2064783
    Steven Diogenes
    Spectator

    @stevenn

    20.8oz for the carbon fiber tenor and 25.6oz for my Kala Tenor. Not a great savings there.

    #2064807
    Link .
    BPL Member

    @annapurna

    Ya , again it was not a serious post just thought people on here might find it funny that it was carbon fiber, but I guess nobody got it … oh well, I look forward to reading all the posts about the terrible carbon fiber uke and why you shouldn't get it.

    #2064808
    Trace Richardson
    BPL Member

    @tracedef

    Think we got it :)

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