2 comments about Learn to Play Ukulele.

1. I am a total beginner and that is what this instructional DVD is obviously for. But after watching it I came away wishing there was more to it. If you are a total beginner you can definitely pick up some good information but there isn't a whole lot of material covered. In addition to this DVD, I would also consider two others by Ralph Shaw: The Complete Ukulele Course taught by Ralph Shaw & Essential Strums for the Ukulele.



2. This video will be great once I learn to tune my Uke, but in the video he goes right into playing the first note, and nothing on how to make sure the Uke is tuned. A new uke's strings stretch and it takes allot of tweaking to get it tuned in, so buy tuner to help you before trying the video...

No comments about BeBoP Soprano Ukulele (Ocean Blue) & Bag.

3 comments about Jumpin' Jim's Camp Ukulele.

1. Wondering where to go after you've mastered a few chords on your uke? This is a great second book for the aspiring ukulele player. Many of the tunes are familiar (On Top of Old Smokey/Spaghetti -- your choice, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, Waltzing Matilda, Kumbahyah, and more), and are relatively easy to play. Like Jim Beloff's other uke books, it is filled with humor, solid tips, and trivia.



2. I have used Mr. Beloffs books before and adore them! AAAA++++++++!!



3. Good array of songs and novel anecdotes about camping.
   Would have been nice if it were offered as spiral bound so that the book would lay flat, especially since it was used around the camp fire without music stands.
   Doesn't give strumming recommendations. However, Jumpin' Jim's books don't tend to give this info.

No comments about BeBoP Soprano Ukulele (Hot Hula Pink) & Bag.

4 comments about Washburn Koa Ukulele.

1. I bought my husband this uke for Christmas,2006, and he absolutely LOVES it! The abalone inlay around the edge is very attractive. He did have to keep retuning it every so often, as the strings stretched, but now it's just fine. He just has to "tweek it" once in a while.
   
   I had looked at a simalar uke at our local guitar center, but they wanted $149 and that was without the abalone inlay. My husband and I both agree it was a "super buy'!



2. I can hardly be considered a musician and playing the ukulele is only a pastime involving some enjoyable minutes of strumming through a few cords, but I must say a few words about the Washburn (Oscar Schmidt) OU-5 ukulele I just bought from Amazon.com.
   
   My previous ukulele was a nice low end soprano box that served me well for several years. It looked OK, it stayed in tune and sounded fine to me. However, I wanted something a bit better and the concert sized OU-5 caught my eye. I researched the heck out of ukuleles in the same price range and decided the Washburn OU-5 was the best.
   
   When the ukulele arrived I opened the box and was absolutely amazed. The uke was a beautiful thing--a work of art. Its highly lacquered finish and distinctive Koa wood construction was stunning. I was looking at a true musical instrument. At that moment I knew my old ukulele was a piece of junk--a toy. I suddenly hated it.
   
   The OU-5 sounds ten times better than my previous ukulele and the somewhat larger size makes it easier for me to "play" and move about the fret board. The mellow and resonant tones that come from the OU-5 are stunning. I know my judgment about that is not based on a lot of musical know-how, but the contrast with my old uke was certainly remarkable. I can recommend this Washburn ukulele to anyone who appreciates fine workmanship, a great sound and wants an fine instrument at a bargain price.
   
   Oh, one other thing--the picture of the Washburn OU-5 ukulele in the Amazon.com description is not a picture of the OU-5 with the Koa wood top. The illustration is probably (a mistake) the Washburn OU-13 with a spruce top. Don't be put off by this apparent error. The product is indeed a Koa wood OU-5.



3. Just a warning. If you think you are going to get a Washburn ukulele from Amazon, you will not. As in my case, you will recieve an OSCAR SCHMIDT ukulele by Washburn. a nice ukulele but you could get it for only $99. I got very little empathy when I voiced the issue with Amazon directly. Maybe I should have caught on when there was no picture available for this item.
   
   MW



4. One night I'm watching Joe Versus the Volcano... and Joe is afloat on his steamer trunks playing the Cowboy Song on his ukulele... and it hits me: I want to learn to play the ukulele just so I can play that song! I've played guitar casually for many years, but I had no clue about the guitar's little cousin. I knew that I wanted something better than a toy ukulele, but also knew I had no plans to play this professionally. After looking around online, I decided to order the OU-5 Oscar Schmidt by Washburn from Amazon.
   
   Summary: I could not be happier. This is a wonderful instrument for both the first time user and the semi-serious amateur. The ukulele is beautiful. The woodwork is gorgeous. Everyone who has seen it says "wow". It sounds just like a ukulele should. And it is a blast to play!
   
   The worst thing about this ukulele is the product description page. The description provided by Amazon is terrible. At the time of this writing, there is no photo of the product (I bought it on faith based on reviews of a couple others here). The product description is a single, incomplete sentence and uses the word "founf"... and the description is so bad, it's not at all obvious that you're getting an OU-5 (look in the item details under model number), but that is what you get. But please, don't be fooled by what may be the worst page on Amazon's otherwise wonderful site... this is a great product.
   
   One user complained about the strings not holding their tune, and I've seen at least one complaint about the tuners. Well, the ukulele comes with nylon strings, and there is a fair amount of stretching before it will stay in tune. My first couple of attempts were frustrating... the top string would be badly out of tune by the time I had tuned down to the bottom string. It took a couple of days of constant tuning before the strings were properly stretched. There's probably some trick to pre-stretching nylon strings, but I just kept at it and eventually prevailed. Now it stays in tune comparable to my guitar. The chrome tuners appear to be of good quality. They are solid and have a good feel.
   
   The Koa wood is stunning, and has a wonderful finish, especially for an instrument in this price range. The detail in the inlay really makes this uke visually impressive.
   
   I grabbed a chord chart off the internet to learn chords and fingering... there are plenty out there. I decided to learn to play songs from movies featuring the ukulele. A quick search and I found the chords (all two of them) for Joe's Cowboy Song... awesome! It sounds great! Tonight You Belong to Me by Steve Martin was next, followed by Forgetful Lucy featuring Adam Sandler on the uke. I suggest looking for ukulele performances on YouTube for inspiration. You haven't really, truly played a string instrument until you've played Rawhide on the ukulele.

3 comments about Johnson UK-120 Hawaiian Soprano Ukulele.

1. This instrument is 95% serious but then who'd really want a 100% serious ukulele! I had some junky Hawaiian vacation type ukes before I bought this one. It's not much more expensive than a junker and really worth the money. However, you MUST buy new good quality strings to get it to play properly. Right now I'm using Martin M600 Standard Ukulele Strings. I've used D'Addario J65 Ukulele Strings and found them good as well. I can only find ukulele strings on the internet - local stores never stock them.



2. 
   
   It took forever to get my parents to take me to the music store so that I could pick out an instrument to buy & play!
   But finally they did it!
   It was not exatlly what I had in mind for an instrument but it's OK.
   If I wasn't handicapped I would have played the viola or the saxaphone.
   My famliy wasn't very impressed when I played it but they were when they heard my sister, Claudia played here clarinet.
   So if your looking for impress your BFF wow that's really cool kinda thing then I suggest "Fender" TM" electric guitar NOT a uke.



3. the second day i had this thing the wood peice that holds the strings taunt broke off, due to a bad glue job. After i super glued it back on i have had no problems

5 comments about Oscar Schmidt OU5 Concert Koa Ukulele.

1. I picked this uke out based on reviews from other websites and then came to Amazon to see if they offered it. They did, through Musician's Friend, so I ordered it. It is now six weeks later and the thing FINALLY arrived. Over the course of the six weeks, I called Musician's Friend three times. Each time they explained that they had moved to a much larger warehouse and that the larger warehouse's previous staff were supposed to stay on as new employees of the company. The former staff apparently didn't get that info and on day one nobody showed up for work. Musician's Friend was forced to hire a whole new warehouse staff and train them. That, according to them, was the cause for the shipping delay. Take it with a grain of salt. However, each time I spoke to them they were very professional and, in the end, they took appropriate measures to convince me that they are, indeed, concerned about customer satisfaction.
   
   Anyway, about the ukulele, it was worth the wait. Front, back and sides are all book matched koa. The sides are half heartwood and half sapwood which makes some dramatic contrasts. The back has some light figure to it. The finish is flawless polished high-gloss. The mother-of-pearl inlay is beautiful. It's almost like a new car...I'm going to be on needles and pins until it gets it's first scratch...then I'll be able to relax a bit. After the strings settled in it seems to be holding tuning well and intonation seems very good. The tuners are very nice and make precise tuning very easy. This thing sure is pretty! You can take this second paragraph with a grain of salt as well, this is only my second ukulele, however, I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night :)



2. I have had my OU5 Laminate Koa for about 3 years. I had a Martin Soprano my dad gave me, but wanted another uke to play so I didn't wear out my vintage Martin. I got this with the case for less than most places sell just the uke today and I can tell you both are incredible values. The uke looks like a custom uke costing 10 times as much, and the case is better quality than most soft cases for other stringed instruments. Being a laminate, I was especially surprised by the sound. After installing Aquila strings, tone and sustain for a uke in this price range are incredible. If you are a beginner, or even a seasoned player looking for a uke in this price range, this uke is a no-brainer. Get one.



3. Musician's Friend seems to have fixed whatever problems the previous reviewers had. I ordered this uke directly through their web site, plus the UC3 hard case and a Korg tuner, on Thanksgiving weekend and it arrived the following Friday.
   
   As to the uke itself, I'm not an experienced player of string instruments so I can't really comment on the intonation or action. But I found the many reviews of this and other ukes on the Musician's Friend site very helpful, so I'd suggest looking there. This uke seemed to be the one in my price range with the fewest negative comments about playability, plus I liked the thought of the koa wood for a more Hawaiian connection.
   
   I agree that it's a pretty little instrument, and sounds nice to my untrained ear. When I can play like Iz, I'll write a follow-up review :-)



4. I've owned the Concert Koa for about 6 months & am quite happy with my choice. The construction and finish are fantastic. Tone is great even though I've read reviews saying that a laminate's sound isn't as good as a solid wood ukulele. Recently I started a group ukulele class and I can truthfully state that mine sounds better than some of the more expensive ones in the class. An excellent buy for $120.



5. This is a much better sounding instrument than I expected for the price. It keeps going flat but I've been told that's just the nature of nylon stringed instruments until the strings stretch out completely. My previous experience is all with steel stringed guitars.

5 comments about Rogue Baritone Ukulele.

1. I bought this instrument aware of some of its faults. I'm used to new stringed instruments not holding its tune, but have never seen it untune right before my eyes. Stretching the strings didn't help at all. After giving up, I put it back in the included bag, figuring it would take a while until it could work as intended. A couple of hours later I heard it untune in the bag and then a bag; the bridge flew off. I guess that I'll get around to fixing her one day, and to be quite honest, I had her even less than that, but I'm really thinking of returning her despite the nice rich barritone sound I briefly heard before she literally flew apart.



2. I'm really enjoying my new barri uke and find it beyond expectations especially considering it's low, low price.
   Frank Griffin



3. This is an inexpensive baritone ukulele and as such there is something to be desired as far as quality. But this is a playable instrument and definitely worth the price if you don't expect perfection and just want to experiment with a ukulele.
   
   The action (distance from strings to fretboard) is a little high so it is a little tough on your fingers. But things like that are to be expected for the price.
   
   Unlike the reviewers that say it doesn't hold itself in tune, I found that it just needed to relax in. After a couple weeks it was fine. Nylon strings ALWAYS take time to stretch.
   
   Do not buy this Uke if you are a serious uke player and want a higher quality instrument for years to come.
   
   If you don't know if you will continue with it and you just want to experiment then it will make a great fly-swatter if you give it up for harmonica. Although... as a fly-swatter it is rather expensive. :-P



4. I am a beginner, so I was eager to buy a quick, affordable ukulele to learn the basics on. I was fine with the idea of a somewhat low-quality ukulele as long as it lasted at least a month for me to learn what I needed. I am sad to say, it would never tune properly (although this may simply be my lack of practice)and less than a day of having it, the G string snapped. Although in the uke's defense I may have tightened it a bit too much.
   
   On brigher side, the paint job on mine was just fine. I'm going to purchase new strings for it and hope things work out.



5. This was my frist ukelele I purchased and It goes out of tune quite often you would have to tune it ater about 3 songs Id recommend getting a geard tuning pegs to keep it in tune but a great beginning uke! MAHALO!

4 comments about First Act Discovery FG404 Soprano Ukulele.

1. This is a good cheap ukulele. Its not a toy. First Act is a quality guitar maker in Boston and they also make alot of other beginner (Discovery) instruments for kids. This ukulele might sound better with better strings but for 25 bucks it's okay right out of the box.
   
   I bought this ukulele for my kid with a Ralph Shaw DVD and a KORG chromatic tuner now we are good to go for under $80.
   
   I liked it so much I got another First Act Discovery uke for myself. Now all we have to do is watch the DVD and practice.



2. I bought this ukulele for my daughter to learn on and to take on campouts. It gets a lot of use. It sounds great and it holds up well. I also have an Oscar Schmidt ukulele, but the First Act gets more use. Because it is so inexpensive, we take it with us on the go and pass it to whoever wants to try it without having to worry about damaging it.
   
   The only down side that I can find, compared with a more expensive ukulele, is that it only has 13 frets and some of the more expensive uku's, like my Oscar Schmidt, have 18 frets and more. Also, the bridge is made of plastic and not wood. But this would only matter if you were a more experienced player.
   
   I would highly recommend this ukulele to someone who is first learning or someone who just wants a good deal.



3. This is a good ukulele, although the strings don't look very good upon arrival but they still work great. This product is especially good with free supersaving shipping! Fun product, not a toy (although looks like it a little bit) and sounds great!



4. I bought this for my 6-yr old daughter in hopes that she will give it a serious shot. That aside, it is just what I expected. It sounds very nice, keeps in tune, and should be the perfect starter instrument for my budding young musician.

1 comments about Mel Bay Fun with the Ukulele.

1. This is the book that I first used to learn chords when I was a kid. It is lean, to the point, and a great first book whether your goal is to learn the ukulele or to eventually move up to the guitar. There are many other books that are thicker, newer, and more modern. But few will kickstart the learning process like this one. Mel Bay was a master musician and a wonderful teacher. He still has much to offer.