Learning ukulele is very easy with thousands of video lessons available on the internet, but choosing a wrong ukulele can make it hard for you to learn and play. Ukuleles designed for professionals are often more complicated for beginners to handle. This is why, if you are just beginning with ukulele lessons, you must look for the best ukulele for a beginner.
The good thing is, there are plenty of top brands with hundreds of models designed specifically for beginners for the purpose of learning. In this article, we have listed 10 best options for you if you are looking for the best ukulele for a beginner.
Best Ukulele for Beginners: Our Top 10 Selection.
Here is the list of best ukulele for a beginner that can help you a great deal in learning the basics.
| Image | Product | Type | Reviews | Check Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  | Lohanu LU-C Bundle | Concert | [star rating="4.8"] |  |
| 2. |  | Hola Music HM-224SSR Bundle | Concert | [star rating="4.9"] | |
| 3. |  | Cordoba Protege U1 | Concert | [star rating="4.9"] | |
| 4. |  | Kala KA-15S Mahogany | Soprano | [star rating="4.6"] | |
| 5. |  | Kala KA-15S Mahogany Bundle | Soprano | [star rating="4.6"] | |
| 6. |  | Kala MK-SS-GRN Makala Shark | Soprano | [star rating="4.5"] | |
| 7. |  | ADM Ukulele 21” | Soprano | [star rating="4.5"] | |
| 8. |  | Kala MK-C Makal | Concert | [star rating="4.5"] | |
| 9. |  | Kala KA-C Mahogany | Concert | [star rating="4.5"] | |
| 10. |  | Official Kala Learn to Play Kit | Soprano | [star rating="4.6"] | |
1.- Lohanu LU-C Ukulele Concert Size Bundle
Our first option is from Lohanu, the LU-C Concert Size Bundle. It makes to top of our list for many valid reasons.
First, it offers you great value for your money as it comes with a great set of accessories, along with a well-designed and an attractive concert ukulele. It weighs only 2.5 pounds which makes it very easy to handle and carry.
The design is also eye-catching as it features a rosewood fingerboard, while the sides, back, and top are a mixture of Mahogany and Sapele. In addition, it has handmade ABS binding, pre-strung Aquila strings, and chrome die-cast tuners.
In addition to lightweight, eye-catching ukulele, the bundle also contains a spare set of Aquila strings, o pick holder, two picks, a soft case, a tuner, and a strap. On top of that, Lohanu offers an unconditional lifetime warranty which makes it a safe investment.
Simply put, it is a perfect ukulele for the perfect beginning. Not only beginners but many experts also prefer LU-C because of its classic, sweet and mellow sound. It gets full marks when it comes to design, great tone, sound, durability, affordability, and the accessories that come with the bundle. This is exactly why it ranks on the top of our list.
2.- Hola Music HM-224SSR+ Concert Ukulele Bundle
Hola is a well-known brand that is known for their ukuleles made for beginners. In fact, the brand only sells ukuleles for beginners which make them experts for beginners in the industry.
One of their top models is HM-224SSR+ Concert Ukulele that also comes with a bundle and all necessary accessories. The affordable bundle includes a strap, picks, padded gig bag, 24-inch solid spruce top ukulele, and installed Aquila Nylgut strings.
The model has a perfect design with a satin finish that makes it look clean. It is one the best-designed ukuleles on our list with SOLID spruce top, nato neck, ebony back and sides, and rosewood fingerboard and bridge.
The ukulele is also very well-built and looks sturdy. It comes with high-precision die-cast machine heads chrome platted with black rubber pegs that also looks nice. It uses premium Italian Aquila Nylgut strings. You can find an exceptional attention to design which makes it look and feel good in your hands.
The sound and tone are also great, playability is easy, which makes it a perfect option for people to begin their ukulele lessons.
3.- Cordoba Protege U1 Concert Ukulele
Cordoba is another top Ukulele and guitar brand that is known for its affordable but quality musical instruments. The Protégé U1 Concert ukulele is the example why Cordoba is well-known for its quality ukuleles.
You can find everything in this model that you look for in a quality ukulele. It is a well-made instrument, with durable material, attention to detail in design, and great sound. The model is solid mahogany with satin finish without any laminate coating. You can easily tune it no matter if you using a ukulele for the first time.
The design is made simple for beginners to make it easier to learn. There is no clutter of any binding, just classic shape and lovely satin brown mahogany which makes it easy to play.
The tone and sound are sweet and mellow. Some other prominent features include a rosewood bridge and fine quality fingerboard. The strings are Aquila Nylgut Concert (GCEA) that are durable and feels good to fingers.
It weighs 5 pounds, which is not as light as our first option, but it is still very easy to carry. The size is comparatively small which makes it a good option for small hands.
4.- Kala KA-15S Mahogany Soprano Ukulele
Kala is often ranked among the industry leader when it comes to high-quality ukuleles designed for best sound and durability. Most of their high-end models are popular among professionals but you can still find some specifically designed for beginners, like Kala KA-155 Mahogany Soprano Ukulele.
It is known as one of the best budget beginner ukuleles in the market, and often the crowd favorite. It sounds great, looks great, and is easy to play. It makes perfect sense or beginners who want to buy a high-quality and durable ukulele as their first instrument that doesn’t cost much.
The design is also simple but eye-catching. It overall has clean look and solid feel. The design is also an example of quality craftsmanship and attention to detail. It is also well-built and feels durable. The tone is also sweet and sound. Compared to some other models, it has a lot more resonance, volume, and bass.
In some entry-level ukuleles, the strings are too high off the neck which is known as “high action”, and makes it harder to play. But this is not an issue with KA-15S, as the action is low and even which makes it perfect to play right out of the box. Other than minor adjustments, you don’t have to do any tweaking with this one.
The only issue is the size. It is a very small ukulele that is perfect for small hands, but if you have extra large hands, you may find it difficult to play.
5.- Kala KA-15S Mahogany Soprano Ukulele Bundle
Our fifth best option is again Kala KA-15S, but this time, with a complete ukulele bundle for the best price. If you want to buy a quality ukulele with necessary accessories at the best price, this bundle makes perfect sense for you.
The bundle comes with one of the best Kala mode, the KA-15S Mahogany Soprano Ukulele along with polish clothing, Clip-on tuner, Austin Bazaar Instructional DVD, and Gig Bag. Buying it with bundle makes it easy for you to keep your ukulele in optimal condition for a long time.
The KA-15S has a perfect light matte finish that makes it look natural and eye-catching. It is smooth to the touch but you can still see the texture of the wood and rough finish, which also makes it unique.
| Image | Product | Type | Reviews | Check Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | | Kala MK-SS-GRN Makala Shark | Soprano | [star rating="4.5"] | |
| 7. | | ADM Ukulele 21” | Soprano | [star rating="4.5"] | |
| 8. | | Kala MK-C Makal | Concert | [star rating="4.5"] | |
| 9. | | Kala KA-C Mahogany | Concert | [star rating="4.5"] | |
| 10. | | Official Kala Learn to Play Kit | Soprano | [star rating="4.6"] | |
We Help you to Choose the Best Beginner Ukulele
What to Look for When Buying a Best Beginner Ukulele?
For your first ukulele for learning purposes, you need a simpler, smaller, and easy to play soprano with fewer frets. For this, there are two best types, concert, and soprano.
Both are easier to play compared to other types. Most models listed on our list are either concert or soprano. You can choose any of the type based on your personal preferences. Soprano is smaller in size, easier to carry, and makes a good fit for people with small hands.
The concert, on the other hand, is bigger in size and makes a good option for people with larger hands. The sound and tone are also different as it produces fuller sound while the soprano is more known for thin sound. Concert also has wider fretboard compared to soprano.
- Affordability
Most people look for the most affordable options when buying their first soprano as they plan to buy a more advanced model once they learn the basics. For this, the soprano is best as their models are cheapest, followed by a concert.
Tenor and baritone models are expensive and also larger in size.
- Tone and Playability
Tone and playability depend on a lot of features, but the most impact is the size. The bigger the body it has, the bigger the tone it produces.
This is why, if you are choosing between concert and soprano, keep in mind that the concert produces richer, warmer and more resonant sound due to its size. With bigger size also comes larger bass and volume.
Soprano, on the other hand, produces more tinkly sound when it comes to tone due to its smaller size.
Types of Ukulele
The most common types of ukuleles for beginners are concert and soprano
Most of the beginner’s models are concert ukuleles as they are easiest top lay. The size of concert ukuleles is slightly bigger than the soprano, which makes it perfect for both small and large hands.
Concert ukuleles offer fuller resonance and great sound as they have more tension in strings.
The second most common type for beginner models is the soprano. These are smaller ukuleles that makes them easy to handle, and perfect for small hands, like teens, and children, but if you have larger hands, you may find it hard to play these.
These also make a good option for those who want to carry their instrument around. These are also more affordable due to their small size. These mostly produce thin sound compared to a concert.
Top Beginner Ukulele Brands
Here is the list of some of the top ukulele brands:
- Kala
One of the top Ukulele brands is Kala, so many of you may want to buy a Kala ukulele as your first instrument. But here is the catch, most of the Kala models are designed for experts, not for beginners, but you can still find some quality options for beginners as well. Kala is known for its high-end models with exceptional attention to detail.
There are other brands that make ukuleles only for beginners, to make learning simpler for people who are just starting with this instrument. We have listed some of these brands here:
- Hola!
Hola! or Hola Music manufactures ukuleles specifically for beginners only. It is a relatively new company compared to industry leaders like Kala, but it is among the best for beginners.
The ukulele by Hola are affordable, well designed, have great sound, and most importantly, very easy to play.
- Lohanu
Lohanu is known for its high-quality but affordable models. In addition, you can also find an impressive range of models from this brand along with ukuleles and other music accessories.
The brand is also known for their lifetime warranty which makes them unique. Some of the top types they are most known for are tenor, concert, and soprano. You can also find ukuleles designed specifically for beginners and professionals.
To Finish With the Best Ukuleles for Beginners.
Based on our research and own experience with ukuleles, we prefer concert models, like our first option, Lohanu LU-C. But if you like the smaller size and more affordable options, soprano models, especially from Kala, are also a great option for the best ukulele for a beginner.
In terms of ease of play, concerts are also better as they have more distance between the frets. As the distance provide your fingers more space to maneuver. Similarly, scale length which is more in concert makes it easier for you to play.
In the end, it all comes to your personal choice and preference. There are plenty of options available in the market that offers different sounds, tone, ease of playability, and design. You can easily find one that fits your needs on our list.
Recent Comments