What are the attributes or characteristics of a ukulele that need quality control?

Question

What are the attributes or characteristics of a ukulele that need quality control?

Answer 1

Mugiwara,

Good question.  There are many, many characteristics to a good ukulele.  Just because it's pretty doesn't mean it's a quality instrument and has good tone.  A lot of older scratched beat up ukes (Kamaka, Martin, Hilo, i.e.) will sound better than a new, run of the mill, off the shelf one.  Just stands to reason, the wood is drier and therefore will have better resonance.  When looking the first thing I check is the name.  Is it synonymous with quality?  http://ukulelehunt.com/ I think is the best of many sites with uke forums.  After the name I'd look for cracks, delaminating, warped or bent neck, frets, bridge, nut, tuners, etc. and finally strum a few chords and pick it a little to check for buzzing and intonation.  There are so many "attributes or characteristics" it's hard to list them all.....like bracing.....or strings.  ( A whole other blog.)  

See http://www.wsukes.com/index.html  This guy shows step by step how he makes his ukes.  You can even see it on Youtube.

Check http://www.ukuleleclubs.com/ and see if there's a club in your area.  Lots of knowledge and loads of fun playing with other.

Happy hunting,

CowUkeA