Hamano U-30RD Colorful Soprano Ukulele - Red

Originally I bought this for my niece. I wasn't sure if she would just pluck a couple of strings and quit.It's a solid ukulele in that it generates the sound expected and is playable. Add in a couple of tab booklets and on-line videos, and anyone can learn to use the ukulele. This ukulele is ideal for someone who want to carry one around and play when hanging out with freinds or has some time to pass waiting for someone else.The main issue with the ukulele was it took several weeks for the strings to settle (keep their tune longer). But this was to be expected. Now it sounds perfect. She kept a clip on tuner attached to the ukulele all the time so, tuning the instrument wasn't an issue.Since then I've picked up a couple more ukulele's for my daughter. The pitch and tone for this ukulele is what I remember hearing way back in the day before it became popular today. A price vs quality comparission still brings this ukulele to a very good buy. In comparission to an equivalent size(soprano)to a higher priced ukuele,the Mahalo U-30RD holds its own for sound. The higher priced one had cute graphics and different strings.The other ukulele was concert ukulele for several hundred (street value). When I so much as hear a small bump with that ukulele, my eyes go wide open. I inspect that thing regularly for a sign of a small scratch. That ukulele sounds great and looks beautiful, but isn't practical for traveling or a careless player.OVERALL: A good solid ukulele, great for traveling or for a beginner, and a bargain.

This little red Uke from Amazon is a little better than I thought. Yes it does lose it's tune due to nylon strings, but this is to be expected. Does not come with a pitch pipe like the tag on it says it does. Intonation up the neck - ouch. Not good. The plywood inside the sound hole came with a split - but a touch of super glue fixed it. Great instrument for teaching small children and introducing them to a love for making music.

It is true that this ukulele doesn't tune well. The strings are made of plastic, and the thing is not even two feet long, but it is still a great value. I recommend this to anyone who just wants a simple little string instrument to mess around with. It plays fine right out of the package and is easily heard. I got mine for keeping in my car and to play at the beach, and for this it is great.When I first got it, I planned on only playing it 10 minutes but I ended up playing for 2 hours. I found things that sounded good, and for an economy model it produces good sound. The bright colors are also fun. If you have ever thought about picking up a cheap string instrument for fun, this ukulele gets the job done.

There is no way to give this 3.5 stars,, it is a Soprano Ukulele,, This is my third, first one years ago from Ebay, had a wooden saddle, Never played it,, Last year I picked up a good looking Mahalo and after playing awhile and researching,, I bought a Concert and a Tenor ( also a Baritone but I digress ) The other Mahalo ( Buy a Snark tuner ) when played at the 12th fret is high side of notes, ( GCEA) so I played with and made a bone Nut and bone saddle, changed strings etc,, and finally gave it to the grand daughter to break. I bought this one because I am a sucker,, and I keep this in my car to play during the day when stress at work,, That being said, it has the same problem, it has plastic Nut and Saddle, I replaced the strings with some 6 bucks Concert strings from Guitar center, I like them ( Titanium D'ar something or others) It stay in tune fairly well with the strings, but has similiar problems to the other, 12th fret out of tune, IF you are a starter you probably say So what, well it is a big factor in tuning, and your sutff sounding okay. I would suggest if you have never played a Ukulele ( Like me, big beginner ) save up and buy a 50 dollar and up Concert ( I like the size and I pack my Concert when traveling in a case I got off Amazon) also the bigger Ukuleles are nicer to hold and play and really are not that much bigger than this, I wanted to make a video showing the difference and playing a song, but have not gotten around to it,, someday,, remember this thing is like 30 bucks, small, so my fat stubby fingers have harder times on it chord wise than on the bigger Ukuleles.overall, It is thrown around my camper and my truck,, the red looks cool but makes it slippery on my fat gut.. fun to play but sometimes chords sound off because of Bridge and saddle stuff... Hacks should love it but dont let it discourage you if you really want to learn to play,, keep remember it was only 30 bucks

I had the unique experience of purchasing five different ukuleles at the same time (it was a family thing) and this was the only one that was defective. It always sounded worse than the others, but unfortunately it took us way too long (and by that I mean past the time I could return it) to figure out why.There's a little bar where the strings attach to the bottom of the instrument that is white. The bar was molded incorrectly, and basically half the bar was touching the strings and half was kind of slumped down and did not touch the strings like it is supposed to. As a result, the instrument is very twangy and unplayable.Having discovered this, we're going to quit blaming my mom for how awful of a player she is and start blaming her defective ukulele. I'm sure she's relieved.

On very rare occasions, do I share product reviews-- positive or negative; this is one of those times. Potential buyers beware. Product quality is extremely poor. This was my first go at the Ukulele. I had it for a full day, 2nd day, pulled it out to change the strings. To my surprise, the paint under the bridge was chipped and chipping off and the bridge could quite possibly be lifting as well. I don't know if it's because of the weather, or because I was constantly tuning it. Regardless, I may have played it for a total of 3 hrs yesterday.I've just ordered the Makala MK-S Soprano Ukulele. It had plenty of great reviews. I'm willing to spend the extra $20 on quality. And the Makala, if I'm not mistaken, is made of wood, not plastic.