Most ukulele players start on a soprano, the smallest and cheapest size. That makes gift shopping easy: the best gifts are the next steps up. A bigger ukulele with more room on the fretboard, one with a pickup for playing with friends, a baritone or a bass ukulele for something new, or a cheap second uke that can go to the beach without worry. Every pick comes from our rankings, with tonight's Thomann price.
Ukulele sizes, quickly
- Soprano: the smallest, the classic plinky sound.
- Concert: a little bigger, more room for fingers.
- Tenor: bigger again, fuller sound, popular with grown-ups.
- Baritone: tuned like the top four strings of a guitar.
- Bass: a ukulele-sized bass guitar with thick rubbery strings.
Gifts for ukulele players under $100
Harley Benton UK-12 White, $22
A soprano ukulele at a price where nobody worries about sand, rain or a lost bag. The perfect second uke. #2 of 91 soprano ukuleles.
Kala Satin Mahogany Tenor Ukulele, $84
The step up from a soprano: an all-mahogany tenor with a fuller sound and more space between the frets. One of the highest-ranked tenor ukes in our index: #1 of 116 tenor ukuleles.
Gifts for ukulele players under $250
Kala Makala MK-B Baritone Ukulele, $133
A baritone tuned like the top four strings of a guitar, so chords from the guitar transfer directly. One of the highest-ranked baritone ukuleles we track: #4 of 42 baritone ukuleles.
Kala KA-TK-C-CE Concert Ukulele, $145
A concert ukulele with a pickup and a cutaway, for playing at open mics or through an amp. #1 of 125 concert ukuleles.
Kala KA-CM-SLN Soprano Ukulele, $246
For the soprano player who loves the size: a curly mango body that looks and sounds a class above their first uke. #1 of 91 soprano ukuleles.
Bigger gifts
Kala U-Bass Wanderer, $393
A bass ukulele with built-in electronics and a deep, upright-like tone through an amp, a surprising gift for a ukulele player who wants to try bass. #2 of 27 bass ukuleles.
Fishman SBT-Classic, $122
A stick-on transducer pickup for acoustic instruments, a way to plug in a favorite ukulele without drilling. It sounds best through a small preamp. #1 of 13 tranducers.
Questions
What is a good gift for a ukulele player?
The next size up, like the Kala Satin Mahogany tenor ($84), or a ukulele with a pickup.
What do you get a ukulele player who has everything?
A baritone or a bass ukulele, a different instrument with the same feel.
Is a cheap ukulele a good gift?
As a second uke for travel and the beach, yes: the Harley Benton UK-12 costs $22.
How we picked. Every product comes from an AudioFu ranking, scored on demand, price, specs and brand. Prices are Thomann's, converted from euros at the European Central Bank rate and updated every night, as are the ranks.
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Denis Kataev runs AudioFu. Every night the site records the prices of more than 38,000 instruments and studio tools at Thomann, and he writes about what those numbers show: what got cheaper, what just arrived, and which discounts are real.
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