Applause UAE148 Acoustic-Electric Tenor Ukulele

I really like the feel of this instrument. It has a nice weight when sitting down, but some might want to consider a strap if you plan to play standing up.The tuners are very good - after a few days of 'string stretch' the ukulele stayed in pitch very well.I am planning to change the nylon strings to a metal/nylon combination so that the bass comes out a bit more, but the tones produced are fine.The gig bag that is recommended is a bit tight, so I am considering the hard case, but that is down the road.This is a good intermediate-level instrument.

About a year ago I decided to take up the ukulele. I've played guitar for most of my life and am now a collector as well. With the ukes, I own a Lanikai 8-string tenor, a Martin soprano, and a Kamaka 8-string tenor. I couldn't believe the sound, looks, and feel of this uke - it is a bargain at any price. It plays well and has the feel of a much more expensive instrument. I would recommend this uke to everyone.

My family has owned several products produced by the Kaman Music Co. We have been very pleased with all of them. My new ukulele is no exception. It has a beautiful natural colored spruce top that is book matched. The finish is thin enough that you can see the texture of the grain and is otherwise flawless. The neck, rosewood fretboard and frets are all smooth with no roughness at fret edges. The action is low and sure. The tuning machines hold a tune well once the stings stretch out. The electronics are some of the better available from Applause or Ovation. The OP-24 allows a lot of tone options with slide controls for volume, treble, midband and bass. Strap buttons are not commonly seen on ukuleles but this one has them. It came from the factory with strings set up for high G tuning. I will be replacing them soon as I prefer the richer tone of the low G tuning on a tenor uke. Because it's bigger than my soprano uke, I find it easier to play. The frets have a little more room for my wide fingers. The bigger body makes it louder too. It has a nice ivory colored edge binding. The multi hole trim is not my favorite style as I like the more traditional central sound hole but this settup works well enough. I bought this planning on making it my main playing instrument. I am very pleased with it and would recommend it to anyone. The Ovation MC430 mandolin case fits this perfectly and offers a lot more protection and any gig bag could. I highly recommend buying them together.

our band plays with several different ukes, including this ovation. we found if you tune this uke to low G instead of the usual tuning and change the 4th string to a 0.32 - 0.36 metal wound you will really like the sound, especially when amped. the instrument itself is very well crafted and looks terrific. for the price offered here, it is well worth the money compared to other $1000 ukes.

The bad news...timid acoustically and maybe some quality Low G strings will fix that. I would like to know what strings came with it so I can avoid them in the future. Thank God I have a super sweet high dollar tenor for my acoustic needs and I wouldn't recommend this as an acoustic only ukulele if it's your first. You really need an amp. I was not expecting a great acoustic sound anyway, just looking for a decent, bargain, rugged electric gig uke. NOW THE GOOD NEWS. Once the strings settled somewhat I plugged into a Fender Acoustasonic Jr. DSP and my slight disappointment changed to pure delight. Beyond decent played electrically, a nice clear sound, fresh and what I was hoping for. I'm having a blast tonight jazzing it around. Play a ukulele ANYWAY YOU WANT TO. You don't have to strum-strum them and I bet someone could punk this thing if they wanted to. The fit and finish is superb, just like any nice Ovation guitar you have ever seen or played. Looks great. Nice tight straight grain on the one I got. Maybe the acoustic sound will open up with use. I'll get over the "Ovation salad" at the sound holes someday; the neck feels/'plays great for me, it's solid but bottom heavy so I'm glad it has strap buttons; very goofy battery location, nice solid sound controls, heck....it's a mini nylon string Ovation. No real instruction booklet for the battery change procedure ....BUT... I'm absolutely blown away by the virtually perfect intonation mine has. I didn't expect this much quality, execution and detailed excellence from a Korean made product. Very nicely set up, straight neck, smooth frets, etc. Nice materials, the tuners look ok. Overall, well worth the price of admission, IMHO, if you need or want an electric ukulele. Ok, maybe I should have gotten the black one after all.