Lanikai Ukulele: LU-11 Standard

by Guitar Guru
(play-acoustic-guitar.com)

”Basic Beginner’s Soprano Ukulele”

Your search for an affordable soprano sized beginner’s ukulele may just well end with the Lanikai LU-11 Standard Ukulele.

If you are looking for a basic soprano sized ukulele, you are in luck! This standard sized uke is small enough to stick in a backpack or carry-on and sturdy enough to stand up to whatever kind of playing conditions you want to throw its way. Of course the tone of this Nato wood uke is not going to be as full or as rich as would be a ukulele made with a solid top, but it’s not a bad little number for all of that. In fact, if you take into account the price (just ~$55) the Lanikai LU-11 is a pretty good value.

While this is not an instrument that you would use as a professional musician, the Lanikai is a great choice for those who are uncertain as to whether or not they really want to continue playing or are just wanting to fiddle around with a ukulele for the fun of it.

The tone of the Lanikai is rather tinny (even for a ukulele) and the small size of the soprano body makes this size difficult for most adults (or at least adults with larger hands) to play. It also tends to lose its tune relatively quickly. In fact, in order to get a relatively good tone out of the LU-11 you will most likely need to replace the strings before you play the instrument. Indeed, anyone who is serious about the ukulele as a real instrument would probably do better to spend the extra $10 that would buy you a
Luna Honu Soprano Ukulele which has a better overall tone than the Lanikai LU-11 Standard Ukulele Nato even though it is also not a solid top ukulele.

See more great guitar reviews at Lanikai Ukulele.

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