Kmise Tenor Ukulele Starter Kit Mahogany Ukelele 26 inch with Gig Bag Tuner Strap String Instruction Booklet

I’m frequently asked, “Should I buy a good ukulele or should I get a cheap one in case I don’t take to it”. My answer has always been along the lines of, “a cheap ukulele could be difficult to play, which will ensure you don’t take to it”. The question is now much easier to answer: you can do both.There aren’t many sub £50 tenor ukuleles on the market and many of them are not well-made instruments. This Kmise Tenor Ukulele kit comes in at a very competitive price and really is a complete kit of everything you could possibly need to get you started. This is a good quality, no-frills instrument and being a tenor ukulele, the 430mm string length and 34mm nut means larger fingers won’t struggle too much.The materials aren’t the best, but very good for the price. In fact, everything about this instrument is ‘very good for the price’. The geared tuners are slightly notchy but adequate (and far better than friction pegs), the 18 fret dark wood fretboard is average quality and it has the usual face and edge markers with what looks like nickel frets. Unfortunately, the way the neck is set, there is a fairly high 3.5mm action at the 12th fret, but at the 5th fret (which is the limit of where most people get up to) it’s a more acceptable 1.75mm. (The ‘action’ is the distance between the strings and the frets.) The bridge, which matches the fretboard, is fitted with a compensating saddle although a plain saddle might be better as some of the ‘compensated notes’ are a little sharp when tested against an accurate electronic tuner. But that's being over-picky: it's far, far better than many I've seen, including some at more than 3 or 4 times the price.The front, back and sides are solid, not laminated, and made from some type of mahogany - probably sapele - which is known for its good tonal properties. At about 2mm thick it makes the instrument sturdy enough, whilst having a decent volume. The back is nicely curved and the whole instrument feels well-braced. Although the fretboard appears to be wrapped, the body is not. As I said, quality without frills.Unusually, this instrument is fitted with two strap buttons - one on the bottom block and another on the heel of the neck. Gripping a soprano ukulele under your arm is not difficult, but the larger and heavier tenor ukulele really needs a strap to enable it to be played comfortably. Two buttons means you don’t have to tie one end of the strap around the headstock, although a lace is supplied for that too, if you prefer.This instrument is sold as part of a kit which includes a gig bag, a Joyo electronic tuner to clamp onto the head (which works very well), a strap, spare strings, and a ‘get-you-started’ booklet. Whilst the inclusion of a beginner’s guide is a nice touch, there are too many mistakes and inconsistencies in it for my liking. Using the obsolete US convention of #Cm rather than C#m and bB rather than Bb is not well thought out for a booklet for the UK market, and I’m not convinced some of what is shown is actually appropriate for the beginner - is palm muting really a beginner technique?It might be worth ditching the book before handing over this ukulele as a gift, but apart from that, as a complete starter kit it’s a really good deal.

First of all let me state that I'm no expert in either playing the uke (or any other musical instrument for that matter) or in judging what makes a good ukulele. I'm just someone who in his advancing years with too much time on his hands decided that it would be good to try to learn how to play using the readily available on-line advice and guidance available. To that end, I bought a cheap and cheerful soprano size which taught me that I could mange to strum a few chords together and that there are plenty of uke friendly songs out there which only require those few chords. Result!I also found out that with my fingers I could probably do with a little more fret space so I upsized to a concert which helped to a certain extent but still left me feeling that perhaps the tenor size would be better still and so, having read numerous reviews, decided to go for the Kmise starter bundle.To my eye, it looks well made with no obvious flaws. The quality of the gig bag is good (and certainly much better than that which came with my soprano), the clip on tuner is very clear (and came with battery supplied), the pre-fitted strap buttons and accompanying strap an added bonus.I've had it for just over a week now. The strings settled very quickly and haven't slipped much out of tune. As for the strings themselves, I'm not sure what they are made of but they seem different to other strings I've used on my other ukes - I've used Aquila nylgut on those. They are certainly darker in colour but more importantly, to my ear at least, they sound better than those I have previously used so I'll be in no hurry to replace them.All in all, I think this is a very good starter package at a very good price (and no doubt it can probably be found cheaper still on other well known sites) and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking to make that leap of faith! Time to go cleaning windows ...

Delighted with this! Currently trying to distract myself through what seems endless Forced Confinement so decided to 'learn to play Something' and I decided on this!The Quality and Look is excellent given the price and the 'extras' are a nice touch and handy for total Beginners,especially the Digital Tuner which simply Clips on and You can be ready to rock in about 10 minutes!I had read all the Reveiws and compared the many options available and in this case the Cost seems to have gone into the quality of the Ukulele rather than extra unnecessary accessories,its very much an 'Instrument' and not a Toy,has a lovely Tone,is a nice size for my clumsy Sausage Fingers and will not break the bank if I dont get a recording Contract by Xmas! All in all, I'm very happy with what I've now been told is my Xmas Present from the Wife!

I’ve had this ukulele for 4 months now and think it deserves a review. I’m only a beginner and wanted something that wasn’t too expensive but was good quality. I had already picked up a few used Ukulele’s off eBay and gumtree( I’m a bit obsessive) but wanted something newer. If you are in the same boat as me and want something good without spending a fortune just buy this one. I love mine, I haven’t had a single problem it looks great and sounds great. It’s just lovely. You won’t be disappointed, the bundles a little cheaper on eBay though, ssshhh I shouldn’t have said anything

I can't say enough about this instrument. I have five ukes, but this, the cheapest, is easy to play and sounds much better than I could have expected. It is a lovely instrument, well suited for an intermediate adult enthusiast.

Arrived 2 days earlier than estimated. This was bought as a gift for my daughter who already owns and plays a soprano ukulele. This is excellent value for money not only does the ukulele look and sound great but the gig bag is great quality and has backpack straps, my only minor complaint is that the bag could be a little bigger as its a little fiddly getting it in without knocking the tuners. It also comes with a strap, tuner and starter guide so its perfect for the beginner.