When people think about ukuleles, the stereotypical idea is often that a ukulele is a cheap instrument that is not really a musical instrument. On online forums, often people can insist that nobody should pay more than “X” for a ukulele, and the “X” will of course depend on each person. One person’s idea of expensive is another person’s idea of what is entirely reasonable. Price does not always determine quality, but of course a hand built instrument made to order will mostly have less cost considerations than a ukulele that is mass produced.
My first ukulele was a Collings pre-production concert ukulele which cost around 600 quid. Some may consider that to be excessive, but it’s a beautiful instrument and Bill Collings always makes sure that all his instruments are of the highest quality. Such instruments usually hold their value and can be really great investments. Collings no longer currently make ukuleles, so these are going to be hard to find. Of course, if we were talking about violins or brass instruments 600 sterling would be small change.
It’s all a matter of personal choice and I have learned to have a real appreciation for luthiers who put heart and soul into creating bespoke instruments. The attention to detail and the quality is mostly excellent and of course this excellence is reflected in the playability and the sound. I recently unsubscribed from many ukulele FB forums where people had a habit of spouting opinions about instruments they had never played or heard. It just made for truly depressing and somewhat daft reading.
To date I have favoured ukuleles built by Takahiro Shimo, Bill Collins and a few other builders mostly outside the UK. There are plenty of production models that are “ok” but don’t sound anything like as good to my ears. I no longer get into discussions with people who insist on ukuleles over 250 sterling being expensive as we are clearly looking for very different things in a playing and recording instrument. In the recording studio the sonic differences becomes totally obvious and I thank all those builders who dedicate time and energy to creating such wonderful instruments. So in answer to “What is an expensive ukulele?” its totally subjective and it depends what you can afford and how much you value the investment. Personally for me its all about sound and playability and I’m totally happy to make such investments, both financially and in the time spent in seeking out the really good ones that suit my ears and fingers