Finding the best ukulele under $500 that fits your playing style and sounds great can be tough. There are several ukes in the $500 price range that are made from high-quality tonewoods and play like butter, so how are you supposed to choose between them?
Don’t worry. We’ve researched all of the most popular $500 ukuleles and listed all of their pros, cons, features, and characteristics, so you can compare each one and figure out which uke is right for you. We wanted to make this uke buyer’s guide complete, so we included everything from a soprano to baritone uke. That way you have plenty of options.
Let’s compare the top-rated ukuleles priced less than $500, so you can find the perfect uke without breaking your budget.
Compare the Top Ukulele Below $500 in 2020
Contents
Here is a list of the best ukes under $500 with the most incredible tonewoods and sound on the market today.
- Kala KA-SA-T Tenor Ukulele
- Lanikai Ukulele QMBLCEC
- Lanikai Ukulele QMNACET
- Kala KA-KTGE-C
- Oscar Schmidt OU55CE
- Cordoba 32T
- Martin X Series 0X Uke
Kala KA-SA-T Tenor Ukulele
Specs, features and benefits
Kala Ukuleles are well known for their high quality, but this Kala Ukulele is in a class above the standard Kala’s. It’s made of solid acacia wood and it gives very nice sound. Its maple binding, mahogany neck, a walnut fingerboard, and herringbone purfling further add to its elegant design.
This Kala Ukulele is a really classy looking thing. It’s standard concert size, capable of delivering high-quality tones and it’s perfect for ukulele players both on stage and for personal enjoyment.
Pros and Highlights
- It produces very nice and traditional ukulele sound. With Kala Ukulele there is no doubt that you and your listeners will feel real Hawaii vibe.
- Great for stage performance. Size and weight of this instrument are perfect for long playing. Besides, beautiful acacia wood gives the instrument a special gloss for the stage.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Plain looking – A different, darker fretboard, bridge, and nut would enhance the look.
Bottom line
Maybe this is not one of the most beautiful ukuleles on the market but it is one of the highest quality for sure. Kala Ukulele is a very good choice for those who need excellent Hawaiian sound.
Lanikai Ukulele QMBLCEC
Specs, features and benefits
If beauty is something you go by, this Lanikai Ukulele model is a great offer. This beautiful ukulele is a both – electric and acoustic instrument at the same time. It features a NuBone nut and saddle, an abalone rosette, a Fishman Kula onboard preamp system and many more.
This ukulele offers amazing tone and nice mellow sound. Comfortable neck profile will give you real pleasure to play. Once you get started you might find it difficult to put down. Also, laminated Quilt Maple top, back, and sides with a gloss finish is an ideal choice for stage performance or recording.
Pros and Highlights
- Attractive design – This Lanikai Ukulele easily attract all eyes in any music store because of its bright colors and glossy stained Maple.
- Quality components make this an excellent ukulele for both – stage performance or practicing. Also, it produces very fine sound even if it’s plugged in or unplugged.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Shallow sound – players who are practiced other ukuleles had to get used to a slightly different sound. But, this is a matter of personal taste.
Bottom line
Lanikai designed this beautiful ukulele very well. It’s a huge hit with beginners as well as professionals, with good reason. Great combination of features made this instrument unique and suitable for all uku lovers.
Lanikai Ukulele QMNACET
Specs, features and benefits
Lanikai comes back with yet another daring, tried and proving ukulele! The tune that accompanies this model is perfect. This is a beautiful quilted maple instrument made with quality components such as a wider nut, select figured wood, NuBone XB nut and saddle, Fisherman Kula preamp and tuner, and so on.
This is a very beautiful ukulele in a classy way. Perfect design, color, and glossy finish make this instrument irresistible. But what is most important, the sound is excellent. It has a nice tone, great intonation, and resonance.
Pros and Highlights
- Great design – Traditional shape and classy design make this ukulele very attractive.
- Comfortable to play – Special wide neck profile offers easy and truly enjoyable playing.
- Delightful sound – It produces pure, undiluted ukulele sound that takes your mind on a relaxing journey.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No accessories – This ukulele is an almost perfect one. The only complaint is that it does not include some needed accessories, like a bag for carrying the instrument or extra strings.
Bottom line
This Lanikai Ukulele is a high-quality instrument, ideal for live performance, recording or practicing. With all these great features, it seems like it’s made to spark the creativity of every musician.
Kala KA-KTGE-C
Specs, features and benefits
If this model looks familiar to you, it is because you could see Tayler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots playing it. This is Kala’s famous model and a very good one as well.
It’s Koa uke with a mahogany neck and Pau Ferro fingerboard and bridge. With high-quality strings and super helpful onboard electronics, it produces great tenor sound every time.
Pros and Highlights
- Amazing sound – The sound of this uke is absolutely amazing and soft. Kala gives you magical tune every time which is not so easy to forget.
- Modest design – This ukulele is the best example for famous words – Beauty is in simplicity. A simple and common design is here to turns all attention to the music even more.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Poor tone – Some musicians noticed that sound is lower than usual and it occasionally buzz. But this is a matter of personal taste. There are many people who actually love this ukulele’s thin sound.
Bottom line
This beautiful Kala Ukulele model is a good choice for sweet and soft sound lovers. It is great for all musicians – beginners or professionals. And because of its dimensions and easy to use onboard tuner playing is a real pleasure anyway.
Oscar Schmidt OU55CE
Specs, features and benefits
Oscar Schmidt is one of the leaders in ukuleles and this gorgeous instrument shows why is that. Beautiful and classic design, quality features and great resonance make this uke ideal for all musician type.
This is an Acoustic and Electric Baritone Ukulele with 4 strings. It is constructed of selected Koa wood top, back and sides, Nyatoh neck, Rosewood, and Mahogany. Besides that, uke comes in a package with all other necessary components such as great hard case, an extra set of Aquila strings, tuner and polishing cloth.
Pros and Highlights
- Beautifully handcrafted instrument – Great and quality design makes this unique uke so lovable.
- Accessories included – All equipment you need is included: extra strings, easy to use tuner and a really nice case for carrying your ukulele safety.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Improper setup – Sometimes this instrument can comes without proper setup. If the sound projection is lacking and the intonation is off, you only have to fix your ukulele’s setup and sound will be more than fine.
Bottom line
This is a wonderful ukulele, that sounds great both acoustically and plugged in. Whit Oscar Schmidt you will be sure that you own quality and unique instrument. And what is for sure, listeners, as well as musicians, will enjoy the melody of real Hawaiian spirit which this uke produces.
Cordoba 32T
Specs, features and benefits
This Cordoba’s product is not a usual ukulele. The influence of Spanish guitar on this instrument is more than obvious. Primarily, there is an integrated neck joint, well known as “Spanish Heel”. Also, fan bracing with a wider fingerboard is similar to the guitar. Because of using traditional Spanish building methods, this ukulele really looks like a small guitar.
A mixture of features gives Cordoba ukulele special charm. Spruce top with solid Indian rosewood back and sides, rosewood bridge, binding, and fingerboard with abalone rosette makes this instrument very attractive not just visually but audibly too. It produces a darker and more progressive tone and becomes excellent tenor uke.
Pros and Highlights
- Excellent tonewoods – This uke sounds really great. The tonewoods complement each other for a perfect well-balanced sound.
- Bundle includes – With this product, you will get all necessary things: polyfoam case, chrome Grover tuners, extra strings and more.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Spanish guitar influence – Maybe this is not a perfect choice for those who are a fan of real Hawaiian ukulele sound. Look and sound of this uke are not so traditional in this sense. Spanish guitar influence is very noticeable. Of course, for Spanish music lovers, this is one highlight more.
Bottom line
All in all, Cordoba 32T Ukulele is a very nice instrument. It stays in tune, produces good and mellow sounds and the size is comfortable. Interesting design, quality features, and all of the included extras will greatly ease your playing of this instrument.
Martin X Series 0X Uke
Specs, features and benefits
The first impression of this instrument is that you can not separate your eyes from it because of its bright and flashy color. You can feel the taste of the tropics just looking at it. Beautiful design inspired by Hawaii leaves no one indifferent.
But the beauty is not the only advantage of this instrument. Designed from a green bamboo patterned high-pressure laminate, it is a super strong too. Also, the rosewood fingerboard and bridge are the icings on the cake for this beautiful instrument. It is a well-made ukulele designed to achieve the soprano tone.
Pros and Highlights
- Great-looking ukulele – Perfectly shaped, with ocean blue color, this must be one of the most beautiful ukuleles on the market for sure.
- Super durable – This uke made from bamboo is a strong one because of high-quality features. Also, the way the neck is laminated should add a lot of strength that a standard neck wouldn’t have.
- A gig bag is included – which is especially good for the safekeeping of instrument.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Not easy to tune – It can be a bit complex to tune it the right way. It is a very sensitive instrument in this sense.
Bottom line
Once again, this is a high-quality instrument. It is designed for those who want to bask in the euphoria of unmatched soprano sound, and especially for real fans of Hawaiian ukulele sound. Because of its durability, this uke is also great for traveling.
What We Recommend
It is not an easy task to choose one of these gorgeous instruments and recommend it as the best one. Every ukulele from this list is great and unique. Each of them has some highlights and some potential flaws. Also, we have to consider that the tastes are different and that every musician has his / her own sound preference.
However, in my opinion, the one we have to especially recommend is the second one – Lanikai Ukulele QMBLCEC. It is a beautiful ukulele both visually and sound-wise. Quality workmanship and a lot of excellent features are perfect for everyone who wants to explore the real ukulele sound. It is adapted to all type of musicians as well – beginners or professionals, those who are practicing or those who need an instrument for the stage, acoustic music lovers or electric music lovers. Whit Lanikai Ukulele QMBLCEC you can not make a mistake.