Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I'm a former solid-body guitar builder and also a music teacher of younger children, teenagers and adults. I also play bass, guitar, ukelele and piano.
I bought this LU-11 ukelele to experiment with the idea of turning the ukelele into a soprano guitar that is easier for younger children to learn than even a 1/2 size guitar. That way they get all the benefits of the small size, while still learning chords and notes that apply to the top four strings of a guitar. Eventually, they can move onto 6-string guitar, and everything they've learned with the soprano guitar applies.
This instrument met all my expectations for playability and sound. It sounded good, was well intonated, and was pretty loud for such a small instrument. I didn't notice a big difference in the sounds between this model, and the more expensive LU-21 model. It was just as easy to play.
The finish was pretty good -- a deeper, richer color than the LU-21 model I also own.
Also, when I put on the nylon soprano guitar strings (which make it tune to D-G-B-E) like the top four strings of a guitar, it held its tune very quickly! After only two hours of playing the instrument, it held its tune for several hours of playing, which surprised me. This was probably due to the strings I was using (La Bella Octave guitar strings -- also known as classical soprano guitar strings). This is also a tribute to the tuners the LU-11 comes with, which are geared and did a good job of keeping the instrument in tune.
However, the instrument did have flaws. All parts of the instrument had something I would consider a cosmetic flaw, which my LU-21 soprano ukelele didn't possess. For example, the fingerboard appeared to have some kind of filler in one spot, and a blotch in the second fret area. The headstock had a small gouge in it at the end, as if some of the open-grained wood had flaked off. Also, the headstock had an indentation beside one of the tuners, as if someone had knocked it against something during manufacturing. The body had a bit of a light spot on one edge where perhaps the finish stain hadn't been applied deeply enough. And there were rough spots on the underside, between the two bouts, which I could feel when I was playing the instrument.
However, I gave this a "4-star rating" because at 30-odd dollars plus minimal shipping costs, it provides an affordable, playable instrument for a young person or an adult. And the fact that it could also be turned into a soprano guitar was a huge boon.
I recommend anyone on a budget who wants to get into Ukelele/Soprano guitar playing easily. If you want better cosmetics in the instrument, and the same playability, get the LU-21. But if you want to save a few dollars and don't mind a few cosmetic flaws, get the LU-11. Personally, I think the LU-11 may have been conceived by Laniki as way to use up B-stock materials. I think they took component parts with little flaws in them during their LU-21 production and put them together into instruments which they called the LU-11. However, I'm only speculating.
Overall, good insrument if you don't mind a few little flaws here and there.
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Lanikai LU-11 Soprano UkuleleCelebrate a place where heaven meets the ocean when you strum on this soprano ukulele (model LU-11) from Lanikai's LU series--one of its most popular and affordable ukuleles. Offering a classic, sweet island sound, it's a great choice for first-time players or for acoustic multi-instrumentalists looking to expand their tonal palette.
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