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A ukulele is a popular instrument for simply making music, taking it on an excursion, or even to get children used to playing the guitar. Depending on your needs, a different size may be considered, but the most common are the soprano ukuleles. That is why we put the most popular models under the microscope in the test and put the three best soprano ukuleles together in our list of the best for you.
Before doing this, however, it is worthwhile to briefly look at the respective construction types, to pay attention to the processing, and to deal with the rough price range.
Especially since the test has shown that a cheap soprano ukulele can be completely sufficient for your purposes.
What Are the Best Soprano Ukuleles in India?
Juarez JRZ21UK 21″
The model from Juarez is a 21” long soprano ukulele that is very suitable for beginners or children. The fingerboard and the bridge are made of Rosewood and have a Sapele body and Okoume neck.
A bag and picks are included with delivery so you can get started right away.
Both workmanship and sound are good overall so that in combination with the low price, the bottom line is a good price-performance ratio. The mechanics are also good, so they tension the strings very well. However, it could be a bit too stiff for children.
The wood of the body is painted brown, which makes the instrument look very high quality and noble despite the low price.
Kala MK-SE Makala Electro-Acoustic Soprano Ukulele with EQ
The 21-inch long ukulele from Kala is made of rosewood and not only looks very chic but can also be played on perfectly. The model is therefore particularly recommended for children and beginners.
Although it is priced a bit above the usual entry-level price for ukuleles, the extra price is worth it, because the workmanship is solid, the sound is bright and clean and thanks to the combination of rosewood and mahogany frames, the bottom line is that the material is high quality and good. As a result, the durability of the instrument is correspondingly high.
The polyester strings were also able to convince in the test because they sound very clean and are also very durable. The mechanics are also very well balanced. The price-performance ratio can therefore be assessed as very good, even if no bag or other accessories are included in the scope of delivery.
Kadence Wanderer Brown Mahogany wood Soprano Ukulele with Bag
The Kadence model is a very solid and good soprano ukulele including a bag. The scale length is 21-inch and the instrument look very elegant and of high quality, as everything is painted in brown.
It’s made of mahogany wood and sounds very clean and full. Unfortunately, the sides have a relatively large distance from the fingerboard, which can lead to a notch, especially for beginners, so that it may not be so easy to play on.
Due to the very low price, the bag included in the scope of delivery, the good sound, and the chic design, the bottom line is that it is still a very good price-performance ratio.
Buyers Info
Types
It is typical of a ukulele that it only has four strings. This is the main differentiator to a small guitar. The ukuleles are divided into four main categories according to size. These types are – sorted by size – soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone.
The most popular design is the soprano ukuleles. In all models – except for the baritone construction – the GCEA tuning is usually used, with the G string being tuned an octave higher than the lower guitar strings. Depending on the size and length of the string (length of the playable strings) the instruments sound different, of course, whereby the type of wood and the basic structure also play a role.
Materials and workmanship
Ukuleles are often decorated or specially designed. Of course, this does not affect the sound. We do not recommend instruments with a plastic body unless they are purely a children’s toy. Most of the time the models are made of wood or wood composite material (plywood). There are also models in which the fingerboard and other components are made of WPC (a composite material made of plastic and wood). The instruments are traditionally made of wood.
Which wood is used and whether you opt for a solid wood model or a variant made of plywood is not quite as decisive and largely depends on your budget? Cheap ukuleles and guitars are mostly made of plywood, while more expensive variants often use solid wood as the main component. This is certainly a question of price, but it can also be a question of sound because solid wood instruments generally sound a bit fuller and louder than those made of plywood. This means that the sound spectrum is slightly larger.
As far as the type of wood is concerned, everyone has their views and the range of woods that are used is very large. Since everyone swears by something different, there is no clear recommendation for one or the other type of wood. Tropical woods or inexpensive Asian woods are often used, but spruce, cedar, mango, or acacia are also very popular.
The test has shown that the sound can also be very good with a plywood model, so that you do not necessarily have to rely on solid wood, especially not if you want to buy a model for beginners. Ultimately, you should not delve too deeply into the question of materials, because much more important are solid workmanship, cleanly processed edges, joints and edges free of glue residues, and robust construction. The mechanics for tuning the string should on the one hand be smooth, but on the other hand, they should also keep the tension good.
Price range
As with almost all the instruments, the price range is very large. For beginners, however, it is hardly worth spending more than 2500 Rupees on a ukulele, because solid and recommended models are already available in a range between 2000 and 4000 Rupees. Some very expensive models are well beyond the 5000 Rupees mark, but the acquisition is usually only worthwhile if you are looking for something very special or if you use the instrument professionally. That’s why we limited ourselves to ukuleles under 6000 Rupees in the test.