The 8,000-forint Chinese ukulele
A few months ago an interesting email arrived in my ukulele inbox. It was written by none other than mrgergoke, who runs an extremely interesting blog called the “RendeljKínait Blog”. The message surprised me because that blog normally deals with electronic gadgets. Yet this particular email was about a ukulele ordered from China for roughly HUF 8,000, and it also contained a flattering request: would I test the ukulele, since mrgergoke had happened to catch this one in his net during an order?
Naturally I said yes, and I was very pleased by the challenge. After all, we know that many ukuleles – or ukulele components – are manufactured in China in the first place and then sold under some brand name, sometimes after a little finishing work. I also have fairly strong prejudices about instruments this cheap, so I was curious whether this Chinese ukulele, an Andoer, would change my opinion in either direction:
As I mention in the video, the strings were actually perfectly fine, but the overall picture – and sound – was mixed, and my prejudice was confirmed. Ordering an instrument from abroad is always risky, although with ukuleles we are sometimes forced to do it because the selection available in Hungary is still not enormous. You cannot lose a huge amount of money on an HUF 8,000 ukulele, but it still matters what you receive for your money. However much I hoped for a miracle and a pleasant surprise, this ukulele's poor intonation brought me back down to earth and reminded me of the familiar rule: if you are buying a cheap instrument, buy it only after trying it, preferably with the help of someone experienced. You may be lucky enough to find one that came out well or that can be put right with a little adjustment; otherwise disappointment is likely. This ukulele is better regarded as a toy and is not something I would recommend to anyone planning to play seriously for the long term.
Overall, then, I think the compromises required at this price are simply too great, unless you are unbelievably lucky and receive a faultless example, or are willing to spend time and money having the instrument put right – in which case you might as well buy a good one to begin with. Anyone who wants the cheapest possible way simply to try a ukulele can buy one of these and will probably end up buying another, bigger and better one later . If you want to leave a ukulele over the winter in an unheated country house, an Andoer may be a suitable choice too. Someone may think: “I'll save money by buying one for the child.” Don't! If we play to a child on an out-of-tune instrument, the child becomes accustomed to sour-sounding chords; and if the growing child tries to play their first chords themselves, their ear begins adapting to the wrong sound. We surely do not want to make such a monumental mistake with the promising ukulele virtuosos of the future .
