Best Ukulele Brands: Top Choices for Quality and Sound

The Ukulele industry is booming. Some of the best ukulele brands are beginning to recognise that there is a growing market for quality instruments and that the stigma of the 20th century has faded finally given the prestige status it has always deserved.

There are a couple of considerations to be made when trying to find a high-quality Ukulele. Generally speaking, the higher price ones should be made of solid wood. The laminate woods are not as likely to crack, they are less resonant than solid bodies. Solid body ukuleles also tend to sound better with age.

Martin

Website: martinguitar.com

The Martin brand is one of the best known in the world of acoustic stringed instruments. Their guitars have been found in the hands of diverse musicians such as Chris Cornell, Ed Sheehan and Father John Misty. As a brand Martin has been in production since 1833, and their first Ukulele was produced in 1916, so they are one of the oldest surviving ukulele brands in the world.

Martin is something of a prestige brand. For the most part, they produce instruments that are made for professional musicians, so their prices and quality match the ethos. But once you’ve played a Martin Ukulele, you’ll know why they can fetch quite steep prices. It’s an investment - the materials age in such a way that the instrument sounds better with age, so you’ll actually find vintage Ukuleles that can fetch big sums.

Currently, Martin offers more than 26 models of Ukulele. These cover everything from Standards to Tenor Ukuleles and are built with a diverse range of materials, from mahogany to green bamboo. In the highest price bracket is the famed Konter Ukulele, named after Richard Konter, who the original with him to the North Pole on a 1926 expedition.

Magic Fluke Company

Website: magicfluke.com

Founded by husband and wife team Dale and Phyllis Web back in 1999, the Magic Fluke company is a fantastically innovative force in the world of Ukulele manufacture. Starting out by making tutorial books and videos, Dale moved from the corporate world to set up his shop in the basement, using rudimentary tools to make affordable instruments.

A real "David and Goliath" story, they’ve managed to retain some of that unique charm in their instruments. Every Ukulele feels authentically handcrafted with the best, responsibly sourced materials, with a beautiful sound as well.

Their flagship model is the Fluke Ukulele, of which there are four different editions, including designer editions which are emblazoned with some unusual but impactful designs. Like many other manufacturers, they include a Koa Model and a solid spruce for a bit of tonal variation.

Oscar Schmidt

Website: oscarschmidt.com

The Oscar Schmidt Company has been producing high quality instruments since 1871, starting out on a travelling salesman strategy. Often their instruments would be found in American homes as the evenings entertainment before the advent of TV. They were early proponents of tie-in editions and a bit of searching on the internet can bring up some very interesting results.

More recently, the company has worked under the umbrella of the US Music Corporation, but continues to release some interesting instruments, notably the Autoharp for which they are perhaps most famous.

They can be said, without a doubt, to be one of the most prolific Ukulele producers out there, offering a staggering 45 models. These range from the Piccolo Ukes right down to bass and tenor models, with a diverse range of materials and price brackets. They also offer the hybrid Bangolele, as seen in the hands of George Formby in the 1930s.

Luna

Website: lunaguitars.com

Founded in part by a well-known stained glass artist Yvonne de Villiers, the Luna Guitar Company places artistry at the centre of their business model. Their ethos is to bring design artists and musicians together to build instruments that not only play well but look gorgeous as well.

As a socially conscious company, they’ve built a name for themselves in after-care, choosing to see their customer base as collaborators rather than simply buyers. Once you buy a Luna instrument you can actually contribute ideas and designs. They boast a long list of modern players, including former A Perfect Circle bassist Paz Lenchantin.

There is a large range of ukuleles available, a lot of them at quite reasonable prices. They have an incredibly diverse plethora of top designs, and you’ll see some well delivered prints of artists such as Van Gogh and Kanagawa.

Enya

Website: enya-music.com

The Chinese brand Enya International is riding something of a wave in design excellence emerging from China. Founded only in 2011, their instruments are finding their way onto the global market in a pretty big way. Choosing to focus only on acoustic instruments, they’ve honed their craft to produce some simple but effective products.

Interestingly they’ve recently patented an innovative design for a guitarlele, a six-string ukulele. As a younger company, their product range is still growing, but seem to have concentrated many of their efforts on ukuleles. Of these, there are seventeen, which all have some incredibly unique and eccentric design features, from offset sound holes to elaborate fingerboard inlays. But it’s clear from some of their models that it’s not just all show.

Editor's Pick

There are a few considerations to be made when looking for the best ukulele brands. For me, I like to see a mix of good build quality and clever designs. My pick, for the beautiful aesthetic and quality build, is the Luna.