Tenor ukuleles have become increasingly popular in the last few years thanks to their use by ukulele superstars like James Hill, Jake Shimabukuro and Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. With this increase in popularity has come an increase in the number being made. A great thing, but it does pose a bit of a problem for people looking to buy one but overwhelmed by the choice. So what is the best tenor ukulele?

Best Cheap Tenor Ukulele

Tenor ukuleles tend to be more expensive than sopranos, so there's not a great deal of choice in this price range. But the Makala tenor does offer a good starter ukulele for under $100 (or a little over if you want a case and a few other trimmings).

On eBay:

NEW Makala MK-T Tenor Ukulele with Upgrade Uke Bag Case    US $74.99

Makala Kala MK-T Tenor Ukulele w Upgraded Case & Tuner    US $84.99

MAKALA TENOR UKULELE STARTER W/ CASE & CHORDBOOK MK-T    US $117.95

Best Tenor Under $200

Lanikai make a range of tenor ukes, but their most popular - and cheapest - is the Lanikai LU-21T (along with its electric version the LU-21TE). They're not a showy instrument, but they are well made and have a good sound. Good enough, at least, for Beirut's Zach Condon to use live. If you are looking for something a bit higher scale, and you have deeper pockets, Lanikai have a range of solid koa ukuleles the Lanikai LK range.

On eBay:

I have a Ohana TK-35G and it's a great sounding ukulele. It's solid mahogany but the cost is kept down as it is made in China. This means that the aesthetics aren't perfect (mine is a bit of a mess inside), but that is more than made up for by its tone. Here's an MP3 of me playing it.

Best Expensive Tenor

OK, so you take a champagne shower every morning and and eat diamonds for breakfast. What's the best tenor ukulele for you? Well, KoAloha make some amazing tenors including their signature range of highly stylized ukuleles (so far including the Pineapple Sunday and the Scepter). If I had the budget, I'd definitely get a KoAloha Sceptre. Here's a clip of, the instrument's inventor, Alvin Okami taking about it.

The Story of the Sceptre by Alvin Okami from Gary San Angel on Vimeo.

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These extra strings give a very full and open sound to the ukulele (as well as extra volume). You get the ringing, close harmony sound of a traditional ukulele with the extra bass tones of a low-G ukulele. With a low-G ukulele, the G string does have a tendency to overwhelm the higher strings. With the extra high strings, though, the 8 string doesn't have this problem

8 String Tenor Ukuleles for Sale

Here are some eight string ukes currently for sale on eBay:

NEW LANIKAI 8-STRING TENOR LU-8E UKULELE +EQ+ CASE LU8E    US $249.00

SUPERB NEW LANIKAI LU-8 8 STRING TENOR UKULELE & MORE!    US $199.00

LANIKAI LU-8E 8 STRING ACOUSTIC/ELECTRIC UKULELE & MORE    US $249.00

Video Demonstration

The first half of this video deals with the 6 string ukulele, but the second half has an excellent description and demonstration of the eight string.

Ukuleles to Avoid

On eBay you'll find some very cheap 8 string 'Dolphin ukuleles'. I know two people who have bought these and have had the bridge rip off whilst playing. So if you're looking at one of these, do be aware that the construction might not be as reliable as more highly priced ukulele.

Strings for an 8 String Ukulele

Strings for this ukulele can be tricky to come across. Your best bet is to buy them online. You can buy Aquila strings for 8 string ukuleles.

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Six String Ukes for Sale

Here's a selection of six string currently available to buy on eBay.

Ohana Tenor 6 String Ukulele TK70-6 New Model 6 String!    US $266.79

LANIKAI 6-String Tenor Ukulele, A/E, Solid Spruce    US $231.99

LANIKAI Curly KOA 6-String Tenor Ukulele,Acoustic/Elect    US $312.99

6 vs 8 String Video

Here's a great video where you get to hear both the six and 8 string ukulele in action.

Ukuleles to Avoid

You will find some very cheap items described as 'six string ukuleles' but are actually just small, usually badly made, guitars. These aren't to be confused with true 6-string ukuleles. They are probably better described as guitarleles (although most of them are really just toys).

Strings for an 6 String Ukulele

Unless you have a very good ukulele shop near you, you'll probably have to buy them online. You can buy Aquila strings for 6 string ukuleles.

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The Applause is a great choice for gigging musicians (and it's used regularly by acts such as the Re-Entrants and Gio Gaynor). It's a reliable, good sounding ukulele that works well as an acoustic ukulele and even better as an electric ukulele.

You can buy a
Applause UAE148 Tenor Ukulele on Musicians Friend for $350. Although you can often pick one up cheaper than that if you shop around on eBay. You can see a selection currently available further in the post.

Construction

The tenor Applause is made with a solid sitka spruce or mahogany top with rounded plastic back. When it comes to the sound, the top of the ukulele has a greater impact on the sound than the back.

The fingerboard is rosewood and has 18 frets. The fingerboard joins the body at the 14th fret, but has a cutaway that makes all 18 frets accessible (at least for right handers, I can't find a left handed model for sale online).

Tenor Applause For Sale on eBay

Applause UAE148 Acoustic-Electric Tenor Ukulele    US $349.00

NEW APPLAUSE UAE148 ACOUSTIC ELECTRIC TENOR UKULELE    US $349.95

NEW APPLAUSE UAE148 ACOUSTIC ELECTRIC TENOR UKULELE    US $349.95

Tenor Applause Demonstration

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