Lanikai LU-21B Baritone Ukulele

Lanikai LU-21B Baritone Ukulele Review

A large Uke is a more `honest' and better sounding instrument than most small `traveling' guitars.

The largest Uke for traveling and teaching children to play strings as a fine alternative to a down-sized guitar. With its own rich and complete sound, it is easy to play and transport. A reasonable alternative to the smallest of the large (guitars.)

Having sought out, tried and reviewed small guitars for travelling and teaching small people to play, I have recently discovered the absolute pleasure, ease and joy of the ukulele - Particularly the largest of them, the Baritone.

Unlike the several smaller versions of this instrument ( the Soprano, Concert and Tenor varieties) the Baritone Uke is tuned to what we call Concert Pitch - just like the highest pitch four strings on a guitar tuned to standard tuning. Thus, unlike its smaller versions, the Baritone is chorded just like the top four strings on most guitars and is automatically easier to play because no new fingering chord positions are necessary to learn.

Baritone ukuleles can cost anywhere from around . To well over ,000. The little ukes for sale in gift shops for - are ornamental toys and not to be confused with real musical instruments. The Lanikai LU-21B is the entry level of Lanikai's thorough and varied line of baritone ukuleles and retails for about 0. Made of "Nato", a type of light, resonant wood - NOT a type of Rosewood as is frequently and mistakenly advertised- with a smooth, level and narrow rosewood fretboard.

The Nato is as light in weight as mahogany but has the appearance and a similar rich resonance to rosewood.

This ukulele gives off a sound of a full sized ukulele rather than the tinny guitar `approximations' of even the better ½ and ¾ size `traveling' guitars, the best known of which are probably the Baby Taylor and the Little Martin. The LU-21B is easy to handle, easy to fret and play and as easy to travel with as tossing it (in a case of course) into the overhead bin on an airplane.

The ukulele, most commonly associated with Hawaii and Hawaiian music, has actually been popular around the world for many years. Modern composers as diverse as Rick Nelson and George Harrison worked out initial versions of some of their most well known songs on the ukulele. The real beauty of this Baritone Lanikai is that it does not sound like a small guitar but like what it is, a full size ukulele!

A particular noon to people with small fingers for whom fretting a full size guitar fretboard is a stretch, the Lanikai Baritone LU-21B Ukulele is a simple and stress-free pleasure. The tomes are rich and light hearted. It can be finger or flat picked while some enjoy simply brushing the strings with the tips of their fingers. Hawaiian music does sound the most indigenous on it, but it will perform and sound nicely with whatever you choose to play.

The specs are not terribly complex. The Model LU-21B sports a scale length (the length of the fingerboard) of 20.375 inches, has a nut width (the width at the tuner end of the neck,) of a mere 1.5 inches and is made, as mentioned, of Nato wood. It has a particularly smooth and comfortable Rosewood fretboard, good quality die-cast tuning machines and has 18 frets, all of which are true and playable all the way up the neck! The tuning machines are sealed Grover-style and hold the tuning quite nicely. The binding is simple white plastic and the fret bars are a high quality steel that are apt to last a player's lifetime never needing to be replaced. It is also available in a model set up with electronic pickups, the LU-21BE for a bit more money. There are simple single pearl dot inlays in the 5th, 7th, 10th and 12th frets. There is no pick guard, nor is one usually necessary or recommended.

A unique serial number is found on the interior of the body at the base of the neck. Each instrument is paper labeled with the model number. They are fully registerable and are warranted (by their distributor in the US, Hohner) for the life of the original owner against any defects in materials or workmanship and for one year for any included electronics for models that include them. The LU-21B has none.

This Lanikai LU-21B comes set up with Aquila strings set for guitar tuning (from lightest to heaviest, E,B,G and D.) The type designation is called "ABGT." These strings, made in Italy, are made of a synthetic gut-like product (called Nylgut) and are made with wound metal on the outer surfaces of the heavier two strings. All four strings yield a rich, warm and truly gut-like sound. They last a lot longer than old fashion gut strings, are considerably less expensive and sound fully comparable.

With the growing popularity of small, traveling guitars, this instrument is at risk of being overlooked in the shuffle and, having played one now for several months, I believe that would be a terrible shame. Ukuleles are versatile, easy to play and complete and whole as they are. The Lanikai LU-21B is not a downsized version of anything else - It is a complete ukulele in its very largest standard incarnation.

Before putting out - 0 for a very small, somewhat tinny sounding guitar - even one from a major manufacturer, give the Lanikai LU-21B ukulele a try. I expect you will be surprised and delighted. It doesn't need to be on a beach in Hawaii to sound good. It sounds good anywhere and can be used to play just about anything you can play on a full-size six-string guitar.

Lanikai LU-21B Baritone Ukulele Feature

• Baritone Sized
• 18 Frets
• Easy Playablity
• Die Cast Tuners
• Limited Lifetime Warranty
• Easy Playability
• Rosewood fingerboard and bridge with die-cast geared tuners
• Nato wood top, back, and sides
• Size: 30"W x 10"W x 3-3/8"D
• Baritone Sized, 18 Frets

Lanikai LU-21B Baritone Ukulele Overview

The Lu-21B is the best selling Baritone Ukulele offered by Lanikai. With the attention to detail and easy playability it is easy to see why. This handcrafted ukulele is made with Nato wood (otherwise known as Eastern Mahogany) on its top back and sides. When this wood choice is paired with the Rosewood fingerboard it brings out a mellow tone with an enhanced midrange that is often missing in instruments in this price point. The LU-21B also comes stocked with die cast tuning machines geared 14/1 for easy tuning. If you have never played ukulele before get ready for a world of fun. The ukulele is an addicting instrument that can and will be taken everywhere. The standard tuning on a Soprano, Concert, and Tenor ukulele is GBEA, and on a Baritone DGBE. If you can play one ukulele you can play them all! With the easy playability, and included instruction booklet written by Mary Lou Dempler you will be playing in a matter of minutes then you’ll see why people are saying Lanikai Makes Me Happy! For more information about this model or Lanikai please visit www.Lanikaiukes.com

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Oct 21, 2010 15:51:06