I have reviewed many budget ukuleles for beginners and one which I have been able to test is the Caramel 21″ Soprano Acacia KOA Ukulele Beginner’s Kit .
For those not familiar with Caramel, the company is known for providing inexpensive ukulele under $50 They are made in China, but many ukulele’s are made in China, what it comes down to is quality and there are those who feel Caramel ukes are much better than other similarly, popular brands under a $50 and you’ll notice many ukulele schools using Caramels because of price and what you get with it.
I am reviewing the Caramel – 21″ Soprano Acacia KOA Ukulele Beginner’s Kite which is offered for under $40 and the company goes beyond the typical ukulele only. It’s important to note that Caramel also offers a Concert Ukulele for under $40, and I feel that is a much better deal.
With this set, you get a gig bag (not a lot of padding but better than nothing), a strap, tuner (does it all…guitar, uke, violin, chromatic, etc.), cleaning cloth, spare/backup strings (Caramel Technique Carbon Strings), three picks and instructions. Which is awesome and great for those looking for an introduction, first-buy ukulele for the price!
The ukulele features an acacia wood body, with a little Koa (NOTE: This is not an all Koa Hawaiian ukulele, its primarily acacia) and a mahogany neck with metal tuners made of 18:1 copper gears.
You get fret marks on the side which is great for the beginners and action is not high at all.
One of the things that worry me about inexpensive ukulele are the tuning pegs. Even after heavy use to stretch out the strings, they lose tune because the tuning pegs are poor. Caramel uses solid tuner/gears.
Fortunately, the tuning pegs have held up, but it’s important to note that you really need to stretch out the strings. It takes some time, depending how much you play, so in the beginning, you’ll do quite a bit of tuning. But to make sure they are stretched and played, pluck the strings a bit (not too much) but enough to stretch them out. Strum a lot, play a lot and tune until you notice that you don’t have to tune as much.
Overall, as a first-purchase ukulele for under $40, it’s actually a cool deal considering you getting a soprano uke, three picks, a gig bag, tuner and strap.
This is a very good ukulele for the price. I’ve reviewed ukulele for around the price point and not only do they give you less, the tuning pegs are terrible and you literally can’t play more than 2-3 minutes on it. This is not the case for the Caramel – 21″ Soprano Acacia KOA Ukulele Beginner’s Kit. I do recommend this Caramel as a first time ukulele under $40 because you get so much for your money’s worth.
Again, the concert ukulele is offered under $40 as well and I tend to favor concert/tenors over a soprano.
For the price and how cool this set is for under $40, the Caramel – 21″ Soprano Acacia KOA Ukulele Beginner’s Kit is highly recommended for those who are looking to purchase their first soprano ukulele and are on a budget!
