Unnecessary Background
Well I've begun shopping for a reasonably-priced concert ukulele in anticipation of completing Bernadette Teaches Music's #30dayUKEchallenge. I'm already finding my little soprano (that I bought without research) to be a bit uncomfortably small. After watching a size comparison, I suppose I should have started with a concert instead. But, it will be a good excuse to reward myself for finally sticking with an instrument for an entire program after years of on and off interest. (Recently I've been finding (micro)rewarding progress is helpful with ADHD)
I suppose I should have expected most of the major brands to be USA based since Hawaii was colonized afterall.
Here's a list of Non-USA owned brands that I found in a preliminary search.
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Ibanez
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- Country of Manufacture: I spy Made in China on all 3 uke models
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- Country of Ownership: Japan
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Aria
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- Country of Manufacture: China and Indonesia, Japan for platinum line (no ukes)
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- Country of Ownership: Japan
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Cordoba
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- Country of Manufacture: China
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- Country of Ownership: ~~Spain~~ Japan, owned by Yamaha now
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Your Local Luthier
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- Country of Manufacture: Canada
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- Country of Ownership: Canada
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- Edit: Added this in for those who can afford it/are skilled enough to justify a handmade one!
Disclaimer: Always check the CoM for a specific model you are interested in if you want to make sure.
Would love suggestions for other quality brands too if you know of any others!
Never tried their Uke, but seagull makes great acoustic instruments, made in Québec's eastern townships.
https://seagullguitars.com/product/uke-nylon-sg-burst-eq/
I have their mandolin (love it!) and an "M4" for when kids come over and want to play on something. Somehow, they always prefer to try the crappy neon green Mahalo uke...
I’ve only tried their uke in stores but have like it every time I’ve tried one. I have their mandolin as well, as well as the Godin A8 mando and several of their guitars, both acoustic and electric. I also have two of those M4s, or Merlins as they were originally called, one of which I actually had customized by a luthier to insert the “missing” frets to make it a chromatic instrument.
I can’t say that I’ve played any truly bad Godin products.
Now you got me thinking about getting another uke…
Wow that's a gorgeous uke! A bit out of my price range as a beginner, but fair for an acoustic-electric made in Canada!
Oh yes! It seems there are more good manufacturers in Canada than I initially thought!