David Steele
December 13, 2007

Rating: 8/10

If you’ve ever been on stage, you’ll know that the mood of the audience can make or break you, which is why it’s so handy to have this little gem in your arsenal.

No matter how cool your audience might think they are, no matter how flat your chat falls, even if everyone in the room looks like the living dead, I guarantee you that they’ll all be grinning from ear to ear when you introduce them to your little friend.

Ukuleles might not look like the sort of thing you’d want to go up against Slayer with, but if you can play a few simple chords and hold a decent tune, you’re guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser with your little ray of sunshine.

And trust me – these tiny pieces of kit come with a fine pedigree. Joe Strummer used to busk around London with one in his youth. And if it’s good enough for Joe…

Seriously, though - They’re twenty five quid! Can you honestly think of anything else that will get so many people on their feet for less than the price of a decent tin whistle?

If you’ve never tried a Uke before, or if you’ve found the guitar too tricky for your stubby fingers, you’ve got nothing to lose by giving it a go. And at this price, if you’ve always harboured a secret desire to smash your kit up at the end of the gig... Well, it would be a waste, but it might get a cheap laugh.

All I can think of to balance this up is to say that you should be careful that the strings don't pop out of tune. If you catch the Uke bug in a big way you might want to invest in a model with machine heads to hold the strings more securely. But start off with this and see how you get on.

Turned out nice again? You bet.

John Nicholson
December 5, 2007

Rating: 8/10

I always wanted a way for my daughter to learn an instrument, I thought guitar might be to tricky for her and thought about piano lessons, but didn't want to just drop her off in a stuffy lesson.

We have two of these for such a low price for everything we needed we got one each and learning together is so much fun and even though she is only 6 she is showing me ideas and is already very comfortable with it.

These are great christmas/birthday presents and I recommend anyone wanting to learn a new instrument should try one.