I bought this for my partner for Christmas, and she loves it. I've played guitar for around 15 years and tried to teach her, but she struggled with her tiny hands and with steel strings. So I bought her a Stagg Uke for Christmas, along with a set of D'Addario EJ87S strings and the "It's Ukulele Time" beginner's book. I didn't want to spend a fortune as she might not take to it, but if she does I can always upgrade in the future.
The first thing I'll say is to bin the strings that come with it. I did initially tune it with the supplied strings, but they weren't great. They felt flimsy, and the sound was acceptable but not particularly good. Luckily I was prepared and had bought a better set, and wrapped them up under the tree with the Uke, on the advice of Amazon reviews. I chose D'Addario EJ87S which cost around £5. As soon as you fit them you notice a substantial improvement in the quality of the strings to the touch, but more importantly, a much improved sound. Fitting is a little fiddly, but watch a couple of YouTube videos on the subject and all becomes clear.
The second thing I'll say is to get a decent set of screwdrivers and play around with the machine heads (or tuning keys, if you prefer). The ones on the Uke I bought were a little loose, which caused the strings to go out of tune rather quickly. One of them was a bit too tight, which was causing some vibration, so I adjusted that one too. Although be careful to use a correctly sized screwdriver if you do this, as the screws are cheap and will round easily.
As with many new stinged instruments, you need to allow it some time to bed in a bit, especially if fitting new strings. I downloaded a simple ukulele tuning app onto my phone and tuned it using that. This needs doing a lot at first, but soon enough it settles down and needs doing much less often between playing.
All in all, I'm impressed with the Stagg Ukulele. My partner is very happy with her present, and is working her way through the book, learning some simple songs and chords. And I enjoy playing it myself. It's similar enough to a guitar to be able to use strumming and picking techniques, but in many ways is a totally different experience.
The finish of the uke is good but not great, which is why I've knocked off a star. The one I got had a small chip on the back (nothing major), and overall the finish appears a little plastic (although looking inside you can see the instrument is indeed made of wood). But as a cheap entry level uke it's worth the money. I'm even planning to buy one for myself.
| Package Dimensions | 71.8 x 29.4 x 9.4 cm; 1 Kilograms |
|---|---|
| Item model number | UKG 20 NAT |
| Back Material | Sapele |
| Body Material | Rosewood |
| Colour | Natural |
| Connector | / |
| Scale Length | inches |
| String Material | Nylon |
| Top Material | Spruce |
| Number of Strings | 6 |
| Size | 6 String |
| Proficiency Level | Beginner |
| Item Weight | 1 kg |
