Here are some buying tips for ukulele beginners. Think what you want to do with the ukulele ( jamming at home or on the beach, recording, playing in a band, ... ). Think how much money you want to spent. If you know someone, who already plays ukulele, ask for decision aid. Read some reviews and buying tips on the internet. Take your time to choose the right one. If you buy in a shop take a tuner with you and tune the ukulele.If it doesn't sound right the ukulele might not have a just intonation.   1. Size Soprano The classic size of a uke. If you want to strum some songs, a soprano ukulele might be the right one for you. They are tuned in reentrant fashion ( reentrant tuning means that the strings aren't ordered from the lowest to the highest pitch ). Because of the small size, you can take it with you easily ( e.g. in your backpack, in your handluggage ). If you have big hands, the tight neck might be uncomfortable for you.   Concert/Tenor These two sizes are bigger than soprano, tenor ukuleles are a little bit longer than concert ukuleles. If you want to play solos, these might be the right sizes, because you can play them with a low 4th string. They have a warm sound. You need more space to carry them around than with a soprano ukulele.   Baritone These are the biggest ukuleles. They sound more like the four upper strings of a guitar than a ukulele. If you are a guitar player, you might have an easy access, because baritone ukuleles are almost tuned like a guitar ( D G B E ).   2. Costs You can buy a ukulele for around 20 €. These are usually poor instruments. You should spent around 50 € or more for a soprano ukulele. The other sizes are more expensive ( concert: 60 €, tenor: 70 € ).   3. Brands Recommendable are Brueko, Kala, Kiwaya, Lanikai, Mainland, Makala, Ohana, Ortega, Risa and Stagg. There are certainly more valuable brands, this is just a small selection.   4. Pickup If you want to play in a band or want to use effects ( delay, chorus,... ) a pickup might be useful. You could think of buying an electric uke like the Eleuke.   In this video wwelti compares 12 soprano ukes. It's in German but with English subtitles: You might also take a look at his web page ukulele-arts for more informations.   Fell free to leave a comment with your experiences.