Some rearrangement...
This is not meant to be a definitive ukulele website. There are some great sites out there that this one could never approach. Instead, here's a list of useful ukulele-related links. To get started, you might check out Kawika's site, Brudda Bu's, or The Ukulele Diner. They contain many other links that will let you spend an entire day submersed in ukuleles on the World Wide Web. There's a wonderful photo gallery at Ukulele Mart. The site is in Japanese, but the pictures are universal. For ukulele chord charts, since the disappearance of Tyll Herstens' A Comprehensive Ukulele Chord Dictionary (Does anyone know where it went to?) nothing compares to Marcel van der Zwet's Ukulele Chord Finder, which also has an electronic pitch pipe for tuning your ukes. The bulletin board at Flea Market Music is the most lively site for discussing ukes and is a great source of information.
If you're in the northeast/mid-Atlantic US, be sure to check out the annual Uke Expo.
If you're looking to purchase a ukulele, there's good news and bad news. The bad news is that the vintage ukulele market has been sent spinning by eBay's entry into the mix. The prices of vintage ukes, Martins in particular, continue to spiral upward. Fewer ukes are making their way into the hands of dealers such as Bernunzio Vintage Instruments. Roy Cone is keeping the faith and seems to have a steady stream of new and used ukuleles along with a wide selection of uke supplies.
The good news is that we are experiencing a golden age of ukulele lutherie. After proclaming "The Decade of the Ukulele" ever since the 80s, it looks like Stan Werbin (of Elderly Instruments) finally got it right! If the standard Kamaka production models aren't quite what you're looking for, there are instruments from Maui, Koaloha, Ko'olau, Buck, and Third Wave. The respected guitar maker Larrivee has entered the market. Even Martin is testing the waters with its new SO uke. The (serious) starter ukulele market is pretty much locked up for the moment by the Fluke.
Warning about new Martin ukes: It's not clear why the Backpacker Uke was introduced. The ukulele is so small to begin with that the Backpacker's shape provides no real savings in size, but it takes a terrible toll on the tone, which is vastly inferior to a regular uke's. The SO uke is built in Mexico with the same materials and finish as other instruments in the Backpacker series. It is an acceptable instrument if it can be purchased at discount, but it should not be confused with the vintage Martin instruments.
Then, there are individuals with their own shops producing custom instruments. These include David (Kawika) Hurd, Kevin Hall, and Joel Eckhaus. I was particularly taken with the example of Joel's Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum Uke on display at UkeExpo 2000. (I've got the ukes I need and I'm happy. Were I staring out and ukeless, I'd've gotten that UHOF uke.) And then there's his Tululele! Visit all of these builders' sites to browse their catalogues.
At UkeExpo '98, I had the opportunity to play a concert ukulele made by David Newton of Beaumont, TX, that was on display as a gift to the Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum. I had seen David's name in my travels around the Web, but had never heard his instruments. It was wonderful and seemed ideally suited to the classic American popular music I like to play. The UHOFM ukulele was an experimental piece involving woods whose supply was exhausted, but I was so taken by the instrument that I asked David to make a mahogany concert uke for me. One of David's bonuses is that he sends pictures of the instrument in various stages of construction. Yes, it's looking like a uke and art and beauty are everywhere you look for them! So is pain. What a thing to do to a young ukulele! You never know what effect it might have. However, with proper nurturing, even this, too, will pass and it will grow into a strong, young ukulele, from top, to middle, to bottom. Here's my review.
