Stunning Tonewoods, Solid-Bodies, Sparkle, and More in this Gallery of New Ukuleles for 2022
Looking for a new ukulele? Every year brings a bounty of new styles and models for every taste and budget. Here is a wonderfully varied selection of ukes that came out from different manufacturers this year that might entice you, or at the very least get you thinking about what you want in that next ukulele you buy. And even if you’re not in the market for a new one, it’s still fun to look.
Here’s a list of the new 2022 ukes covered here:
- Stylish Solid Body Electrics from Kala
- Colorful Additions to Popular Córdoba Line
- Eco-Conscious Martin Goes Even More “Green”
- Solid Tonewoods Featured in Twisted Wood Pro Series
- A Mango Soprano Fireball from Flight
- Spalted Maple Stunner from Hug
- Fine Tonewoods Make Makai Tenor a Winner
- Amahi Looks to the Next Generation
Stylish Solid Body Electrics from Kala
Here’s something you don’t see every day: solid body electric tenor ukuleles! The folks at Kala have designed these two “performer’s dream” instruments to make playing amplified onstage alone or in a group a breeze, and to bring new possibilities to ukulele recording. Each of the two models— Flame Maple (left) and Flame Acacia—is equipped with a powerful built-in active pickup and can be played “either clean or paired seamlessly with external instrument effects such as chorus, delay, and distortion, without audio feedback.” Kala further claims that the Solid Body Electric has “the same traditional playability, light tension feel, and classic ukulele tone as the best of our acoustic offerings.” The back, sides, and neck are okoume, the fingerboard is a fiber composite, and the binding mahogany. Also included is a grey padded gig bag. $299. kalabrand.com
Colorful Additions to Popular Córdoba Line
Córdoba is once again dabbling in aesthetic variations to its very popular 15CM ukuleles, with the introduction of the ultra-colorful 15CM Matiz line of concert-size ukes. Boasting mahogany top, back, sides, and neck (“assuring a rich, clear and full sound,” they say), attractive maple fingerboard and bridge, and interior fan-bracing, this handsome instrument comes in four vivid, modern colors: Mint, Chili Red, Classic Blue, and Mango (pictured), all topped with a satin finish. A couple of other nice touches are the ivory-colored ABS binding and matching “ghost” rosette, as they call it. The ukulele also comes with a matching mango-colored gig bag. $149. cordobaguitars.com/ukuleles
Eco-Conscious Martin Goes Even More “Green”
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C.F. Martin has strived to be ecologically friendly for many years in its wood sourcing and other practices. The lovely tenor T1 Uke FSC, which was introduced at the 2022 NAMM Show, is made from 100-percent sustainable FSC woods, including sapele top, back, and sides, and ebony finger-board and bridge. It also has an applied dovetail sipo (an African mahogany) neck designed for greater stability and durability. New to Martin ukes are the Ratio tuners. It all adds up to an instrument that sounds great and that you can feel good about. To top it off, the T1 FSC comes with a blue gig bag made from recycled plastic water bottles pulled from the ocean. $459. martinguitar.com/ukuleles
Solid Tonewoods Featured in Twisted Wood Pro Series
Canadian ukulele (and guitar) company Twisted Wood has earned a good reputation for making reliable ukuleles at many different price points, from relatively inexpensive laminate models to mid-level solid tops to high-end all-solid-wood models. Twisted Wood’s Spruce Pro Series falls in that last category. Built by hand in Alberta, Canada, the Spruce Pro concert (pictured) and tenor ukuleles both feature solid spruce tops to “provide a lightweight and durable soundboard with a solid fundamental tone,” along with solid black walnut back and sides, which create “a potent low end with crisp highs and powerful harmonics.” The necks are mahogany, and the simple rosette, fingerboard, and tie bridge are walnut. It also has black-geared closed-back tuners. The concert is $759.99, the tenor $799.99; gig bag included. For Twisted Wood’s exclusive Carnyx piezo pickup option add another $100. twistedwoodguitars.com
A Mango Soprano Fireball from Flight
Every year, it seems, the profile of Slovenia-based Flight Ukulele grows a little more, to the point where their instruments are now all over Europe and also making serious inroads in North America through a number of dealers across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. (Their website lists locations.) The Flight Fireball EQ-A Soprano electro-acoustic ukulele is the first soprano in their much-loved Royal Series. It has an attractive, highly distinctive, all-solid mango body (it’s a sweet-sounding tonewood sometimes compared to koa sonically), an African mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard and bridge, and real bone nut and compensated saddle. Also striking is the Royal Series’ “modified” slotted headstock. The interior holds the electronics for the included C1U active pickup. It comes with a padded gig bag, too. $590. flightmusic.com
Spalted Maple Stunner from Hug
Another 2022 NAMM introduction, this beautiful and exotic-looking spalted maple tenor is one of the new offerings from Hawaiian Ukulele & Guitar, which is headquartered on the Big Island of Hawaii, where they know a thing or two about ukuleles. The instrument sports a solid top (“to deliver bright highs and tight lows”), laminated spalted maple back and sides, a mahogany neck, ebony fretboard and bridge, wood and abalone binding, and classical open headstock tuners. This is also offered in the smaller concert size. The tenor’s street price is $240. hugukulele.com
Fine Tonewoods Make Makai Tenor a Winner
The brand-new Makai LT-80RG tenor is the latest in the San Francisco-based company’s pairings of warm-sounding tonewoods; in this case a solid cedar top and solid rosewood back and sides that make for “tons of projection and a fuller rounded tone.” The instrument has a mahogany neck with a rosewood fingerboard, bone nut and saddle, ABS white binding, Grover geared tuners, and Aquila strings. $459.99 makaiukulele.com
Amahi Looks to the Next Generation
Ohio-based Amahi Ukulele prides itself on making quality ukuleles at reasonable prices, and indeed their nine different series cover a wide range of styles and woods, yet never at budget-busting cost. They also want to cater to the parents or other relatives of the next generation of uke players, so they have many offerings directed at young, entry-level players sold at rock-bottom prices. For example, among the company’s latest offerings are a pair of colorful, soprano size “real wood” ukuleles clearly aimed at young kids, one called “Unicorn Dreams” and the other “Glitter Rainbow.” (Hey, not everything has to be figured koa with abalone inlays!) These new Amahi ukes are perfect starter instruments, and no doubt the company hopes they’ll be a gateway to other Amahi ukes. Each one comes with a padded gig bag and, as important, a how-to-start guide. At just $58, it’s quite a deal. amahiukuleles.com
