Ukulele help/suggestions?

[dmb66]

So I've been throwing around purchasing a ukulele for a while, but I honestly don't know a damn thing about them. Can someone tell me what the difference between say a soprano and tenor or standard or even baritone is. I know what the distinctions mean in musical/instrument terms, but I don't know how they apply to the world of ukuleles. Also, can I snag a decent one for say, under 100 bucks? Anybody have any to reccomend. I'm not trying to be as fancy as that kid on youtube playing while my guitar gently weeps, but I do want a decent one I could play in my hammock and maybe mic at one of my gigs. Thanks.

-Nick

[sfmartins]

Actually, the ukulele is an instrument with Portuguese origins. It comes from our "Cavaquinho", which means "small wood stick".

Anyway, I thought about buying an uku too, but I also don't know anything about it.

No one helps?!

[mangold]

i believe that soprano, baritone etc. just = size in the uke world. i played one for awhile at a music store with a chord chart and it was fun and easy. i was playin a bunch of simple songs on it, you should hear closing time with a uke...

[c_tietze]

I swear by these people:

http://www.meleukulele.com/

Soprano ukes are the most common, the one thing I cannot stress enough is DO NOT EVER purchase a uke that has friction tuning pegs, meaning always, always buy a uke that has guitar-like, geared-tuning machine heads.

[taylordb]

Baritone ukes are tuned just like a guitar, so it is an easy transition to play those. The other ukes are tuned differently. That's all I know.

A while back I was going to buy a uke kit from stewmac and make it myself....but didn't because life got too hectic.