Oscar Schmidt OU5 Concert Ukulele


4 Responses to “Oscar Schmidt OU5 Concert Ukulele”

  1. C. Smith "thrummin'" says:
    74 of 74 people found the following review helpful
    4.0 out of 5 stars
    Great Rating from a Marginally Qualified Rater, January 18, 2006
    By 
    C. Smith “thrummin'” (Vancouver, BC) –
    (REAL NAME)
      

    Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)

    I bought my first beginner ukulele only six months ago, but enjoyed enough that I decided to move up from the toy class to something a little better. The OU5 was on sale at under a hundred dollars, but I have to say that the leap in quality and sound far outweighed the $70 price difference between this and my first ukulele. Like others who have rated Oscar Schmidt products, I have been impressed by the beautiful finish of this instrument, but it’s the improved action and sound quality that totally won me over. Go ahead and buy your $20 Rogue instrument to see if you like the ukulele, but when you’re ready to step up to the next level (but perhaps aren’t ready to shell out $250), this is a solid stepping stone. I’m really happy with this instrument. Keep your really cheap one to take to the beach, though. You’ll like this one enough that you won’t want someone grinding sand into the finish or spilling beer on it.

    Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes
    No

  2. WT "the woodshow" says:
    48 of 48 people found the following review helpful
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    Awesome Ukulele, November 12, 2007
    By 
    WT “the woodshow” (Durham, NC USA) –

    Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
    This review is from: Oscar Schmidt OU5 Concert Ukulele (Electronics)

    One night I’m watching Joe Versus the Volcano… and Joe is afloat on his steamer trunks playing the Cowboy Song on his ukulele… and it hits me: I want to learn to play the ukulele just so I can play that song! I’ve played guitar casually for many years, but I had no clue about the guitar’s little cousin. I knew that I wanted something better than a toy ukulele, but also knew I had no plans to play this professionally. After looking around online, I decided to order the OU-5 Oscar Schmidt by Washburn from Amazon.

    Summary: I could not be happier. This is a wonderful instrument for both the first time user and the semi-serious amateur. The ukulele is beautiful. The woodwork is gorgeous. Everyone who has seen it says “wow”. It sounds just like a ukulele should. And it is a blast to play!

    The worst thing about this ukulele is the product description page. The description provided by Amazon is terrible. At the time of this writing, there is no photo of the product (I bought it on faith based on reviews of a couple others here). The product description is a single, incomplete sentence and uses the word “founf”… and the description is so bad, it’s not at all obvious that you’re getting an OU-5 (look in the item details under model number), but that is what you get. But please, don’t be fooled by what may be the worst page on Amazon’s otherwise wonderful site… this is a great product.

    One user complained about the strings not holding their tune, and I’ve seen at least one complaint about the tuners. Well, the ukulele comes with nylon strings, and there is a fair amount of stretching before it will stay in tune. My first couple of attempts were frustrating… the top string would be badly out of tune by the time I had tuned down to the bottom string. It took a couple of days of constant tuning before the strings were properly stretched. There’s probably some trick to pre-stretching nylon strings, but I just kept at it and eventually prevailed. Now it stays in tune comparable to my guitar. The chrome tuners appear to be of good quality. They are solid and have a good feel.

    The Koa wood is stunning, and has a wonderful finish, especially for an instrument in this price range. The detail in the inlay really makes this uke visually impressive.

    I grabbed a chord chart off the internet to learn chords and fingering… there are plenty out there. I decided to learn to play songs from movies featuring the ukulele. A quick search and I found the chords (all two of them) for Joe’s Cowboy Song… awesome! It sounds great! Tonight You Belong to Me by Steve Martin was next, followed by Forgetful Lucy featuring Adam Sandler on the uke. I suggest looking for ukulele performances on YouTube for inspiration. You haven’t really, truly played a string instrument until you’ve played Rawhide on the ukulele.

    Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes
    No

  3. Charlene Ceballos says:
    40 of 40 people found the following review helpful
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    Perfect for an average guitar player!, August 8, 2006
    By 
    Charlene Ceballos (Vallejo, Ca USA) –
    (REAL NAME)
      

    I have been playing guitar for almost 5 years and to be quite honesty, I’m still not as great as Carlos Santana or Slash. I’m just pretty much an average player. When I wanted to learn how to play the ukulele, I was skeptical on which brand/type I should get. After three months of debating, I finally wised up and bought this one. It looked like the one I borrowed from a friend and the brand name sounded familiar to my ears. After much anticipation for four days, it finally arrived and it is an incredible ukulele. I couldn’t be more satisfied with it! The frets are placed perfectly for someone that’s familiar with playing the guitar, not to mention someone that’s beginning, it’s easier to place your fingers when you can see them (the soprano ukulele is really small compared to this concert size). Overall I love my uke. I suggest getting this if you know how to play guitar already.

    Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes
    No

  4. Anonymous says:
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    NHL Vancouver Canucks I.D. Bracelet, November 17, 2011
    By 
    sammyt (Canada) –

    Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
    This review is from: NHL Vancouver Canucks I.D. Bracelet (Sports)

    ordered 3 of these…. I’m a tall and big person and often have trouble to find jewellry to “fit”… this one does with room to spare… impressed with quality and clarity of the logo… other 2 are stocking stuffers!

    Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes
    No