Ukuleles
What comes with a ukulele, and what you still need
Bundles look generous and are mostly a way of moving the price around. Here is what is actually worth having.
By Sawyer V. · Published · Last updated
Ukulele listings are unusually generous-looking. The photo shows the instrument surrounded by a bag, a strap, a tuner, a capo, spare strings, a cleaning cloth and a handful of picks. It looks like a lot of value and it is usually a way of moving money around inside the price.
Here is what is actually in a box, what those accessories are worth, and what you genuinely need.
What is usually in the box
Almost always: the instrument, strung and roughly tuned.
Often: a thin gig bag. Adequate for carrying it to a lesson; not protection against anything.
Sometimes, on bundles: a clip-on tuner, a strap, a capo, spare strings, picks and a cloth.
Almost never: a stand, a hard case, or a setup. The first is worth buying; the third does not really exist as a service for instruments at this price and is much less critical than it is on a guitar.
What the bundle accessories are actually worth
| Item | Bought separately | Worth having? |
|---|---|---|
| Clip-on tuner | $12–$20 | Essential |
| Gig bag | $20–$30 | Yes, if it travels |
| Aquila strings | $10–$12 | Yes, if not already fitted |
| Strap | $10–$15 | For children and standing players |
| Capo | $10–$15 | Not for months |
| Felt picks | $5 | Optional — most people use fingers |
| Polishing cloth | $3 | No |
Add up the ones you would genuinely buy and the number is around $45. That is the test for a bundle: if a $30 bundle contains $45 of accessories, the instrument in it cost the seller almost nothing, and it is very likely below the floor described in are cheap ukuleles worth it.
Manufacturer bundles are different. Enya’s Nova U Mini ships with a semi-hard case, strap, capo and spare strings around a genuine composite instrument. The test is whether the instrument inside is a model you could look up and buy on its own.
The three things you genuinely need
1. A clip-on tuner. The one non-negotiable item. Nylon strings stretch so much when new that a fresh ukulele needs retuning several times a day for the first week, and needs a check every single session after that. A clip-on tuner reads the pitch through the wood, so it works in a noisy room and can be operated by an adult who does not play a note.
2. Aquila or equivalent strings, if the instrument did not come with them. The single most transformative $12 you can spend on an inexpensive ukulele. Cheap factory strings sound thuddy and lifeless. Both wooden picks in our roundup ship with Aquilas already, which is a real saving.
3. A stand. Fifteen dollars, and the highest-leverage item on the list after the tuner. An instrument on a stand in the corner of the living room gets picked up on the way past, several times a day, for two minutes at a time. Those two minutes are what practice actually looks like for most people. A ukulele in a bag under a bed gets played on lesson day.
What to leave until later
A capo is genuinely useful and not for several months. A hard case matters only if the instrument travels seriously. A second set of strings is worth having but not urgent — nylon strings rarely break and are usually changed for tone rather than failure. And a songbook is worth less than a free chord chart and a list of the four chords that cover most of what anyone wants to play.
What we would buy
Kala KA-15S
Kala Brand MusicBest for: The honest floor, soprano
Mahogany throughout, a GraphTech NuBone nut and saddle, and Aquila strings fitted from the factory. The nut material is the spec that separates this from the pile of look-alikes.
Published specifications
- Size:
- Soprano
- Top / back / sides:
- Mahogany
- Neck / fretboard:
- Mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard
- Nut and saddle:
- GraphTech NuBone
- Scale length:
- 13.625"
- Frets:
- 12
- Nut width:
- 1.375"
- Overall length:
- 21.062"
- Strings:
- Aquila Super Nylgut
What it gets right
- NuBone nut and saddle rather than molded plastic — this is what decides whether the instrument plays in tune up the neck
- Aquila strings fitted at the factory, so the first thing you would otherwise replace is already done
- 21 inches overall and light enough for a small child to hold unsupported
Where it gives ground
- 12 frets only, and the body joint stops you well short of the high notes
- Soprano scale means less room between frets — adult fingers with wide fingertips will find it cramped
What it is not good at
Adult hands, sometimes. A 13.625 inch scale is genuinely tight. If the player is a grown-up with large hands, read our soprano-versus-concert comparison before buying this size.
How the specs score against a beginner’s needs
Scores are our reading of the published specifications above against what a beginner physically needs. They are not test results — we have not played this instrument.
Specifications from Kala Brand Music — KA-15S specifications.
Enya Nova U Mini
EnyaBest for: Young kids, survives anything
A 21 inch carbon-fiber-and-polycarbonate body weighing 430 grams. It is water resistant and it does not care about humidity, which is the honest reason to buy it for a six-year-old.
Published specifications
- Size:
- Soprano, 21"
- Top / back / sides:
- 30% carbon fiber and polycarbonate composite
- Weight:
- 430 g (0.9 lb)
- Overall length:
- 22"
- Nut width:
- 1-3/8"
- Body:
- Arched back, radius fretboard, cutaway
- In the box:
- Semi-hard case, strap, capo, spare strings
What it gets right
- Composite body — it does not crack in a dry house or swell in a damp one, which is what actually kills cheap wooden ukuleles
- 430 grams; a five-year-old can carry it around by the neck all day, and they will
- Case, strap, capo and spare strings included
Where it gives ground
- It does not sound like wood, and no amount of playing will change that
- The composite body is a fixed quantity — there is no breaking-in and no improvement over time
What it is not good at
Tone. A mahogany Kala sounds warmer and fuller, plainly. You are buying survivability, and that is a legitimate thing to buy for a young child, but be clear that is the trade.
How the specs score against a beginner’s needs
Scores are our reading of the published specifications above against what a beginner physically needs. They are not test results — we have not played this instrument.
Specifications from Enya Music — Nova carbon fiber ukulele collection.
Questions people actually ask
Do ukuleles come with a case?
Some do and many do not. Enya’s Nova U Mini includes a semi-hard case, a strap, a capo and spare strings. A bare Kala KA-15S typically does not include a bag. Check the listing rather than assuming, because a gig bag afterward is $20 to $30.
Does a new ukulele need to be tuned?
Constantly, for the first week or two. Nylon strings stretch a great deal when new, so a fresh instrument will drift flat repeatedly until they settle. This is normal and not a fault, and it is the main reason a clip-on tuner is essential rather than optional.
Do I need a strap for a ukulele?
Not for an adult sitting down. For a child, or for anyone standing, yes — and a soprano’s small body is genuinely awkward to hold securely without one. Many ukuleles have no strap buttons fitted, so check before buying a strap that needs them.
What strings does a ukulele use?
Nylon or a nylon-composite such as Aquila Nylgut. Never steel — steel strings under guitar tension will damage a ukulele built for nylon. A soprano, concert and tenor all use the same standard GCEA set; a baritone uses a different set entirely.
Sources
Still deciding?
Every recommendation on this site is built the same way, and the method is published in full — including what we do not do and what would get a pick dropped.
Read next
- Best beginner ukuleles: what's worth it from $60 to $120
Segmented by hand size rather than price, with the nut-material spec that separates a real ukulele from a decoration.
- How much should a beginner ukulele cost?
Four bands from $30 to $200, defined by nut material and tuner type rather than by brand, with the accessory list included.
- Are cheap ukuleles worth it?
The intonation failure that cannot be repaired, what causes it, and the two specs that tell you whether an instrument has it.
- Best ukuleles for kids
Wood or composite, with the humidity problem that kills cheap wooden ukuleles in dry houses stated plainly.
- Soprano vs concert vs tenor ukulele
Real scale lengths and fret counts across all four sizes, with the hand-size rule and buy paths for the two that matter.