Pound for pound, is the Aria ACU-250 the best ukulele for sale in the UK today?
The question of what is the best ukulele is a difficult one to answer. Every ukulele player has their own opinions on what uke is best. But when you factor in the price and what you get for the money, the question becomes 'what is the best value ukulele?' And in the Aria ACU-250 Concert Ukulele, there is a genuine contender for the title. Here is our Aria ACU-250 concert ukulele review, focussing on its qualities, but also its drawbacks.
What is the Aria ACU-250 made from?
There are lots of mahogany ukuleles on the market, but this Aria concert uke is the only one we've found at such a low price that has all solid timber. The vast majority of beginner ukuleles are laminate, with those advertised as mahogany ukuleles having a veneer of that wood on the top and the body. There are reasonably priced mahogany ukuleles with a solid mahogany top out there, but the Aria ACU-250 has all solid tonewood, back, front, and sides. For a cheap ukulele, this is unheard of. If you want to buy a ukulele with all solid mahogany, you'd often have to pay a couple of hundred or more, certainly not less than one hundred like this Aria concert ukulele. The uke has a rosewood fingerboard, which is smooth and flat as it should be. The colour of the rosewood is not as even as on some professional ukuleles, but it is neat enough. This concert ukulele has silver nickel frets and these are smooth to the touch and there are no sharp edges. The nut and the ukulele saddle are plastic, as you would expect from a beginner ukulele, but they are fine. The nut is perhaps a little high on C string of the ukulele, but this is easy to file down (our workshop will do this for you if we think it is required). One point to make is that the saddle is sloping, meaning that it will need to be removed and placed the other way around in the rosewood bridge if you are planning to re-string the Aria ACU-250 as a left handed concert ukulele. In conclusion, this specification is very unusual for such a price, making it a real contender for the title of the best ukulele to buy a beginner.
Is the Aria ACU-250 a good looking ukulele?
The pattern this concert ukulele is made to is fairly standard. It looks like a regular ukulele! It has black ukulele binding separating the sides from the top and the back, and two black lines around the soundhole. In all, these are nothing really fancy, but do add a little to the looks of this concert uke. The natural mahogany used to make the ACU-250 concert uke is pale in colour, and the uke has been given a satin finish. This feels nice, but the effect is perhaps a little rich for some tastes in terms of colour. While the uke is a little orange, the finish is nice and you can see the natural grain of the solid mahogany on the ukulele top, sides and back.
What ukulele strings and hardware does the Aria ACU-250 concert ukulele have?
This ukulele is fitted with unbranded ukulele strings, made from black nylon. We'd guess that they are GHS black nylon ukulele strings but this can't be confirmed. The ukulele strings aren't wonderful, but it is important to say even with these factory fitted strings, the tone is very good. However, you may want to consider purchasing some Aquila strings, or Worth ukulele strings at some point - though this is not something that is needed. You should find that the all solid mahogany construction has great benefits to the tone of this concert ukulele, so these premium ukulele strings will only improve what is a good sound to start with. If you did want to consider upgrading strings, Aquila and Worth Clear ukulele strings would be our choice, as their slightly clearer, brighter sound balances well with the warmth from the solid mahogany tonewood. The Aria ACU-250 concert ukulele has geared ukulele machine heads. These have white plastic buttons and are of decent constructions. Once settled in, the strings appear to hold tuning well, although again, buying Aquila ukulele strings, or upgrading with Worth ukulele strings will help even more on this score.
What is the ukulele tone like with the Aria ACU-250 concert ukulele?
Having established that this is an all solid mahogany ukulele, you'd expect that to translate into a better ukulele tone, and this Aria ACU-250 doesn't disappoint. There is a real warmth from the mahogany tonewood and good balance to the ukulele tone, with sparkling high notes alongside rounder note which sound very nice particular when strumming. Sustain is improved over other beginner concert ukuleles too, a light strum gives about four seconds, longer if you strum harder. Both the sustain and ukulele tone are better than anything we've come across at this price level, a really significant plus when considering whether this is the best ukulele available for beginners in terms of value for money.
What is the setup like with the Aria ACU-250 concert ukulele?
There is a lot of talk about ukulele set up which can be confusing, particularly when choosing a ukulele for a beginner. Our workshop check every ukulele we send out, making sure the intonation is good, and the action is appropriate. With this model of concert ukulele, the intonation was nearly perfect, perhaps a fraction out, but unless your hearing is particularly tuned into this, not something you'd particularly notice when playing. The action is good, low enough to make playing the ukulele easy, but not too low there is buzzing on the frets. In terms of ukulele set up, this Aria ukulele is as good as anything at this price point, it is never going to be 100% perfect at such a low cost, but it is perfectly playable, sounds good and has none of the flaws that some ukuleles have that could put a ukulele beginner off.
The Aria ACU-250 concert ukulele review conclusion?
Quite simply, the specification of this ukulele hasn't yet been beaten at this price level. All solid mahogany construction is a real bonus and its influence is really felt with a nice, balanced and warm ukulele tone. Everything else about the ukulele is equal to anything other ukulele brands have to offer for this price. In terms of value for money we have to say this is the best ukulele on the market, in our eyes. Obviously it is not the best ukulele there is, you can spend a lot and get a better instrument, but at a price level that makes this concert uke accessible for beginners, we're happy to say it is a strongly recommended ukulele.
Is the Aria ACU-250 the best ukulele for sale in this price bracket?
That would be yes!
