This popular model soprano ukulele from Brunswick produces a very nice tone, and represents a good all rounder for a ukulele beginner. While it isn't super cheap, it represents a decent quality uke that is playable and sounds good. This means beginners to the instrument have a good chance to learn properly, with a ukulele that offers a nice tone, good tuning stability and is pleasant to play.
The Brunswick soprano, model number BU4S, is one of three ukuleles produced in the same factories. It is made to the same pattern as the Lanikai LU-21 and Kala KA-S soprano ukuleles and rivals these for quality, with a price that is usually slightly lower. Although the Lanikai and Kala brands carry a bit more weight in the ukulele world, the Brunswick range has now been around long enough, and has been popular enough to cast aside any doubts about how good it is.
The Brunswick soprano ukulele is neatly made, with a mahogany veneer and white binding - which makes it look very smart without being flashy. As with most ukes, the fingerboard is made of rosewood, as is the bridge. Crucially however, this is nice and smooth, while the 12 nickel frets are nicely made, even and well dressed. There are markers at the 5th, 7th and 10th frets and - useful for all players, not just beginners, matching markers on the side of the neck.
The uke is fitted with open, geared tuners, which are of decent quality. Aquila strings are fitted and the tuning is very good. If we wanted to nit-pick, the pearl effect buttons on the tuners are slightly on the large side compared to the rest of the instrument but this is hardly an issue to put anyone off.
When it comes to sound, the Brunswick BU4S is just a good all rounder. The tone is rich, the volume can be loud when strummed and it can also be fingerpicked delicately to produce subtle, lustrous melodies. It really is very nice, and that versatility is a great thing, as people who progress beyond the basic few chords will be able to experiment and get good results as they advance further in their ukulele studies.
There is one issue with the Brunswick soprano, which is the nut. This is often set a little high, causing notes in the first few frets to pull sharp. You can often buy this ukulele cheaply online, but we'd be a bit wary about this because of the nut issue - which is sorted in our workshop before they're sent out. Certainly, if you are considered buying a Brunswick soprano ukulele, it would be wise to check that the seller does this essential work - as the last thing a beginner needs is to learn chords and hear them sound slightly out as a result of an easily rectifiable problem.
So, with our set up, we'd certainly recommend the Brunswick soprano as an equal to two of the world's most popular models, the Lanikai LU-21 and Kala KA-S.
