Lanikai’s own website introduces their LU range as being their entry level models, pointing out they are good quality instruments for beginners. Having seen the rather dull looking image they have on their site (incidentally the one everyone has copied and pasted), we didn’t hold out great hopes on its looks. However, this is a much better instrument than the ‘beginner’ tag suggests. It looks great, is really nicely and smartly finished, plays well and sounds lovely.

Although this is a nato wood laminate ukulele like the rest of the LU range, this one has a better quality veneer, with a lovely rich warm brown colour and a nicely pronounced grain. This has been given a gloss finish which highlights both of these factors very well. The binding separating top from sides has multiple layers, black, white and coloured abalone inlay. This abalone continues around the soundhole, while the white binding goes all the way up the length of the neck. The fingerboard is rosewood as is usual, but of a particularly high grade, with a very smooth finish. Inlaid pearl style position markers appear at the 5th, 7th, 10th and 12th frets, in a pattern that is also repeated on the rosewood bridge.

There are gold in-line geared tuners and a slotted headstock. These are effective (although tuning 8 strings is always more labour than just four!), and the white buttons are nothing special, but are inoffensive. This Lanikai LU-8 is fitted with Aquila strings which perform well. They are reasonably bright in tone, allowing individual notes to be identified and highlighted during play, while the range of notes from the 8 strings develops nice warmer undertones for a very full, melodic sound. This isn’t a solid top ukulele yet it sounds as good as some of the 8 string models with solid tonewood - so, far from being a beginner instrument, this would be a decent addition to any ukulele player's arsenal.