Uke Hut

Recently visited the Uke Hut and purchased a Lulu Tenor Ukelele. Jeff was at the store this particular day and was very helpful. I had the opportunity to play at least 8 different Ukulele’s.
The only way to buy an instrument like this is to visit and play a variety of them. I came in looking for a Kala Acacia model but left with the Lulu, which for me was the best choice. I would highly recommend Uke Hut. btw… On street parking is available on 38^th street. you have to get a ticket from the machine to put in your window. about $ 1 per hour.

Very knowledgeable, friendly and encouraging owner. Many beautiful instruments, some customized, on display. A welcome emphasis on the Bari (baritone) uke, an underappreciated instrument.

I am a lifelong pianist who knows absolutely nothing about the UKE, let alone the Banjolele. What I do know is I would not be able to get the help and expertise that I needed to make a smart UKE decision at a Sam Ashe or guitar center. This information requires a certain obsessive nerdiness. The banjolele was for my 14 year old daughter who is a remarkable musician, and told me that she wanted to try a few out. We found UKE hut on line and took the short drive (30 minutes) from westchester to the little Ukehut in Long Island city. We were surrounded by a range of fairly priced, beautiful ukes and banjoleles. Most importantly, the sales people were patient, helpful, truly loved the instruments and fun. Simply Put — you would be doing yourself a serious disservice going anyplace else for a UKE or banjolele. This is one of those unique places that musicians love. It’s for us.

I just bought my first ukulele EVER from the Uke Hut and my experience was so good, I felt compelled to finally start a Unilocal account, just to give them a great review.
First off, I was a little apprehensive walking in because I’m a complete novice and although I did my research, going to a store almost solely dedicated to ukuleles, I didn’t know how elitist they’d be. Turns out… not at all! Ken was super helpful, patiently answered all of my questions, and didn’t try to rush or up-​sell me one bit. He let me take as much time as I needed with every uke I wanted to try and even demo-​ed an amp for us, just because my friend (who, by the way, was only there for moral support and openly expressed he had no interest whatsoever in buying a uke) asked him about it. I never once felt looked down upon for being a newb. And even when another customer walked in and Ken had already sold me on a uke, he took the time to tune my new baby and even wrote down and showed me some chords to practice. Talk about customer service! No doubt, I will be going here again if/​when I get good enough to want an upgrade… or feel a sudden urge to take hula lessons — which they also offer lol.

For a $ 350 Ukulele (that includes tax) I would have only saved $ 30 if I had bought it from a reasonable online website (not amazon which doesn’t even stock the one I bought). It was 100% worth it. Heres why:
1. I wouldn’t have known the instrument I purchased (an 8 string ukulele — Kala KA-​8E) existed had I not stumbled upon this wonderful store. Other then the standard Ukulele in various sizes they have bass ukuleles (even one without frets), many acoustic/​electric ukuleles, banjo ukuleles, resonator ukuleles, and other kinds — which made the store extremely fun and in my case useful. The 8 string ukulele I bought reminds me of a mandolin, 12 string guitar, nylon classical guitar, and of course ukulele all at the same time and I LOVE that.
2. Customer service is VERY friendly. You can of course try the Ukes out and ask many questions and they will gladly answer them! I am a stickler for my instruments to be set up properly (good action, no buzzing, no fret irregularities) so I asked Ken if I could come back to the store and shave the saddle (below the sound hole) down a little if I wanted and he agreed.
3. You can play the instrument as much as you like and find out what sounds and feels right! They check to make sure that the instruments on the wall are in good shape — you would be surprised how two models of the same Uke are not exactly the same. If there is a problem they will deal with you very reasonably — I have seen them work with other customers several times.
4. It’s in one of the very greatest neighborhoods in all of New York City. If you haven’t been to Astoria this is the perfect place to start.
5. They have concerts on friday and saturday. Check them out here:

The Queens borough hides a new treasure: the Uke Hut, opened in November 2014 by Ken Bari Murray. It’s a music shop dedicated to ukuleles only (and a very few banjos too). It offers a wide range of products regarding prices and brands. Ken will be happy to answer all your questions and make sure you find the ukuleles of your dreams! Online orders are also currently developing. The Uke Hut does its best to compete with internet prices, and so you will usually have only a small difference (around 10 $ more), which is totally worse it as you can spend as much time you want to try every model!
I personally bought my new uk’ there, from the brand Lulu Ukuleles, made in Connecticut. Ken let me try everything for more than two hours on a Saturday afternoon, exchanging a lot about technique and community building. The shop is also a social gathering place, with open jams every Friday night at 7 pm, and concerts once or twice a month. There is a little scene in a corner of the shop and space for maybe 30 people.
The best place for ukulelists!

Came here to buy my first ukelele and it was great. The staff member was extremely knowledgable, honest and friendly. They should up their online game! I wanted to find out more info about the ukelele open mics they host but couldn’t find anything.