The LU21-S Lanikai ukulele is a great beginner instrument that offers something a little different to the standard, all-mahogany laminate construction of similar ukes.
Written by Jay Searle / Published February 6, 2024
Last updated: February 21, 2024
Lanikai is famous for meshing old-school ukulele designs with more modern features, but not exactly for its affordability. The LU21-S is an exception as one of the cheapest soprano ukes in the brand’s catalog that upholds all of its values – good durability, excellent playability, and an authentic tone.
Perfect for beginners, decent for more experienced uke players, and generally good for anyone looking for a solid-performing low-end uke, Lanikai’s LU21-S is quite versatile. However, it’s also quite different compared to average sopranos in this price range, mainly because of its Okoume construction.
LU21-S Lanikai Ukulele – REVIEW Summary
An excellent beginner level ukulele that boasts great playability and value for price. A solid competitor amongst other sopranos in this price range.
Lanikai LU Series Ukulele Review
Specs
| TYPE: | Soprano |
| TOP: | Okoume |
| BACK & SIDES: | Okoume |
| NECK: | Mahogany |
| FRETBOARD: | Rosewood |
| SCALE LENGTH: | 13.625″ |
| NUT: | NuBone XB |
| SADDLE: | Composite wood |
| FRETS: | 12 |
Build Quality
The centerpiece of the LU21-S is the Okoume ukulele wood on its top, back, and sides. Nicknamed “Equatorial Mahogany”, this African wood is sturdy and readily available, but it’s relatively difficult to work with. If it weren’t for the experience of Lanikai’s luthiers, the uke probably wouldn’t have had the same structural stability or sturdiness.
To tame the wild nature of Okoume, this brand introduced bindings to both its neck and body, constraining its tendencies to “move”. The binding is white plastic and adds nice touch to the overall aesthetics.
The LU21-S is a laminated soprano ukulele, meaning that numerous small wooden pieces were glued together to construct it. Laminate ukes are currently the industry’s standard in this price range and can still hold their own when played off against some solid construction ukuleles.
Overall the LU21-S is well made and if properly maintained should serve you well for years, if not decades.
Tone Quality
The LU21-S stands out among the sea of mahogany-made ukes with a far more nuanced sound, again courtesy of Okoume woods. This particular tonewood fuels nearly the entire tone of uke, bringing with it the resonance of maple and the bright, punchy character of standard mahogany.
The rosewood used in the fingerboard adds further warmth in the tone, bringing this uke a boost to its low-end frequencies. Even though the overall sound is decently clear, the reduced scale length tends to muddy it up when certain frets are played.
Chord play, however, is amazing on this ukulele, largely thanks to high-quality hardware that partly corrects the intonation issues caused by the shorter scale length.
All things considered, Lanikai’s LU21-S has a superb tone for an entry-level soprano ukulele. Compared to similarly priced models, its sound is detailed and rounded, although can feel somewhat feeble at times due to the laminated construction.
Playability
At first glance, the Lanikai LU21-S doesn’t have any special characteristics that would seemingly make a difference to its playability and performance. It’s a standard 12-fret soprano ukulele with just a slightly shorter scale length, a typical C-shaped neck profile, and a petite portable body, nothing really out of the ordinary.
However, it’s the nuances in the hardware that Lanikai decided to implement in this ukulele that give the instrument an edge over other low-cost sopranos. With NuBone material in both nut and saddle, well-made pearloid tuners, and solid Aquila Soprano strings, it plays well right out of the gate.
Lanikai have even made a number of playability improvements when compared to some of its earlier LU series models. Most notably, they have widened the nut to 37.4mm for a more comfortable playing experience, as well as adding in previously non-existent fret markers along the side of the neck. A small, yet welcomed feature.
One of the main reasons why we’ve rated Lanikai LU21-S so high in this field is that it doesn’t require much maintenance to retain its optimal playability level, nor does it require an elaborate setup to enable first-time players to fret and play chords like pros.
Overall Value
We’ve already mentioned how cost effective this uke is, but it’s affordable even by low-tier ukulele standards. This was our focal point while creating this review since it’s primarily a beginner’s uke.
The all-Okoume build is a huge plus considering that most low-end ukes are made of mahogany. Moreover, Okoume gives it a good punch and a different tone, allowing players to stand out sound wise.
As noted, the laminate construction shouldn’t be treated as too big of a minus, but it certainly affects the LU21-S performance across the board. The sustain, presence, and overall volume wouldn’t have suffered as much if this was a solid wood uke, but the price would’ve been much higher in that case.
Durability-wise, it’s not the sturdiest uke in the market, but it’s far from being the flimsiest one. Treat it with care and regularly clean it, and it should serve you well for quite some time.
Why You Should Buy the Lanikai LU21-S Ukulele
The LU21-S is a perfect starter soprano ukulele, but it’s also a decent backup for live-gigging musicians who misplace or pop the strings on their main instruments.
Even as an intermediate ukulele player, there’s enough here to keep interested.
The main benefit it offers new players is its playability. Lanikai have made some great improvements to their LU series ukuleles such as widening the neck, using NuBone for the nut and saddle, and adding strap buttons. The wider neck makes for a more comfortable playing experience and the the NuBone does wonders to improve the intonation.
The choice of Okoume also means that the LU21-S will be slightly lighter than its mahogany competitors, but this is almost negligible for most people.
Why You Might Avoid the Lanikai LU21-S Ukulele
Probably the biggest reason you’d want to avoid the LU21-S is if you dislike the tone produced by the Okoume tonewood. Mahogany ukuleles tend to have a more mellow sonic profile meaning the LU21-S can sound a little brighter by comparison.
That being said, Okoume is chosen due to its similarities to mahogany, so there shouldn’t be a drastic difference.
What Other Ukuleles Might You Consider?
As far as the entry-level ukulele market is concerned, Lanikai has traditionally competed with Kala and Ohana. The Kala KA-S can probably be considered the benchmark ukulele for beginners and rightly so. It’s a solid, well rounded uke built by a company renowned for its quality. You can check out our Kala KA-S review here.
Ohana is another great brand that produces fantastic ukes at this price point and above. Beginners would be wise to also check out the Ohana SK20 as an alternative to the Lanikai.
Conclusion
Overall, Lanikai LU21-S is an amazing ukulele for beginners, a decent backup soprano uke, and a good choice for players who actively dislike the current norm in the low-end uke space. That is all-mahogany, cheaply-made instruments.
It falls short of magical as its laminate construction bars it from unlocking its true potential. Even so, it casts a tall shadow over similarly priced sopranos with good durability and sound while being available at a highly approachable price.
For beginners, you really can’t go past a Lanikai ukulele for your first instrument and the LU series is perfect to suit your needs.
Jay Searle
Website Founder & WriterJay is a self-professed music nerd and ukulele lover. When not working on the website you’ll find him strumming along to his favorite tunes, spending time with his family, or learning to play the piano.
