Binding: Electronics
Brand: Washburn
EAN: 0801128501581
Feature: Hawaiian Koa body and top
Label: Washburn
Manufacturer: Washburn
Model: OU5
Publisher: Washburn
Studio: Washburn

• Hawaiian Koa body and top
• Rosewood fingerboard and bridge
• Bound top, back and fingerboard
• Chrome tuners
• Abalone binding and rosette on top

The OU5 Ukelele features Hawaiian Koa top, Hawaiian Koa back and sides, Abalone top inlay, Rosewood fingerboard and bridge, and Grover tuners. Great instrument overall!

Customer Rating:
Summary: Awesome Ukulele
Comment: One night I'm watching Joe Versus the Volcano... and Joe is afloat on his steamer trunks playing the Cowboy Song on his ukulele... and it hits me: I want to learn to play the ukulele just so I can play that song! I've played guitar casually for many years, but I had no clue about the guitar's little cousin. I knew that I wanted something better than a toy ukulele, but also knew I had no plans to play this professionally. After looking around online, I decided to order the OU-5 Oscar Schmidt by Washburn from Amazon.

Summary: I could not be happier. This is a wonderful instrument for both the first time user and the semi-serious amateur. The ukulele is beautiful. The woodwork is gorgeous. Everyone who has seen it says "wow". It sounds just like a ukulele should. And it is a blast to play!

The worst thing about this ukulele is the product description page. The description provided by Amazon is terrible. At the time of this writing, there is no photo of the product (I bought it on faith based on reviews of a couple others here). The product description is a single, incomplete sentence and uses the word "founf"... and the description is so bad, it's not at all obvious that you're getting an OU-5 (look in the item details under model number), but that is what you get. But please, don't be fooled by what may be the worst page on Amazon's otherwise wonderful site... this is a great product.

One user complained about the strings not holding their tune, and I've seen at least one complaint about the tuners. Well, the ukulele comes with nylon strings, and there is a fair amount of stretching before it will stay in tune. My first couple of attempts were frustrating... the top string would be badly out of tune by the time I had tuned down to the bottom string. It took a couple of days of constant tuning before the strings were properly stretched. There's probably some trick to pre-stretching nylon strings, but I just kept at it and eventually prevailed. Now it stays in tune comparable to my guitar. The chrome tuners appear to be of good quality. They are solid and have a good feel.

The Koa wood is stunning, and has a wonderful finish, especially for an instrument in this price range. The detail in the inlay really makes this uke visually impressive.

I grabbed a chord chart off the internet to learn chords and fingering... there are plenty out there. I decided to learn to play songs from movies featuring the ukulele. A quick search and I found the chords (all two of them) for Joe's Cowboy Song... awesome! It sounds great! Tonight You Belong to Me by Steve Martin was next, followed by Forgetful Lucy featuring Adam Sandler on the uke. I suggest looking for ukulele performances on YouTube for inspiration. You haven't really, truly played a string instrument until you've played Rawhide on the ukulele.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Extremely misleading
Comment: Just a warning. If you think you are going to get a Washburn ukulele from Amazon, you will not. As in my case, you will recieve an OSCAR SCHMIDT ukulele by Washburn. a nice ukulele but you could get it for only $99. I got very little empathy when I voiced the issue with Amazon directly. Maybe I should have caught on when there was no picture available for this item.

MW

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Simply Amazing
Comment: I can hardly be considered a musician and playing the ukulele is only a pastime involving some enjoyable minutes of strumming through a few cords, but I must say a few words about the Washburn (Oscar Schmidt) OU-5 ukulele I just bought from Amazon.com.

My previous ukulele was a nice low end soprano box that served me well for several years. It looked OK, it stayed in tune and sounded fine to me. However, I wanted something a bit better and the concert sized OU-5 caught my eye. I researched the heck out of ukuleles in the same price range and decided the Washburn OU-5 was the best.

When the ukulele arrived I opened the box and was absolutely amazed. The uke was a beautiful thing--a work of art. Its highly lacquered finish and distinctive Koa wood construction was stunning. I was looking at a true musical instrument. At that moment I knew my old ukulele was a piece of junk--a toy. I suddenly hated it.

The OU-5 sounds ten times better than my previous ukulele and the somewhat larger size makes it easier for me to "play" and move about the fret board. The mellow and resonant tones that come from the OU-5 are stunning. I know my judgment about that is not based on a lot of musical know-how, but the contrast with my old uke was certainly remarkable. I can recommend this Washburn ukulele to anyone who appreciates fine workmanship, a great sound and wants an fine instrument at a bargain price.

Oh, one other thing--the picture of the Washburn OU-5 ukulele in the Amazon.com description is not a picture of the OU-5 with the Koa wood top. The illustration is probably (a mistake) the Washburn OU-13 with a spruce top. Don't be put off by this apparent error. The product is indeed a Koa wood OU-5.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Husband LOVES it!
Comment: I bought my husband this uke for Christmas,2006, and he absolutely LOVES it! The abalone inlay around the edge is very attractive. He did have to keep retuning it every so often, as the strings stretched, but now it's just fine. He just has to "tweek it" once in a while.

I had looked at a simalar uke at our local guitar center, but they wanted $149 and that was without the abalone inlay. My husband and I both agree it was a "super buy'!

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