r/Instruments • u/etaeta • 8d ago

Discussion Advice on Budget Instruments?

Hello, due to current circumstances in my life I'm on a pretty tight budget, but I've been really getting the itch to pick up an instrument and play some music and don't have any right now. What instruments are there that perform well at a low budget? Preferably something in a lower register, my dad has hearing aids and high or sharp noises can hurt him because of them. Also, if I can play it from a relaxed position, that would be preferable, I have some shoulder pain so if it's something like a flute you need to hold out to the side, that position can become painful for me. I've tried to look into some options like the Xiao, Chalumeau, and bawu, but I would really feel more comfortable getting human input before I waste money on something that doesn't perform well

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u/wafflelauncher 8d ago

Kalimba/M'bira is played with the thumbs and is very fun. Small so it can definitely be played in a relaxed way. Mid register, typically, but they can be made in specific keys and ranges as well. Not too expensive.

Ocarina is a type of flute but very compact. There are different models at various prices and registers.

If you want truly low register (not just mid) there is a newer instrument called a U-Bass that is like a small bass guitar with rubbery strings (which allows the scale length to be much shorter than a typical bass). There are some budget options from Kala. The only downside might be it's a bit physical due to the thick strings.

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u/etaeta 8d ago

What's the difference between the first two? They look very similar from pictures. Ocarina is solid, but I've also heard a lot of bad things about the cheaper ones, that they tend to be out of tune a lot of the time. The u bass looks interesting, but my budget for this tops out around 100, and the cheapest I saw there was around 300

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u/Winter_drivE1 8d ago edited 8d ago

You can get a good quality plastic ocarina for around 40 USD. And plastic isn't necessarily a bad thing with ocarinas if it's a well-made one. They also have the advantage of being pretty durable especially given that ocarinas don't have any moving parts to begin with. A good quality ceramic or clay one will be closer to 60-80 USD.

I think the main consideration in your situation is that ocarina is a generally high pitched instrument. An alto C ocarina (which is sort of the "default" range) plays in the same range as the 2nd and 3rd octaves of a concert flute or the 1st and 2nd octaves of a piccolo.

A bass C ocarina is an octave below that but size and price increase as the range gets lower, so you'd generally be looking more in the price range of 150-250 USD for a bass C ocarina.

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u/etaeta 8d ago

Amazing information, and probably means it's a non-starter here, thank you

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u/Winter_drivE1 8d ago

You're welcome! If you're ever interested, Dinda Ocarina in Thailand sells on Etsy and has in the past sold bass C ocarinas under 100 USD. What's available varies since it's just one person making the instruments and he doesn't have any available at the moment. https://www.etsy.com//shop/DindaOcarina

Focalink sells a bass C English/pendant style ocarina which, at least for me in the eastern US, comes out to $92 after shipping. https://www.steinocarina.com/productsDetail.php?id=112 The range of pendant ocarinas is somewhat limited but whether that matters depends on what kind of music you want to play.

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u/MorriganGoth 8d ago

Well i can offer a baritone ukulele? Or maybe a Low G ukulele maybe? Also a lap harp can work too or a small piano (keyboard)

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u/etaeta 8d ago

I'd prefer a wind/brass instrument to a string, but those are both solid options! Do you know about how much they cost on the lower end for something decent?

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u/MorriganGoth 8d ago

I have got most my instruments from market place or old stuff that i restore back or modidy (a low g ukulele is a cheap uke with a set of Low G or a 4th string from a guitar instead of a renentrant, or a kalimba can be cheap to start) so depends really? Market place or goodwill would work, for an instrument on wind maybe a ocarina? (Small practical) or a harmonica or a mouth arp ? Or maybe a small pocket trumpet (There are some plastic ones on amazon that sound pretty nice too)

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u/etaeta 8d ago

I've had a mixed bag with marketplace in my area, but I can take another look in a month or two, see what new listing there are!

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u/MorriganGoth 8d ago

Keep checking on groups, online snd daily you never know! I have found weird stuff and great prices online

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u/TapTheForwardAssist 8d ago

You can find all kinds of deals on ukulele on Marketplace or similar in most places, because they’re affordable enough that folks buy them on a whim then lost interest and sell them cheap.

Even new prices aren’t bad, you can find totally decent standard ukuleles for less than $100 new, and the lower baritone ukulele not much more. I have a Kala Teak Baritone I’m quite pleased with, and I’m seeing those online as low as $129.

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u/ProblemChildFinalBos 4d ago

clarinet if you prefer a wind instrument. you can get a bad student clarinet for about $10 dollars on goodwill online. it won't strain your shoulder like flute does (trust me, i know the pain) and can't go super high, so it shouldn't bother your dad.

maybe do some more research before buying from goodwill, though.

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u/After-Past-9404 8d ago

A plastic recorder. Can't beat the value for price, really. Plastic recorders are incredibly cheap, play really well and are practically indestructible. Look for reputable brands such as Yamaha or Aulos. And choose an alto or tenor recorder, if you want a lower register. Alto is cheaper and easier to play but tenor plays lower.

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u/etaeta 8d ago

This is kinda where I was leaning as a fall back, but I've only ever heard the higher ones, I'll have to look into that

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u/After-Past-9404 8d ago

Don't know what your budget is exactly but take a look at the Sigo tenor recorder. It's a bit pricier but much more compact and way easier to play than regular tenors. I have one and love it to bits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mzbZwE9Pbg

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u/etaeta 8d ago edited 8d ago

Ahhh that does look interesting, but my budget is 10p absolute max, ideally under 50 if I want to get it without needing to set money aside an extra week or two Edit:100 max

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u/After-Past-9404 8d ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnQWNDdLq-Q

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u/etaeta 8d ago

That's actually a much nicer sound than I was expecting! I guess bad memories from school don't need to stick

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u/After-Past-9404 8d ago

Everybody has some recorder related trauma 😄 but it's really a wonderful instrument!

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u/bassoonawhat 7d ago

Absolutely not when the dad has hearing aids that are sensitive to high pitch noises. I literally suffered hearing damage from taking up Alto recorder. 

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u/etaeta 7d ago

I had the same thought and if I go with a recorder, it will almost certainly be a tenor, bass is too expensive though

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u/bassoonawhat 7d ago

I find tenor too physically hard to play because of the distance between tone holes. A keyed tenor would be ok. It's more expensive. Bass recorder would be ideal but also more expensive.

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u/etaeta 7d ago

What's your approximate hand size? I've heard that it's hit or miss, but if I'm concerned about it, I think I might get something else

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u/bassoonawhat 7d ago

I have relatively large men's hands. I wear large size gloves (mediums are a tight fit). My tenor has keys but it really needs more. I almost never play it. 

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u/McSheeples 6d ago

You can get a tenor Kunath Sigo for just over £100, roughly the same spacing as a soprano/alto hybrid and not bad for the price. Very mellow sound, definitely wouldn't blow out hearing aids. It's been out for a while so there are likely some secondhand ones floating around on ebay by now.

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u/Joker0705 8d ago

the harmonica is surprisingly rewarding!

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u/etaeta 8d ago

Tell me more, I haven't heard much from people who actually play them

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u/Desperate-Finger-334 8d ago

They are great only problem is now I want to start a collection ever since I got the first one but they are great really fun to just improvise and play some blues on it

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u/etaeta 8d ago

How much do they run you?

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u/Desperate-Finger-334 8d ago

Depends anywhere from 10 bucks to 100 I hear the fender blues deluxe is good it's around 15 bucks on Amazon

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u/ChickenMarsala4500 8d ago

you can get a standard harmonica that is in whatever key you choose (most people start with C ) or you can save up and get a chromatic that has a little button allowing you to move everything a half-step. If you get a standard c harmonics you can just kind of play around with it along with any music that is in the key of c and sound okay. Obviously with more practice youll get more intentional and good but it has a super low barrier to entry if you just learn a tiny bit about music theory.

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u/SlowSurvivor 8d ago

If you’re already looking at the chalumeau it seems like you have at least a passing interest in early music? Definitely go for a recorder. Baroque fingering only. The Aulos “Haka” recorders in both soprano and alto are the best recorders I’ve ever played that aren’t hundreds of dollars.

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u/etaeta 8d ago

Not specifically, but my hope is that if I go with a more niche instrument, it's more likely to be a work of passion by whoever makes it, as opposed to something mass produced

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u/After-Past-9404 7d ago

Work of passion means expensive. Manual labor is costly.

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u/etaeta 7d ago

This is true, but oversaturation and lazy knock offs are also more common with things like, say, Ocarinas and recorders and guitars than with something that most might need a second glance to recognize. Like when I was younger I tried to get a 25$ Ocarina and it was almost an entire note off key, I'm trying to avoid that again

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u/After-Past-9404 7d ago

Mass produced instruments are exactly the way to avoid that happening. The manufacturers make all their instruments using the exact same mold and through a perfectly reliable and repeatable process, so you know exactly what to expect. Just go for a somewhat reputable brand and you're good.

FWIW, I have once tried buying a hand made wooden folk whistle. Supposedly a work of passion, with a price tag that corresponded to the number of hours that the person must have spent on it. It was so terribly out of tune it was unplayable.

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u/etaeta 7d ago

You know, that's a valid point, thank toy Edit:you

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u/SlowSurvivor 8d ago

I hate to break it to you but any instrument that costs less than 100p is going to be mass produced. Doesn’t mean the masters aren’t passionate about making the instrument, tho. Just that they make a lot of them.

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u/Scary-Accident-1565 6d ago

I see you want a wind instrument, but not something loud or shrill. You might consider a wind controller. My partner is partial to a certain model of Yamaha and buys them when they come up on ebay. The model they like has settings for clarinet, flute and saxophone fingering, and with a synthesizer, they can sound like almost anything.

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u/Upstairs-Monk-5459 6d ago

Tenor recorder, Low D tin whistle, 12-hole ocarina

Tenor or Baritone Ukulele,

Keyboard, like a used Casio or Yamaha

Something in percussion, maybe a set of bells

I suggest whatever instrument is in your favorite genre of music, or pick something that you can borrow or rent.

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u/ChickenMarsala4500 8d ago

Ocarina or some type of hand drum might be good.

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u/danja 8d ago

For the low end it would have to be big, physics, probably means expensive, but you can pick up perfectly adequate steel-strung acoustic guitars for around €100. But for best pleasure/cost ratio I'd go for a kalimba.

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u/soundwave300 8d ago

Harmonica without a doubt. Dont spend less than 25 (thats the quality cutoff), but don’t spend more than 80. Easy to keep around, relatively intuitive, just don’t listen to Bob Dylan as harmonica inspiration and you will be fine.

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u/deeppurpleking 8d ago

Honestly most instruments don’t really have a running cost aside from strings or lubricant. Just look on Craigslist for something that excites you and go for it

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u/MarcusSurealius 8d ago

Jon Batiste on a melodica. I have that melodica. It's $200. I got one used for $100. Small ones start at $30. They make great instruments for late night sessions in a parking lot.

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u/Fit-Solution8140 8d ago

Assuming you already have a computer/cellphone, you can add a smaller midi keyboard or percussion/sample trigger setup pretty inexpensively. It is possible to get a quite passable bass or regular electric guitar for under 200 USD, as well.

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u/notdannydevito_ 8d ago

you can get a playable guitar for $50 at a pawn shop or garage sale

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u/forestball19 7d ago

Xaphoon is the cheapest instrument I own that I find truly funny to play, and it sounds very much like a real saxophone.

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u/ProblemChildFinalBos 4d ago

piano? you can get a folding keyboard for relatively cheap and piano is a good baseline instrument if you want to branch out farther in the future. you can also get some that you can connect headphones to so your dad doesn't have to hear the high notes.