## Regular readers will be aware of the huge ukulele buzz caused by the Kala Pan Pacific Soprano recently, introduced for their 20th Anniversary. Well it wasn't just that soprano that they created for the birthday. This is the new 20th Anniversary Koa Baritone. As I say, alongside the Pan Pacifics, Kala also did a limited run of a bunch of other 20th Anniversary ukuleles in concert through to baritone scale. There are a couple of spruce tops and a concert, tenor and baritone with solid Hawaiian Koa tops. I've been able to get my hands on the baritone! **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** What we have here is a premium looking special edition ukulele with quite a bit to get through on the appointments. It's an all solid wood double bout baritone with solid Hawaiian Koa on the top and solid African Mahogany (technically Khaya) on the back and sides.  That's a pairing I have no issue with and the grain on this is very pretty in both sets of woods. OK, the African mahogany is a bit more simple, but the grain on the koa top is a delight. It's a very classy look all round I think. The bridge is a tie bar with inlaid wooden trim and is very tidy. This is made of ebony and holds a straight topped bone saddle. Spacing here comes in at about 39mm. Being an anniversary model you can expect a bit of bling. Firstly we have a rosewood bevelled comfort edge on the lower bout for right arm comfort. Very nice. Around the top and back and down the back seam are rosewood bindings with very thin strips of maple edging on the back appointments. The top is trimmed with maple edged abalone. I fully expect people to assume I will hate this, but it is the very thick strips of pale and shiny abalone I really dislike. This, on the other hand, blends into the top colour nicely and adds to the classy look. You also get more of that around the sound hole. I like it. The body is then glossed which is very well done and makes the grain of the woods pop and shine. All very nice indeed. Inside is extremely tidy with notched linings, thin back braces and an X braced top. I can't see any mess and that top wood is nice and thin too. The neck is made from more African mahogany with only a single joint I can see at the heel. The heel incidentally is capped in ebony with a thin maple strip underneath. Thankfully the neck is also finished in satin so great in the hands. At the nut, the back profile is not overly rounded and has a nut width of 37mm with 30mm D to E. I can work with that. The fingerboard is more ebony in fairly even colour and has rosewood edge bindings. There is more abalone here trimming the outer edges of the board. Whilst it too doesn't glare out at you I personally think it's not necessary and would look nicer left clean. That's my only gripe with the neck though as the frets (19, 14 to body) are dressed extremely well. Pearl dots face out at the 5th, 7th, 10th, double 12th and 15th and they are paired down the side. Beyond the bone nut is the regular Kala crown headstock faced in glossy ebony with more abalone trim which works better here. We have a rather beautiful inlay in the face of the California Poppy using stained wood for the stems and leaves, mother of pearl for some accents and ground stone powder for the petals. I love this a lot. Above that is the Kala logo in pearl. Tuners are not a let down either as they have gone with Grover branded open gears in gold which add to the classy appointments. Excellent quality. Completing things are a set of D'Addario EJ99B strings with a single wound string on the 4th. You also get a red lined branded gig bag with a 20th Anniversary logo on the pocket. And price wise these are in at £519 in the main UK dealers. I don't think that's too bad at all for one of the big guns with this level of appointments. As you can see I'm not finding much issue here. Even the abalone largely works for me (though less so on the neck which I would leave off). But the whole thing just oozes class and a sense of occasion. Certainly fits a 20th Anniversary to me. The setup on this was excellent out of the box too. It's not heavy at 910g and perfectly balanced and comfortable to hold. Being a baritone, the volume and sustain are both great. But back to those strings and a single wound on the fourth. I can often find with baritones with the more common wound D and G strings that it can give them an overly boomy and sometimes metallic tone. Kind of halfway to an acoustic guitar sense of sound. I suspect here that the single string is removing that tendency as I am not sensing either of those traits. Instead we have a really rounded, smooth tone which I am very much taken with. Strummed, despite the volume being decent still has something of a laid back sound to it, that is almost relaxing. The notes in any chord strum are extremely clear and nothing is jarring or out of place in the mix. There's an obvious shimmery richness from the koa but there is a rounded warmth that may be coming from the mahogany or also the string choice. Sure, like any baritone it sounds more full on than a uke in C tuning, but it's not 'too much', and quite soothing. I much prefer baritones played with some melody picking and it really shines here. Clear notes, shimmery bell like notes and good volume all over the neck. I could play it this way all day and find it extremely pleasant on the ears. Throw in a bit of a strum here and there to add some 'pep' to the piece and it's just a joy. Does it sound like I am waxing too lyrical here? Well maybe, but I will stick my neck out and state that I think this is one of the nicest, balanced sounding baritones I have played for some time (and there are Kamaka and Kanile'a ukes in that mix). I think it's absolutely lovely. I'm not sure how available these will be going forward, and it's a shame it's a limited run - I think they should make these as a standard as I have totally fallen for it. And at £519 I will say that this is punching WELL above that price point. Extremely good work here Kala and very highly recommended! https://kalabrand.com/ ** UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Kala KA-20TH-KOA-B Scale: Baritone Body: Solid Hawaiian Koa top, solid African mahogany back and sides Bridge: Ebony, tie bar Saddle: Bone Spacing at saddle: 39mm Finish: Gloss Neck: African mahogany Fingerboard: Ebony Frets: 19,14 to body Nut: Bone Nut width: 37mm, 30mm D to E Tuners: Grover gears Strings: D'Addario EJ99B Extras: Anniversary gig bag Weight: 910g Country of origin: China Price: £519 **UKULELE PROS** Great build and finish Nice decor and appointments Great volume and sustain Rich yet warm shimmery tone Almost relaxing laid back sound whilst not being quiet Great tuners Punches WELL above asking price **UKULELE CONS** Not much, would lose the neck decoration **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 9.5 out of 10 Fit and finish - 9 out of 10 Sound - 9.5 out of 10 Value for money - 9.5 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9.4 out of 10** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## Not so long ago I took a look at my first ukulele from the new brand TOM. Well they got back in touch and asked me to look at one of their more affordable models. This is the TOM AM3-C Concert. That first one I looked at was the TUT-680M - a classy looking tenor that did rather well on the review bench. This one is much more affordable and simple and comes in this concert flavour and also, I believe, a tenor, a soprano and a sopranino. **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** This model line are made from solid mahogany on the top and laminate mahogany for the back and sides. It's a simplistic ukulele but with a clean look. No, it's not the most striking mahogany and i'd rather it was a darker colour, but the double bout shape is modern and curvy with an overly rounded lower bout which I like. It's put together well too. The bridge is a through body design which means a bit more of a pain on re-stringing but good anchoring for the strings. This is pretty tidy too. The material is not specified on listings I have seen (and oddly, this model doesn't appear on the TOM website) but it's rosewood looking. Could be stained that way I suppose. That holds what they say is a bone saddle (though to me looks like NuBone) that is not compensated and gives you a string spacing of 43mm. Decoration is minimal so no edge bindings, but you do get what looks like a maple inlaid sound hole ring trimmed in darker wood which is nicely done. The body is finished in a satin which is very even and tidy with no issues I can find. Inside is tidy with thin braces notched linings and not a great deal of mess. The top wood is also very thin which isn't always the case with low priced solid top ukes. The neck is specified as mahogany and here we have a typically far-eastern profile and width at the nut end. This is far too rounded on the back for me and the width is also skinny at 35mm with 27mm spacing. No and no for me! The fingerboard is also not specified but again is rosewood-ish in appearance. It's very tidy and in great condition on this one. It's also edge bound down the sided and the fret dressing is smooth meaning nothing you can feel. In fact, it has something close to rolled fingerboard edges which is really surprising when you see the price. It's a shame the nut width and profile are not my thing because the rest of it is great. You get 18 fretsjoined at the 14th. Pearly position dots face out at the 5th, 7th, 10th and 12th and they are paired with side dots which give you an extra one at the 15th. Beyond the nut (again, listed as bone but looks and feels like NuBone) is a simple headstock with a nice wavy top to it. The TOM branding is inlaid in something pearly on the top face. A word about that. TOM have a nice almost flower petal design for their brand but neither this or the last one I looked at use it on the headstock. In fact this is totally different to the other TOM uke I looked at on that score which seems confusing. Think they need consistency to build brand awareness. The tuners are not for me either as they are sealed chrome gears which I always hate to see on a ukulele. These also have slightly different tensions and I suspect are not the best, but they hold as gears usually do. Interestingly these DO use the TOM flower logo on the back covers! Finishing it off are a set of fitted strings that look and feel to me like D'Addario Titaniums. You also get a couple of strap buttons fitted, a branded gig bag of decent quality, a cloth, spare strings, a strap with locking ends (nice!), some picks, and intro guide and a capo. The capo is an odd one because it's guitar sized not uke so far too big! It's the usual 'kitchen sink' offering for a very low price - because these can be bought on Amazon for about $70 or so. That's very good value for a solid topper. So nothing hugely out of whack do far. The core build and finish is clean and decent. The neck is very tidy although I couldn't live with the profile and nut combination. And guitar style tuners are a no-no for me on a ukulele, but it's not a lot of money and clearly aimed at beginners. I've had my hands on much worse. It's not heavy at 515g and balances very well in the hands. The core setup on this example is also decent with 2.5mm at the 12th and no adjustments i'd make to the nut either. A word on those strings though. Titaniums to me always feel hard and taught, but tuned to pitch these are loose and flabby. I don't have the means to check the string gauges, but I wonder if these are for a different scale uke. They don't feel right to me at all. Added to that I am also sensing a string buzz when played in certain positions on the first string. The action is not too low so I wonder if the string tension is creating that or possibly one or two high frets. Either way that's a disappointment. Oh well, lets crack on and try to ignore the buzz... The volume is decent on this one with a good clear punch when played. Sustain is more average, but it's not lousy so not bad so far. It's doing the basics ok. The first thing that struck me here, particularly considering it's a mahogany ukulele is just how bright and a bit reedy it sounds. It's far to thin sounding for my tastes and even for those who like a bright tone I think they may find it a bit too one dimensional.  Strummed it is clear enough though and creates a pleasant jangle, but you wouldn't call the tone complex or characterful. This does not sound like a mahogany uke. Fingerpicked it sounds too strident to my ears and not that pleasant. Again though, it's clear enough (if you ignore the slight buzz and dead spots, but again I find the tone of the notes too thin for me. I get that this is a smaller scale concert, but I still don't want a ukulele to sound shrill and that is what I am getting here. Maybe a string change could warm this up (and heck, it NEEDS a string change regardless).. but... A bit of a shame this one as the core build of much of it is decent. But that string issue is bad news. I get this may be a one off, but when you bear in mind these come from Amazon, you will NOT be having it go through the hands of a dealer first. Yes, a string change is easy, but not so much if you are a beginner. Cheap though, but then there's a lot out there that is cheap. No cigar from me. https://tomukulele.com/ [TOM AM3-C on Amazon USA ](https://amzn.to/3WGc1NW) [ ](https://amzn.to/3WGc1NW) [ ](https://amzn.to/3WGc1NW) **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: TOM AM3-C Scale: Concert Body: Solid mahogany top, laminate hog back and sides Bridge: Unspecified (rosewood?) through bridge Saddle: Bone (more likely NuBone), uncompensated Spacing at saddle: 43mm Finish: Satin Neck: Mahogany Fingerboard: Unspecified (rosewood?) Frets: 18, 14 to body Nut: Bone (more likely NuBone) Nut width: 35mm, 27mm spacing Tuners: Sealed chrome gears Strings: D'Addario Titanium? Extras: Bag, strap buttons, capo, cloth, strap, spare strings, picks, starter book Weight: 515g Country of origin: China Price: Circa $70 **UKULELE PROS** Modern shape and clean build Nicely finished Well dressed frets and fingerboard Decent volume Good value **UKULELE CONS** Something not right with string gauge Skinny neck Guitar style tuners not great quality Overly bright sound for mahogany Buzzing! Guitar capo??? **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 8 out of 10 Fit and finish - 7 out of 10 Sound - 7 out of 10 Value for money - 9 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 7.8 out of 10 ** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW ** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## Sensing something of a ukulele theme for rope inlays lately, say hello to the Cordoba 25T Tenor Ukulele. I've had a few Cordoba ukuleles on this review site over the years, and they have all been largely competent, but just haven't quite lit that flame with me to really fall in love with one. They are a US based company (since bought by Yamaha) originally most well known for Spanish guitars but have been making ukuleles for many years now too. Their largely numerical model numbering system see this fall one step below their top line (the 35), and just above the 24 line I reviewed back in 2024. Lets dive in. **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** The 25 T is a regular shaped double bout tenor with a solid top and laminate back and sides. In this case, we have solid acacia on the top and laminate acacia elsewhere. Fair play to Cordoba for not calling this 'acacia koa' or 'european koa' or other such nonsense. Yes, it's the same tree, but... well.. you know.... And it's attractive acacia too. No, it's not flamed or curly, but it has enough attractive stripe to make it interesting to look at with the pairs of pieces nicely bookmatched, the back being very nice with the grain on a V angle. I do like the warm chocolate colour. The bridge material is not specified (though I did see one site listing it as 'composite' and another as 'Pau Ferro'....) but it looks like a rosewood 'type' colouring whatever it is. It's a tie bar and largely tidy in the finish. That is trimmed with some rope inlay to create a herringbone look in maple and ebony. More on that elsewhere! That holds a bone compensated top saddle and a string spacing of 43mm. What is striking with the 25T is the decor so we get very nicely done rope binding around the top and a chevron pattern around the soundhole. It seems i've been talking a lot about rope this year and following the Pan Pacific from Kala last week, I will repeat the same view. I love the look! OK, it's a bit 'heavy' on the design, but I like how contrasty the ebony and maple is here. The body is then finished in a satin which is very even all over. Inside is very tidy with notched linings and tidy braces, the top being vertically braced. The bridge is screwed down if such things bother you (they don't bother me!). The soundhole edge also shows this is a thin set of top woods. I believe the neck is made from mahogany and is three pieces, the heel joint being very obvious and the headstock joint well hidden. It's satin too and tapers to a tenor nut width much too skinny for me at 35mm, 27mm G to A. The back profile isn't overly rounded which helps though, but it could be flatter for my tastes. That is topped with an unspecified fingerboard wood which has some interesting grain to it and nice end shaping. Saying that though, it could do with a bit of oil as it looks dry. The sides are bound in black hiding the ends of the 18 frets with a 14th body joint. They are dressed reasonably well but have on or two slightly sharp frets at the upper register end. Position dots face out in pearl at the 5th, 7th, 10th and 12th and these are repeated with small side dots. Beyond the bone nut is the usual Cordoba headstock which is attractive and 'not quite a crown'. The Cordoba logo is a silver screen print on the facing of more attractive acacia. The tuners are unbranded gears with small black buttons but the mechanisms look decent and they work smoothly. Also on the back of the neck is a silver screen print of the graphical part of the Cordoba logo which represents the geometric pattern in the arches of the Mosque Cathedral in Cordoba, Spain. Finishing things are a set of Aquila strings and that's your lot... nothing else. The lack of a gig bag these days is a disappointment to be honest compared to many others that give you something. And the street price of these seems to vary but they are most commonly seen at £235. (There is also an electro version which is a bit more). That's quite a bit of money when you can get solid toppers (and, in fact some all solids) from the likes of Uma, Enya, Kala, Snail, Kai and Flight for quite a bit less. Heck you can get a Carabao Lite for this sort of money. Add in the lack of gig bag and i'd recommend you shopping around on this one! It needs to be under £200.. Still... price aside, this is a well built and nicely finished ukulele with a lot of sparkle to the looks. It feels a bit hefty at 630g, but balances ok. Sadly out of the box this needs setup work not least on the upper frets, but the action at the 12th is a bit over 3mm. Positives again though with the basics because the volume on this is terrific and the sustain is very nice too. That makes for an expressive instrument that is easier to get some playing frills out of. Acacia, as with koa is a very rich sounding tone wood, and there's certainly that character here. Strummed it has a very rhythmical jangly tone which is pleasant if a little too bright for my own tastes. Still, the notes are crisp and clear with no muddiness and it's a bouncy sound. Fingerpicking is also very zingy and clear with the sustain giving a bit more character to it. I'd personally like a bit more woody warmth here, but this is acacia of course, not mahogany. Certainly i'd be experimenting with strings, but I am really not being harsh here - it's a nice sounding clear instrument regardless. Does it change my perception of Cordoba ukuleles? Well, it's probably the nicest of theirs I have played, but there is so much choice out there, and much for less money that it's still hard for me to call this a 'must-have' ukulele. But that doesn't make it a mistake purchase either, i'd just make sure you shop around on the cost. Overall - pretty decent. https://cordobaguitars.com/ **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Cordoba 25T Scale: Tenor Body: Solid acacia top, laminate acacia back and sides Bridge: Unspecified tie bar with rope decor Saddle: Bone, Compensated Spacing at saddle: 43mm Finish: Satin Neck: Mahogany Fingerboard: Unspecified Frets:18, 14 to body Nut: Bone Nut width: 35mm, 27mm G to A Tuners: Unspecified open gears Strings: Aquila Extras: None Weight: 630g Country of origin: China Price: Circa £235 **UKULELE PROS** Great looks Mainly good build and finish Great volume and sustain Very clear zingy tone **UKULELE CONS** Skinny nut Bit scruffy on the fingerboard Bit too bright for me No bag Watch that price.. **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 9 out of 10 Fit and finish - 8 out of 10 Sound - 8.5 out of 10 Value for money - 7.5 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 8.3 out of 10** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## A ukulele I am utterly delighted to be able to bring you this week. This is the limited edition Kala 20th Anniversary Pan Pacific Deluxe Soprano Ukulele. Hubba Hubba. I first learned about these from a video Alex Beds made at the Southern Ukulele Store when he visited the Kala stand at NAMM this year and I was immediately spellbound at an instrument that ticks all my boxes. This is the 20th year for Kala and this is one of a few ukes that they decided to put out to celebrate that milestone. Now.. BIAS alert. I LOVE soprano ukes and even more so I adore the old vintage style models that hark back to the earliest days of the instrument. And with that in mind it's hard for me to avoid that bias in my review, but I will try! **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** So, as I say, after 20 years in ukes Mike Upton wanted to put some special models out to mark the big birthday. This soprano is actually one of a pair (specifically this is the KA-F8D-KOA-S), with the other being a very similar 'non-deluxe' version called the KA-F8-KOA-S. I have both with me, but my review scoring will be messed up if I try to do a double header. Fear not though, in my video review I do play both and explain the differences as I do in this write up. These are made from some solid Hawaiian koa sets Mike acquired over a decade ago and was waiting to find a use for (more on that later). And nice sets they are judging by the ones i've seen. This is an all solid koa ukulele in a very vintage figure of eight style with a pinched waist that immediately screams of the earliest luthier builds such as by Nunes and Dias that came about after the instrument arrived across the Atlantic. Now, wood is variable and I have to say that as pretty as this one is (with some lovely shimmery stripe in the faces) some are more shimmery than this! Blame that man Alex B who weeded out the best of the bunch for SUS!! Still, this is quite beautiful with a warm orange glow that I am very taken with and some great stripy shimmer in the top particularly. There are other ukes that have gone with this vintage styling and whilst it would probably be wrong to compare a brand like Kala to bespoke luthier builders, my mind does go back to the Ohana SK-28. I did like that model, but on looks of the body the Kala wins hands down for me and makes the Ohana look like a cheap imitation. For the record on the wood, I see that the standards are listed as 'premium Hawaiian koa' and the Deluxe as 'high figure master grade Hawaiian koa'. That suggests that you will get more interest on the Deluxe, but from images I have seen of the standards, they are hardly shabby either! The bridge is a very traditional and simple slot style which is in great shape. Saying that, a bit of chamfering of the edges would have been nice, but maybe I am applying modern finishing expectations to a vintage styled uke. This deluxe version gets ebony whereas the standard gets rosewood if such things matter to you. That holds a straight topped bone saddle and a string spacing of 39mm. Both versions of the soprano are decorated, but the deluxe version gets a bit of extra trim. What we have is a Nunes style rope inlay (in maple and rosewood) around the sound hole with an inner and outer ring on both instruments, but the deluxe gets extra rope binding around the top of the body and mahogany binding to the top and back. I like both, but have to say that the deluxe really does the 'heritage look' justice more fully. I love these bindings and inlay, and they are perfectly suited here. And despite Kala being a largely 'factory' brand this feels like anything but a factory finish.  It's a poly gloss rather than something truly vintage like a shellac, but it's been done open pore and not buffed to flat mirror. It gives it a vintage hand made feel which again I think really suits the uke. Inside is largely tidy (bit of glue seepage) and has notched linings and regular looking braces. It's also really lightly built with thin tonewoods, very much like the old Hawaiian models were. That bodes very well for projection and resonance. The neck is made of okoume with an obvious heel joint and an incredibly well hidden headstock one. That's a reliable wood I guess, and expecting a fully koa instrument may have been a request too much. The specs don't suggest a vintage style dovetail or violin style joint (and there is no button on the back piece) so I'm presuming a regular joint.  Whilst it tapers to a slightly skinnier nut that I usually want I always point out the combo between width and profile is also helpful to my hands. Thankfully, the back profile here is quite squashed and flattened so I find it comfortable. The width comes in at 35mm and spacing of about 28mm which is not the skinniest you will find anyway. It's glossed which, if honest, I would prefer satin. Very easy to tone that down with fine wire wool if you are so minded. The fingerboard on the deluxe is ebony (the standard gets rosewood) and is in great condition. Thankfully this finishes flush to the body top in true vintage style which is a great touch. Naturally you get 12 frets stopping at the join and they are dressed very nicely and the board is edge bound too. You get no outward markers (fine with me!) but you do get side dots at the 5th, 7th and 10th. It would have been nice I guess to get some rope down the fingerboard as a final deluxe flourish but we can't have everything. Beyond the bone nut is a crown headstock (of course) but not quite the usual Kala shape - here they have straightened the sides vintage style which works to great effect. That's also faced in figured koa. What also harks of those instruments of old is one of my favourite things about it - the logo! For these, Kala have developed a brand new logo for the Pan Pacifics which bears the brand name and an image of arm wrestlers in a kind of 'coat of arms' style. In what was news to me, Petaluma California, where the Kala HQ is, was once the arm (or wrist) wrestling capital of the world, and that's what it represents. It's quirky and fun whilst not 'copying' the older instrument logos directly gives a feel of them. I absolutely love it. The tuners are great too. These are Der Jung planetary pegs which are, in my experience, comparable with Gotoh UPTs. Had they NOT put rear facing pegs on this model I would have cried, so I am delighted to see these. I use these pegs on other ukes of my own, but have not seen them with these tiny buttons before. These work so well on that scaled down headstock so it doesn't feel busy or cramped. On the deluxe the metal hardware is gold, and on the standard it's silver. That's no biggie of a difference. Finishing it off are a set of Savarez fluoro strings and a branded gig bag made just for these bearing the same logo and coming with a lovely looking red interior. And the price... well this is where I thought there was some mistake. There is a lot to price up here, not least that wonderful koa, but the standard version is only £299. Even better the Deluxe only adds thirty quid, so £329 for this is just nuts in value in my view. Kala UK tell me that because Mike bought the wood sets long ago at a much cheaper cost he wanted to pass that on to customers and has done so. When I saw the first prototypes of these I honestly thought they would be pushing £500. I'm astounded. The snag? Well they are super limited and I strongly suspect by the time this goes live they may have all been sold. Simply put, there were only so many koa sets in the stash to use up and there is no more. So why the review? Well I think it's important to document things like this and give credit where credit is due to a brand. Of course, there is also the used market so I hope this review helps with that. But in a final '_you heard it here first_ ', Kala UK tell me that whilst there will not be more of these in koa, they are planning to put out an all solid mahogany version as a 'non limited' model. Great news! In recognition of my bias I have pointed out what I would change (satin the neck, rope binding down the fingerboard) but these are tiny points. I adore this look just fine and was impressed from the moment I first opened the bag. Of course, this is just looks and build though, so we have to hope it doesn't let me down on the play... Set up out of the box was excellent so no concerns on the front, but it did come from the brand direct. Saying that i've always found Kala setups to be decent regardless. It's really nice and light to hold at only 335g (the standard is the same) and sits in the hands very well. It's a diminutive little thing, but then the original instruments taken to Hawaii were exactly that! Basics first and I am quite particular about my sopranos. I want them to have punch and projection as they are, predominantly a percussive instrument. And this delivers in spades. Great volume and bark without much effort at all. Sustain isn't half bad either, something I always say is less pronounced on a soprano with the lack of top real estate. But I'm impressed here - theres a lasting ring as good as most others i've played. --- The Deluxe next to the Standard version Now for the tone. Well, of course koa is rich in tone across the range. I actually like my sopranos to be made of mahogany as that more one dimensional woody tone suits the percussive nature of the sound for me. Add to that the fact that sopranos can sound bright by their very nature and I like how mahogany pares that back a little. But it would be churlish to suggest koa has no place in the soprano scale when we have such wonders as the Kamaka sopranos which are true delights. Here there is terrific richness from that koa which gives it a shimmery warble as it harmonises with itself. Strummed it's got the rhythmical bounce that I want from a soprano, but with lots of character which is extremely pleasing (and far nicer sounding than you'd expect from the price!). Fingerpicking is accurate and just as pretty and throw in some strums to your melody and you are away. Again it's a rich interesting tone played this way and it projects with little effort. I said last year when things like the Kala Contours and the Revelator family arrived that I felt that Kala had turned a welcomed corner in getting themselves up to date and applauded them for it. Whilst this is clearly a vintage inspired ukulele it still marks Kala shaking things up for the future and it's great to see them creating yet another buzz in the uke world (i've seen little else talked about in some corners). Sure, I'm biased with vintage style sopranos but trust me - this is a great looking, well finished and great sounding soprano ukulele for a stupidly good price. What I particularly like is this is just _not_ a common or garden Kala template with some rope decor added to it just so they could tick a box of having a vintage model. It's clearly been developed from a clean sheet of paper which gives it a more unique feel. And I am so pleased they did that. If not immediately obvious, this is v _ery_ highly recommended if you come across one - and if you can't, keep your ear to the ground on the hog versions or the used market! A cracker that's put a huge smile on my face. Oh, and I must say - it's particularly refreshing to see a rush for a soprano. You know it makes sense! The TRUE uke scale!! https://kalabrand.com/ **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Kala Pan Pacific Deluxe (KA-F8D-KOA) Scale: Soprano Body: Solid Koa Bridge: Ebony Saddle: Bone Spacing at saddle: 39mm Finish: Open pore gloss Neck: Okoume Fingerboard: Ebony, flush to body Frets: 12 Nut: Bone Nut width: 35mm, 28mm G to A Tuners: Savarez Fluoro Extras: Gig bag Weight: 335g Country of origin: China Price: £329 **UKULELE PROS** Gorgeous looks Very light faithful build Great vintage feel finish Love that logo! Great tuners Terrific punchy volume Good sustain Rich shimmery tone **UKULELE CONS** Maybe a satin neck? **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 9.5 out of 10 Fit and finish - 9 out of 10 Sound - 9.5 out of 10 Value for money - 10 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9.5 out of 10** ** ** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## Back into soprano ukulele territory this week and an interesting uke material I have reviewed a few times before. This is the Laka VUS100B Bamboo Soprano. Laka are a brand that i've always had a bit of time for yet have confused me. I've reviewed a couple before that have done quite well and played some others I liked. At one time they also made the Joe Brown signature model which was really rather good. On the other hand for a brand part of the large JHS stable, they just don't seem to have that many around or find themselves in many of the specialist stores. Still, this one caught my eye as bamboo is another material I have reviewed a few times before and again it's always done quite well with me. **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** So this is all bamboo, and when I say all, I mean most parts of it bar the tuners and the strings. On the topic of 'solid bamboo', I talked about this at length in my review of the Kala KA-BMB bamboo uke. The very nature of bamboo means it is grown in thin strips and needs to be laminated laterally, so I am not sure the word 'solid works' in the normal sense of the word. And this one, built in a double bout shape annoys me in this regard. All the product listings I see refer to this being 'full bamboo construction' which leads one to think solid. But it's actually down to the other parts being bamboo and not the body construction. Looking inside the back and sides are clearly laminate with a different wood on the inside and the soundhole edge also suggests a laminate top. I do quite like the general look though and this seems well put together but why can't brands just be HONEST in their descriptions... I have nothing against laminate, but just make sure you tell us that is what it is. The bridge is also made of bamboo and despite being tiny it's not actually a slot bridge, but a tie bar. I'd much prefer the former, but that is hardly a big gripe. It's tidy too though screwed in place with ugly screw covers. That holds a black ABS saddle with a straight top. String spacing here is 43mm. With the Kala KA-BMB I said that I liked the contrast from the black logo, nut and tuners against the very pale uke and suggested it could take more of it such as a sound hole rosette to give it a bit more interest. With this Laka I think the black has gone too far the other way for my own taste. So together with a black sound hole ring which works nicely they also added black binding to the top and back which pushes it a bit much for me. It looks a bit too stark against the pale uke, but again, that's not a huge criticism. The body is then finished in a satin which is done nicely. Inside we have standard looking braces and notched linings. There is a fair amount of glue seepage though and you can see that inside faces are not strips of bamboo but some regular ply. Looking at the top soundhole edge though shows you that this is built from thick laminate. That's not great. The neck is made from yet more bamboo with joints at the heel and halfway down the neck. Because of the way bamboo joints they are really quite obvious. This too is satin and feels nice in the hand but has a moderately chunky profile and a skinny 34mm nut with 27mm spacing. Not my kind of neck, but largely standard for far eastern sopranos. That's topped with more bamboo for the fingerboard which looks a bit mis matched in colour down the length - again - an issue with using variable bamboo. The edges are heavily bound in black which notches up the severe look to the body binding another degree. I don't like it at all. And despite that binding the frets are on the edge of being too sharp and looking closely are scruffily dressed. You get 15 of those with a standard 12th fret join. Black fret markers face out at the 5th, 7th, 10th, double 12th and 15th but you get nothing on the side. Beyond the black plastic ABS nut is a simple shaped headstock carrying the Laka logo and an oh so stereotypical Hawaiian style motif in a laser etch. Ugh.. Still, it's not a slot head on a soprano I suppose. The tuners are not rear facing which is a no-no for me on a soprano and, whilst unbranded they look to be half decent open gears.  They work ok too. Finishing off the offer is a thin branded gig bag and a set of Aquila strings. Prices for them on the street seem to be all over the place with many stores listing them at £129, but if you shop around there are some large discounts. I'm reviewing based on the more common £129 which is more than the Kala Bamboo soprano and I think too expensive, particularly for a laminate.. So a mixed bag so far. Generally a good build and finish (bar those frets). Stark decoration that is not working for me and misleading product description and price.. The setup out of the box on this example is pretty decent to be fair - a nice low action at the 12th and nothing I would change at the nut. It balances ok but feels kind of chunky for a soprano at xxxx. No doubt those thick body woods are not helping. On the basics, the volume here is pretty good, but I have heard much punchier sopranos. Sustain is also on the better side of average which is something on a soprano. It's not a totally dead duck on the basics. Tone wise i've always found bamboo ukes to be clear and brighter sounding and that's the case here. Sadly though I am finding it a bit one dimensional overall. There is good clarity to the strummed tone which is a positive and it isn't getting muddled, but it's just not creating much of a spark. Very much a one trick pony played this way. It works, it's accurate, but... meh.. Fingerpicking brings out the reediness of the tone more and isn't hugely pleasant to me. Yes, again, it plays accurately but some of the notes come across a bit strident to me. There's no shimmer or interest I can sense. So a very mixed bag from Laka with this one. Yes it's built reliably, though you could say it's over built. Some of the decor doesn't work for me, but that is very subjective. I remain annoyed by the misleading product spec and the price is highly confusing. Most of all though I find the tone very one dimensional.  Put simply, whilst this is not a total howler, there are plenty of other ukes out there that you will do better with. Be careful. https://www.jhs.co.uk/ **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Laka VUS100B Scale: Soprano Body: Laminate Bamboo Bridge: Bamboo tie bar Saddle: ABS Spacing at saddle: 43mm Finish: Satin Neck: Bamboo Fingerboard: Bamboo Frets: 15, joined at 12th Nut: ABS Nut width: 34mm, 27mm G to A Tuners: Unbranded open gears Extras: Gig bag Strings: Aquila Weight: 480g Country of origin: China Price: £129 RRP **UKULELE PROS** Generally good build and finish Half decent tuners Fairly good volume Reasonable sustain **UKULELE CONS** Stark decoration Scruffy frets No side markers Skinny nut Overly bright and one dimensional tone Misleading product spec Please shop around on price ** ** **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 7 out of 10 Fit and finish - 8.5 out of 10 Sound - 7 out of 10 Value for money - 6 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 7.1 out of 10** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## In my bid to feature more value ukuleles this year, let's take another trip down the Amazon. This is the Lekato Concert Ukulele. Lekato are one of those Chinese brands on the 'Zon' that make a dizzying array of music stuff, from cables to effects pedals, from drums to amplifiers. Oh, and they make ukuleles like this one.  As per the introduction this is a value ukulele, so yes it's cheap. And no, I don't recommend buying ukes on Amazon, especially not the cheaper end ones due to the roulette game you are playing on quality, but one thing they do is garner loads of questionable five star reviews and therefore lots of sales. It would be wrong for Got A Ukulele to ignore these when so many people buy them, and I do these to give some impartial thoughts of my own. I also saw a review of this from another uke reviewer whose opinions I respect, so thought it worth a go myself. **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** The Lekato concert is an all laminate ukulele that they specify as mahogany, but i'd bet could be Khaya (African mahogany that isn't actually mahogany). It's in a regular double bout shape and is extremely plain in the wood grain offering not much excitement. And I'm afraid they commit that cardinal sin in their product listing of calling this 'Solid Wood' and elsewhere 'Solid Wood Veneer'.... No, it's not solid at all, it's laminate. They also claim that it has a 'unique body' because it has a slight curve to the back. No, that's not unique at all... Don't you just love marketing description nonsense... The bridge is a slot style with a nice shape made from a material that is not specified. It _is_ wood, so something hard and stained yet still actually looks somewhat artificial. It is very tidy though and holds what looks (and feels) like a plastic straight topped saddle. Interestingly, hidden in their specs it suggest bone, but I am certain this isn't. Spacing here is 41mm. The finish is an open pore satin, complete with some gobbledegook on their listing about some sort of special polishing they use.  It looks pretty standard to me, though to be fair it is thin and extremely tidy. It means the instrument _feels_ like wood rather than something artificial and I can't really fault it on this point. What I do massively dislike though (another purely subjective one from me) is the laser etched sound hole decoration. This one looks particularly naff and cheap to me. Another gripe is the lack of dressing of the top and back edges which are positively sharp on your hands and inside the forearm. It's uncomfortable. Inside is in good shape with notched linings, regular looking braces and no mess that I can see. The neck wood is not specified but could be the same as the body wood. That is jointed at the heel and headstock, with the heel getting a small mahogany heel cap. Strangely, despite me saying the open pore satin on the body feels natural, the neck wood is more highly polished. It's not quite glossy or grippy, but feels oddly different to the rest of the uke. It's also typically far eastern with a broom handle back profile and a narrow 34mm nut with 27mm spacing. That's certainly not to my tastes. That is topped with unspecified wood for the fingerboard which, again, I suspect is something paler that has been stained. Maybe it is rosewood, but it's very scruffy and dry looking in places and needs work. It comes with 18 frets joined at the 14th with the 18th looking very odd to me fitted right at the end of the board rendering it useless. Very strange. They don't have the absolute worst fret dressing I have encountered, but despite being edge bound I can feel some of them so they also need work which simply isn't right. Small pearloid position dots face out at the 5th, 7th, 10th and double 12th and they are repeated down the side with an extra 15th side marker. The nut looks like bone to me, so I am not sure of the mis-match with the saddle and leads to a fairly interesting asymmetric shaped headstock. The Lekato logo is laser etched into the top and is super plain - essentially just the most basic of fonts and I think this looks cheap too. The tuners are not what I want to see as they are sealed chrome gears better suited to a guitar not a ukulele. Their tensions are not even either and one is much stickier than the other. Oh, and one is slightly on the wrong angle... Finishing it off are a couple of strap buttons, unspecified strings (that they call 'carbon nylon') that have a pinkish hue (so may be Titaniums), a branded thin gig bag, a tuner, spare strings, picks and a strap.. Well that's what you are supposed to get... my box didn't have the last four items.. The joys of Amazon. But I did say it was cheap and this is on Amazon at £52.99 (dynamic pricing - may change from one day to the next). Not a lot at all and attractive to beginners. But can you do better? So as you can see, for a drop shipped instrument this is another mixed bag. There are both some subjective negatives for me, but some objective ones too. Yet the overall build and finish is pretty sound in the body. The string setup needs a touch of work (saddle is a bit high), but I have seen worse. Sadly, saying that I am getting a fizzy buzz on the 2nd and 3rd strings. With a high action I assume that may mean some uneven fret crowns... Sigh... It's also not the lightest concert I have played at 510g, but that isn't heavy. Sadly there is a slight dip to the neck on balance, likely caused by those tuners. On the basics the volume here is astounding - this punches like a field gun so no complaints on that front. Sustain is a bit more average though, but at least there is some. My first reaction though is just how stridently bright it is. Sure, it's a jangly instrument but it's off the scale to the point of irritating to listen to, particularly on higher voiced chords. Yes I know some people like the bright sound, but this is getting towards nails on a blackboard stuff to my tastes when strummed where it starts to sound jarring on my ears. Fingerpicking tones it down a little, but the high notes are still uncomfortable to listen to and the note volume does drop off up the neck too. If I can find a positive it's that despite the setup work needed, it intonates ok (even if there is a bit of buzz...)! Tone is always the difficult one to pin down in reviews and it's very much personal opinion, but for a 'mahogany' instrument... well this sounds like a spruce topped sopranino... There's just no range to the tone and certainly little bass. Very one dimensional even if it is accurate and loud. You are free to disagree of course! As I was going over this instrument I was hoping that it would deliver a little better on sound as the rest of it was not wholly bad. Yes there are some gripes on the finish but they are sortable, and the general build of the body is very good. And no, it's not a lot of money, but I can't live with that shrill sound myself. It works as a uke I guess, but you have a lot of choice around this price point that I'd go to first. Meh.. ** ** **LEKATO CONCERT ON AMAZON UK** ** ** **LEKATO CONCERT ON AMAZON USA** **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Lekato Concert Scale: Concert Body: Laminate mahogany Bridge: Unspecified slot bridge Saddle: Plastic Saddle spacing: 41mm Finish: Satin Neck: Unspecified Fingerboard: Unspecified Frets: 18, 14 to body Nut: Bone Nut width: 34mm, 27mm G to A Tuners: Sealed gears Strings: Un-named - possibly Titaniums Extras: Strap buttons, gig bag, tuner, spare strings, picks, strap Weight: 510g Country of origin: China Price: Around £50 **UKULELE PROS** Generally a sound core build Tidy body finish Great volume Cheap **UKULELE CONS** Nonsense marketing description Not a fan of laser etching which cheapens it Sharp body edges make it uncomfortable Poor fingerboard condition Sharp fret ends Needs setup Almost strident in brightness Heavy guitar style tuners **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 7.5 out of 10 Fit and finish - 7.5 out of 10 Sound - 5 out of 10 Value for money - 8 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 6.9 out of 10** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## A new ukulele brand for me this week. This is the TODO MUSIC Mount Fuji concert ukulele. TODO MUSIC are a Chinese brand who recently got in touch with me about looking at one of their instruments. I don't know a great deal about the brand, but know they are shipping into European stores now as well as having an Amazon presence and their own shopfront. They've also been doing the rounds at some European festivals at which they seem to have gone down well. As a new brand who very politely got in touch for a review (i.e did not do the usual telling me what to write approach or offered me payment!) I said I was happy to give one a go. **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** Their Mount Fuji ukes are models in their 'beginner' series, offered in soprano, concert and tenor variants and with a choice of solid top woods of either spruce or mahogany. This is the concert scale and the mahogany variant. It's a modern, rounded double bout ukulele with the exaggerated lower bout which pairs the solid mahogany top sheets with laminate mahogany for the back and sides. Now, mahogany is a plain wood, but can be improved with a bit of staining and gloss to make it look a treat (the Millar Yushan from last week being a perfect example). Sadly this wood is far too plain and pale in colour for my own tastes and cheapens it. Just a darker stain would have done it. The spruce version of this has the nicer looks for me, but then I prefer the sound of mahogany.. So i'm torn! Otherwise though, the body is very neatly put together and well dressed. The 'Mount Fuji' name comes in the design of the through bridge, which has some added peaks in the wood. I believe this is made of very pale rosewood with the peaks being inlaid walnut. I generally like the design here, though I'd like it a bit darker to match the fingerboard and also think it's really chunky. To be fair, I think bridges are a prime area to add a bit of a unique stamp to your product so can understand the objective. There is a lot of it though! That holds a bone saddle with a straight top and string spacing of 41mm. There isn't much other decor to these bar that bridge and an abalone type sound hole ring. It's finished in a well done thin and tidy satin. Despite the pale colour not working for me there is something about the simplicity of it I quite like. It looks 'clean'. Inside is very tidy with notched linings, regular back braces and a central vertical top brace on the lower bout. All good in here. The neck is made from mahogany which is similarly pale like the body. It has an obvious heel joint and a more well hidden one in the headstock. It too is finished in satin. The profile is not to my personal taste though with a rounded back and a narrow 34mm nut with 27mm spacing. Very far eastern and skinny, but it is average I guess. Things improve for me with the rosewood fingerboard which is in great condition and evenly dark all over. Even better is the inclusion of semi hemi frets which don't quite reach the edge of the board so there is zero chance of sharpness or fret sprout. Good job.  You get 18 of those with a 14th fret body join. Pearly position dots face out at the 5th, 7th, 10th, double 12th and 15th and they are paired on the side. Beyond the bone nut is a nicely shaped headstock which is more Kanile'a than Martin crown in shape. That's faced in a very thin veneer of slightly darker mahogany and the TODO logo is a black screen print on the top face. The tuners are not for me either i'm afraid. Sealed gears which look better on a guitar than a ukulele and add more weight than is needed. They are very much 'parts bin' quality but to be fair they are evenly tensioned and work ok. Finishing things off are a set of what they call 'TODO Carbon' strings (so some form of fluoro), a couple of strap buttons, a strap and a padded branded gig bag. Price wise, their current website listing has this at €139.99. That's _fairly_ reasonable I suppose for a solid topper and is a bit less than the aNueNue Color concerts though equally can be undercut with something like the Flight NUC500, an Uma UK05 or the Enya EUC-25. They may want to adjust their UK pricing on these I think. So a bit of a mixed bag for me this one. The build and finish are nicely done giving it that clean and exacting appearance. I like the bridge styling and the frets too. On the downside I have negatives, largely subjective ones such as the colour and nut width. But as a beginner ukulele, the most important part really is the playing, not the looks. This one arrived setup with only very little tweaking that I would consider. Despite the closed tuners it's balanced and not too heavy either at 490g. The setup is just fine too with a well cut nut and a 2.5mm action height at the 12th. The volume is the first big tick in the box here as it really punches it out. The sustain is pretty good too and for a cheap ukulele I am very surprised to sense a bit of shimmer in the notes as the uke is harmonising with itself giving it more character than I expected. This is not your usual cheap boxy sound at all. Where another personal gripe comes in for me is with the tone itself which is too bright for my tastes on a mahogany instrument. When strummed it's a touch too strident for me though is very crisp and clear. What it strangely reminds me of is that aNueNue UC10 Color concert. That is a very crisp and direct sounding solid top instrument too, but that one is made of spruce, not mahogany. That really makes me think about what the spruce version of this is like! Still, a change to something like Worth Brown strings or Fremont blacklines could tone this back a little and I don't have an issue with the clarity of tone nor that self harmonisation. Strummed is just a bit too 'in your face' when I prefer laid back with hog wood. Fingerpicking suits it better with this brighter voice and it can sound very pretty and music box like played this way. Still doesn't sound like mahogany though! All in all, this has turned out to be something of a pleasant surprise in many areas. To be fair to TODO the gripes I mention are largely subjective ones and you may like the pale look and the brighter sound. Certainly this works like a decent, accurately built ukulele with a touch of character to the voice, and, whilst not a stone cold bargain at this price, is at a reachable price for many people. Yep, decent enough and may be worth keeping an eye on this brand. https://todoukulele.com/ AMAZON USA SALES PAGE **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: TODO MUSIC Mount Fuji Series Scale: Concert Body: Solid mahogany top, laminate mahogany back and sides Bridge: Rosewood through bridge Saddle: Bone Spacing at saddle: 41mm Finish: Satin Neck: Mahogany Fingerboard: Rosewood Frets: 18, 14 to body semi hemi dressed Nut: Bone Nut width: 34mm, 27mm G to A Tuners: Sealed chrome gears Strings: TODO Carbon Extras: Strap button, strap, gig bag Weight: 490g Country of origin: China Price: €139.99 **UKULELE PROS** Very clean accurate build Tidy finish Nice bridge design Excellent fretwork Great volume Good shimmery sustain **UKULELE CONS** Too pale on looks for me Bridge / board colour mis-match Too narrow a nut for me Guitar style tuners A little too bright on tone for mahogany **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 8 out of 10 Fit and finish - 9 out of 10 Sound - 8 out of 10 Value for money - 8 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 8.3 out of 10** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## I'm pleased to get this ukulele brand back on the site. Quite simply because they've not put a foot wrong for me yet. This is the new, World of Ukes exclusive Millar Yushan Tenor Ukulele. Matt Warnes at World of Ukes is a big Millar fan like me and has been the key man in getting them into the UK and also working with them on developments (like the simply wonderful Phil Doleman Soprano ukulele). He explains that one of his favourites of theirs that he regularly recommends to his customers is the Millar TM-260WG all solid mahogany tenor. He also found that, whilst it's a superb uke and has it's fans, certain elements have proved a bit divisive with others. He therefore reached out to Millar to make a limited run store exclusive all solid hog tenor with some of those elements switched. The Yushan was born and I will deal with the changes as we go through the review. **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** Yushan I am told is the name of the largest mountain in Taiwan (where Millar are based) and was chosen as a name by Matt. Like the TM-260WG this is all solid mahogany in the body and is in a wonderful rich orangey brown colour which I always like with gloss mahogany bodies. This reminds me of a similar warmth in colour on the Eastman mahogany tenors or old Martins and it's immediately working for me. It looks like a nice piece of old furniture! It's a double bout shape with the more common (these days)  rounded modern shape. I love the simplicity of an all mahogany ukulele but it can be easy to make them look bland. With the right staining though and the right finish I think they are beautiful, and that's the case here. The bridge is a standard tie bar made of rosewood and is very nicely finished and smooth. In a world of pin bridges and through bridges, whilst I may not want a tie bar on a soprano they are just fine on a tenor and just work. That holds a straight topped bone saddle and has a string spacing of 45mm. The first big change from the 260WG is the binding. Matt explains that whilst he likes the rope binding on that one (as I do) it can prove divisive. I mentioned this in my last review of the Ohana SK-28 - whilst it's a very traditional design element for ukuleles used by many brands, you love it or hate it. Out goes the rope binding and in comes standard rosewood bindings to the top and back. Likewise, out goes the rope around the soundhole and in comes a subtle abalone ring. I personally like both and you now have a choice. Either way, this is done very well as is the gloss on the body which is deep but not gloopy and very well polished. Inside is very tidy with notched linings and no mess. In another change Matt says he asked Millar to tinker with the bracing pattern on these to give the mahogany a bit more warmth compared to the 260 model. I'll give you my verdict on that when I play it. The neck isn't specified but I suspect is mahogany. It's in three pieces with joints at the heel and a more well hidden one at the headstock. This part of the uke also gets a change at Matt's request moving from the standard Millar tenor nut width of 35mm to 36.5mm (30mm spacing). As someone who likes wider necks that's a move that falls in my favour. The neck is glossed and I personally think he should have opted for satin. That's topped with rosewood for the fingerboard which is in great condition and totally even in colour. It has some nice end shaping to the sound hole and is also edge bound hiding the ends of the 18 frets joined at the 14th. These are all dressed very well too. Position markers are regular pearl dots facing out at the 5th, 7th, 10th, double 12th and 15th and you get them on the side too. Beyond the bone nut is the final change Matt asked for and that's a slot head. My opinion on these is fairly neutral (but I do scream when I see them on sopranos!), but they suit tenors and there is no getting away from how popular they are so I understand his spec change. That's faced in some more dark glossy wood and holds the Millar logo at the top. I do still find slot heads look a bit big on any uke though and I'd probably opt for the original style myself, but that is just me. Aren't these themselves divisive? The tuners are, naturally, side mounted and are gears finished in a kind of antique brushed bronze colour. They look great and are made by Der Jung so are certainly decent quality. They work well too. Finishing it off are a set of Worth Brown strings and it comes at an asking price of £549. That's more than the 260 model, but it is a limited run so the cost was always going to be more. I don't actually have any issue with that price regardless and find it reminds me very much of the aNueNue AMM mahogany models which will cost you significantly more. It's good value for the spec, though I would suggest that the lack of a case (soft or hard) at this price would nudge up my value for money score. And as I KNOW I will see such comments - YES - Matt ships internationally!!! This is one pretty uke with great classic simplicity in the finishing. The build is excellent and, coming from World of Ukes, it's perfectly set up as they all will be. It's a comfortable weight at 665g and balances very nicely when held. Basics on the sound first and the volume is excellent. So is the sustain but there is more going on with that than just it lasting for a while. There is a harmonic shimmer of a slow warble when you play a strum that shows the instrument is harmonising with itself. That's the mark of an accomplished instrument and means it has a real character to the tone. I'm not sure it comes through on the video, but trust me on this as it's one of the first things I noticed and I immediately fell for. Whether that is down to the bracing change I don't know, but if he asked for a change to warm it up, it's worked. This has a laid back warm shimmer to the strummed sound that very much reminds me of the Eastman tenors and is a tone I really like. The notes are really clear in any strum no matter the speed and all through you are getting that extra shimmer which fills the sound a bit more. It's lovely to listen to. No it's not punchy or in your face if that is your thing, but if, like me you prefer more laid back. Fingerpicking is similarly laid back with a very pretty ring to the sound and that same shimmer. The good sustain here allows you to add more frills and the character to the tone seems to change depending how you attack the strings. Very clever and very enjoyable. All in all I love the classy, clean simplicity of this one which ticks my boxes on looks. The magic is in the tone as this has bags of interesting character to the voice no matter how you play it. As I say in my video, it's 'right up my street'. A very highly recommended uke - get one while you can! https://worldofukes.co.uk/ **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Millar Yushan Scale: Tenor Body: All solid mahogany Bridge: Rosewood tie bar Saddle: Bone Spacing at saddle: 45mm Finish: Gloss Neck: Mahogany? Fingerboard: Rosewood Frets: 18, 14 to body Nut: Bone Nut width: 36.5mm, 30mm spacing Tuners: Der Jung gears in antiqued finish Strings: Worth Brown Weight: 665g Country of origin: Taiwan Price: £549 **UKULELE PROS** Classy understated looks Great build and finish Comfortable neck Nice tuners Great volume Great sustain with shimmery character Fair price **UKULELE CONS** Gimme a gig bag! Do wonder if slot heads divide people in a similar way? **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 9 out of 10 Fit and finish - 9.5 out of 10 Sound - 9.5 out of 10 Value for money - 9 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9.3 out of 10** ** ** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## Got A Ukulele returns this week with yet another soprano (yay!!).. and it's a model that's been around for a good few years but only gets its first outing on my reviews today.. This is the Ohana SK-28 Soprano Ukulele. I've struggled to date exactly when this model was introduced by Ohana, but back in 2013 I got to photograph and have a quick play of the original prototype for this issue so it must be around then. What this is is the Ohana take on the first instruments introduced to Hawaii by the likes of Manuel Nunes and Augusto Dias from Portugal. So it's very traditional in stylings, shape and one or two other areas too. I'm not entirely sure why but I've been seeing these around a lot in stores and on socials lately so wonder of Ohana are giving them a push. **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** I've looked at quite a few Ohana sopranos in my time and they've always done largely well, not quite up there with the best soprano review scores I've given, but very respectable. It's also a brand that largely is consistent with their decency I find. As for this one the body and this is made from all solid mahogany with a narrow waist figure of eight shape where the upper bouts are not much different from the lower. That immediately screams 'vintage' and 'trad' and whilst I do like modern ukulele shapes, there is something about this style that has always appealed to me. The solid wood pieces are are all single sheets, which is more understandable for a skinny body like this. The bridge material isn't specified, but looks like rosewood and is a very tidily finished slot style with slightly tapered sides. It's such a small thing, but I've always found Ohana slot bridges to be some of the tidiest I see. Sitting in that is a straight top bone saddle and string spacing of 41mm. The decor is where the 'trad' Nunes look starts to make this really take shape with bold rope binding made from real wood inlays around the top and back. I love this look and it's a uke styling that has been used by a great many brands such as Kamaka, Mainland and Millar. Around the soundhole that rope inlay is repeated edged with a white purfling ring to frame it. Nice. The body is then finished in a satin which has been done very well, as I usually find they are with Ohana but it does feel a little 'factory' if you know what I mean. Inside is unremarkable, but tidy. Notched linings and regular braces. The neck is specced as mahogany and is made from three pieces with both joints pretty well hidden. I don't like how yellow looking it is against the body though. Unsurprisingly the neck profile is very much as expected and similar to other Chinese sops with a width of 34mm and spacing of about 26mm. That's not to my taste, but the back profile isn't massively rounded. The neck is also in satin which feels nice. The fingerboard is where things move to 'uber-trad', both in style but also functionally. This looks like rosewood too and is set flush to the body in vintage style. Running down the middle of it is more wooden inlay in chevrons which sets it off wonderfully. Outward position dots are also Nunes style with pairs of them at the 5th, 7th and 10th and these are repeated with side dots. Frets wise you get a traditional 12 to the body which a dressed very well, helped by the fact it is edge bound. I like everything about this neck bar the nut width, but as I always say, that's my subjectivity. Beyond the bone nut is a crown headstock that is faced in a veneer of darker mahogany to match the body. Rather than putting the Ohana logo here they have continued the inlay pattern from the fingerboard which looks nice, though on this example some of the chevrons don't align up which would annoy me. The logo is placed on the back in a silver screen print. The tuners are those you will find on the other Chinese Ohana sopranos insofar as they are Gotoh standard friction pegs. I'm obviously delighted to see rear facing pegs, particularly on a trad instrument like this, but these are lower end Gotoh. Still, they are easily swapped for better models. Finishing it off are a set of Aquila strings and an asking price currently of about £220 which is very reasonable. I say Aquila, these look a touch too clear for that and wonder if the store has swapped these..  Mine also came with an Ohana padded bag, but I can't find any listings (including the one for the high street store I bought this one from blind) saying that is standard... I don't 'think' it is so lets just say I got lucky (though do correct me if wrong). All in all though, still a good price for what is a very attractive instrument. I should also add that this is also available in concert and a sub soprano offering. So it's a nice one. I like the styling and build and it's finished largely well too. It's uber light at only 310g as you would expect and balances very well too. Setup out of the box (bought blind as I say) is spot on too. The basics on sound first and the volume here is excellent. It has a real punchy bark with little effort which is what you want from the rhythmical soprano scale. Great. Sustain is surprising too and whilst sopranos never have longing sustain, this is very decent meaning you can easily add some frills to your melody lines. Good so far. I generally like the sound of Ohana sopranos but I did say about the SK-39 that I found the sound a little too warm for my tastes. That wasn't to say it was a bad sound, but I like my sopranos with a bit more zing. I find it's the same here as whilst this has a pleasant sound it, despite the volume it's a bit more subdued and laid back than the bounciest sounding sops. Strummed it is still very rhythmical, but maybe a bit more bite and zing would pep it up. It's very nice to play picked (despite my struggle with the nut width) and single notes seem to suit it a bit better with no volume drop off up the neck. But I really am nit-picking - this is still a nice sounding sop and more in line with that laid back sound of the Kamaka or a Kiwaya than the punchiest soprano there are. It is indeed still pleasant though. I'd say this is my favourite of the Chinese Ohana sopranos I have reviewed, pushed up mainly be the stylings. It's otherwise similar in my ears to the SK-39 (which is more money) though I appreciate that if you prefer the Martin look the 39 is the way to go. For me I have a soft spot for the old vintage look and this is doing it for me. Take looks out of the equation though and this is still a lovely little soprano. Recommended! https://ohana-music.com/ **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Ohana SK-28 Scale: Soprano Body: Solid mahogany Bridge: Rosewood slot style Saddle: Bone Spacing at saddle: 41mm Finish: Satin Neck: Mahogany Frets: 12 Fingerboard: Rosewood? Nut: Bone Nut width: 34mm, 26mm G to A Tuners: Gotoh friction pegs Strings: Aquila as standard Weight: 310g Country of origin: China Price: Circa £220 **UKULELE PROS ** Great vintage style look Sound build Excellent volume Better than average sustain Fair price **UKULELE CONS** Neck width not for me (personally) I'd upgrade the tuners A little subdued on tone (perhaps these strings) ** UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 9.5 out of 10 Fit and finish - 8.5 out of 10 Sound - 8.5 out of 10 Value for money - 9 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9 out of 10** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## A ukulele brand i've always tried to keep regular tabs on this week. This is the Mahalo MS1T Slimline Series Soprano Ukulele. Ah... Mahalo - actually the very first ukulele brand I ever put my hands on back in about 2005.. and.. well... it was one of the worst ukes i've ever played. They are lauded by some as a brand that set many on their uke journey, but for me it nearly killed mine before it started. I used to do work in music store tech backrooms so already knew a thing or two about 'cheap shoddy instruments that were best avoided. I failed to take my own advice and ended up with a uke with a bent neck and mis set frets that was impossible to setup... It went in the bin, and had I not then bought a Magic Fluke Flea I would not have been with you now. In fact it was the pitfalls of the shoddy cheap ukes that were an initial focus of this website. Of course, that first experience places some unavoidable bias in my view of the brand, but to be fair to them I have continued to dip in to what they are putting out to this day. Whilst none have reached the lows of that first model of mine, it's sad to say that none since have been worth of anything close to a recommendation for me either. And as the range of good quality value ukes ever expands, so I find that Mahalo have been left increasingly exposed at their chosen price point. **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** But I always approach each one with a fresh mind set. You 'never know'.  I'm not _hunting_ for a bad one, but it's important Got A Ukulele looks at all price points. This one is part of a range of a handful of sopranos they make in their 'Slimline Series', meaning shallow front to back bodies. The handful differ in colour, but are otherwise the same construction. This one is the 'transparent brown' offering, but there is also a transparent black, red and blue. They are each made from the cheapest ply material for the body using 'basswood' which is Linden or Lime. Very basic, very soft, very cheap plywood.  This brown is extremely pale too which is more yellow than anything. It's basic laminate construction with single pieces of laminate to the top and back with the sides being a pair. It's otherwise a very standard double bout shape with an slightly shallower depth than most (though far from the shallowest uke I have seen...) The bridge is specced as mahogany which is clearly stained almost black and is a slot style screwed in place. It's rough in finish, but I have actually seen worse. What I don't like is how angular (and actually sharp) it is. Just a bit of dressing down the edges would have worked wonders. That holds a compensated top NuBone saddle which is certainly an upgrade on the original Mahalos I saw which were simple plastic affairs.. String spacing here is 41mm. The finish is a simple satin which is translucent showing the wood grain beneath. On the plus side this is evenly finished and I can't find a huge amount of flaws (one or two) and it's a MILE better than the thick paint they use on some instruments. On the down side I have no idea on the point of the 'translucency' as basswood isn't in any way attractive so all you see are random swirls that don't really mean very much. It looks like a sheet of builders ply!  The edges are unbound so you are looking at the laminate edge and around the sound hole is a transfer rosette in black. It's all very basic, and I must say, ugly. Inside is basic too. It actually has some kerfing (un-notched) and a bridge plate which is a start, but there is no back bracing and only a simple top brace I can see. There's a touch of mess but I have seen much worse with some cheap ukes looking like a small animal has been nesting inside them.. Weirdly the laminate at the sound hole edge looks much thinner than the profile does around the edge of the top, so I have no idea what is going on there. The neck is specified as 'Jabon', which is a light tropical wood mainly used in building and plywood. It's formed of three pieces with a joint in the heel and one half way down the neck. It tapers to an expected rounded far eastern profile and generic 35mm nut with 27mm spacing. Not for me but I appreciate that is a personal thing. That's topped with more stained mahogany for the fingerboard which is even in colour all over. Surprisingly it's edge bound which covers the ends of the 12 frets to the body. They are not the worst dressed I have felt, but you can still feel them. An improvement on some Mahalos, but they still need work. Basic pearl dots face out at spaces 5, 7 and 10 and they are repeated with white side dots. We have more NuBone for the nut before we reach a basic, unfaced crown headstock. That carries the Mahalo logo in a black screen print which looks dated now as well as too stark on the pale yellow wood. The tuners have a slight improvement on those I first saw on a Mahalo insofar as they are now branded Mahalo. But that is it for improvement really. They are still the same sort of cheap as chips, pressed metal open gears with enormous buttons. These are also tarnished in places, but that's Amazon drop shipping storage for you. You will know that I don't like geared pegs on a soprano on looks, but at least some brands tone down the button size. These are the same massive ears I remember from Mahalos of old. Ugh. Looks aside, they are all different tensions and some grind on turning. Horrid. Finishing it off are a set of Aquila Super Nylgut strings and a 'gig bag' which is nothing more than a dust cover that is thinner than some supermarket carrier bags (you know what? Don't bother!) And, if you hadn't guessed... it's cheap. Very cheap. About £25 to buy. But of course 'cheap' means many new players will be drawn in and may end up disappointed or put off for life. Will that be the case here? Time to dive in. All in all, aside from the very basic agricultural look and terrible tuners, there are some obvious improvements here over the Mahalo ukes of old. There are some rough edges here and there, but I have seen worse and the string setup is actually pretty good for the money. I do suggest a health warning though - whilst I bought this blind (from Amazon), because I received one in fairly good shape does NOT mean they all will be. In fact I doubt they will considering my prior experience. But I can only review what is in front of me and despite disliking the looks, it's not wholly awful on the build. It's also incredibly light at 310g but I suppose a thin body soprano made from Linden wood was always going to be. It balances ok too. Basics first and the volume is surprisingly good for a shallow body uke with a real punchy bark if you have the nails to dig in. Not bad at all. On the down side the sustain is much more average making this a very staccato instrument. That's not a wholly bad thing with a soprano as I always say (as it's a rhythmical instrument) but I would like more. This is a very simple sounding uke. When it comes to the tone I often make a comment about laminate that some cheap models can sound 'echoey' or 'boxy'. With the general improvement in quality of cheap ukes over the years it's sometimes hard for me to demonstrate that on the audio as, whilst they still display it, it seems to be getting better. Sadly this one shows off what I am talking about in spades. A thin, tin can kind of microphonic sound that isn't particularly pleasant and very echoey. What's weird is that I _have_ heard worse (check this Ashton uke!) and it does work on the rhythm side, but I couldn't live with this brash thin echo which shows off exactly what I don't like about the cheapest laminate. There's not much to divide it on tone whether strummed or picked as both have that same nasty tonal quality, but I suppose for fast rhythmical strums it's better that way and it does have a bouncy punch. That's hardly the endorsement though! Does the 'slimline' element save it? Well, I suppose it's a bit different, but to me it's not actually that slim compared to some others so I'm not entirely sure of that point either. And it IS cheap of course - I get that. And people WILL say I am being harsh (they always do about Mahalo for some reason). But for me whilst there are some small improvements here, I come back to the point I made above about how Mahalo have found themselves well overtaken in the market. I never recommend spending this low on a uke in any case, but I understand there is no option for some people and i'd rather they chose wisely.  I have to weigh it up against others of the same sort of price, and this where I always find Mahalo lacking. For a brand that's been around my whole ukulele life I find it kind of sad they didn't really develop and try to get out of that 'cheap as chips category... Or rather, they missed the fact others had joined them on the cheap as chips step and showed them how to do it better. Take Octopus as a case in point (currently about £5 more) or even some of the 'who are they?' Amazon brands. So yes, some _slight_ improvements here on Mahalos of old, but they don't save it from being still VERY easily beaten. You don't need this in your life when you consider the countless alternatives. https://mahaloukuleles.com/ **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Mahalo MS1T Slimline Series Scale: Soprano Body: Basswood laminate Bridge: Mahogany slot bridge Saddle: NuBone, compensated Spacing at saddle: 41mm Finish: Translucent satin in colour choices Neck: Jabon Fingerboard: Mahogany Frets: 12 Nut: NuBone Nut width: 35mm, 27mm G to A Tuners: Gilt plated open gears Strings: Aquila Extras: Dust cover bag Country of origin: China Weight: 310g Price: About £25 **UKULELE PROS** Generally passable build and finish Surprising action setup out of the box (but beware the roulette game!) Decent volume Light **UKULELE CONS** Agricultural looks Some fret sharpness Skinny nut Horrid tuners Poor sustain The very definition of thin, echoey cheap laminate tone Pointless bag **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 5 out of 10 Fit and finish - 7.5 out of 10 Sound - 5 out of 10 Value for money - 7 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 6.1 out of 10** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## **Well heres a ukulele i've been dying to take a look at since I saw that he had started building them. This is the 'Wonkylele' by Will Grove-White.** It seems churlish of me to have to introduce Will, but he is perhaps most well known as playing in the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain for over thirty years, performing around the globe at places like Sydney Opera House and Carnegie Hall. What may not be so well known is that he's been a life long lover of making things with wood, originally making wooden automata from his own workshop. So having hung up his Orchestra ukulele (though he still performs solo), in 2023 he launched his venture of working with ukes in a different way by making them himself! Taking advice from luthiers such as Pete Howlett, Dave Morgan, Andy Miles, Ken Timms, Liam Kirby, Marco Todeschini and others the first Will Grove-White Ukes started to take shape. Fair play to Will - he took advice in the right way and from some revered names most of which i've been lucky to feature. And this one is perhaps the one I see turning heads the most from his builds. The Wonkylele. I've been watching the development of his ukes on his socials for a while now and itching to get my hands on one. **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** Let's get this out the way first. It's probably fair to say that the ukulele world is, in itself, rather quirky by nature. You may not want to admit it if you take things too seriously, but remember Will played in an 'orchestra' at the Royal Albert Hall wearing dinner suit and tie, and I can't think of much more quirky than that! Knowing the man he likes the amusing and quirky side of life too (check out his nose flute videos!).  So a quirky uke seems to fit him and the scene perfectly. But how to describe it? Well, I think the pictures do that job better than anything, but this is a soprano scale instrument (also available in concert and tenor) that is... well..... wonky! And that isn't to say it's just a regular uke with a neck bolted on off centre for the heck of it - these have been built from the ground up to accommodate that neck and bridge position as I come on to further below. The body of this is made from all solid woods, walnut in this case and looks great for it in the almost figure of eight vintage shape. It has two pieces for each side and they are nicely bookmatched too. The grain is really attractive with lots of interest and almost a quilted look in places. Lovely. Naturally being a luthier making commissions he can and does build from a variety of other woods too. I love the shape and finish here though I fully accept that traditionalists may not agree! I say 'embrace the wonk' though! He's used ebony for the slot style bridge (and uses offcuts from a local frame maker to make use of waste) and is very nicely finished and fitted with a straight topped black Corian saddle and has a string spacing of 41mm. The finish on the body is hand rubbed Tru-Oil and has been done extremely nicely and feels great. He's also experimenting with other finish options. There is no other decoration on this one other than an inlaid black and white sound hole ring, but when your statement is ''the wonk" I don't think you need it. Overall this looks like a very traditional ukulele in the Martin style, just with a bit of a lean... Inside is very tidy with regular think looking braces and notched linings. What you will also find with all Will Grove-White ukuleles is that he hides a miniature figurine sitting on one of the braces. You know I said quirky? That's fun and unique! The neck is made from reclaimed oak and is hand carved from what is largely a single piece with just one small stack I can see on the tip of the heel. That's a very hard wood and a heavy one too which I hope doesn't upset the balance. As I say above he can fit the neck in an unusual way because he uses a violin style joint that is set into a notch carved in the upper bout of the body and inner block and supported by a slight extension of the back piece over the back of the heel called the 'button'. Clever. And this one tilts to the left as you look at it designed for right handed players - and he can do the opposite for lefties. The neck has a nice shallow back profile that I prefer and a, roomy for a soprano, nut width of 37mm with 30mm string spacing. Excellent. That is topped with more ebony which is in great even colour and condition. There are a few tooling marks here and there, but i'd expect such things on a hand made uke. It terminates in an olde timey style extension similar to that I've seen on Wunderkammer ukes. I will say the same thing as I did about those instruments - if you are giving me extra fretboard, then give me an extra fret! Minor point! The board is not edge bound but they are all dressed well and you get 12 of them. Will is also a man after my own heart on fretboard decoration and tends not to put any outward facing dots on and just a single side dot at the 5th. He can, of course, give you more but I am perfectly happy with this minimalism! Beyond the Corian nut is another very old time style headstock that looks straight out of the 1920's. That's faced in ebony too and I love how thin it is front to back. Classy. For tuners Will goes with Gotoh UPT which are simply superb. Knowing his love of the traditional look (which seems an odd thing to say on a wonky uke!) these make perfect sense. The benefit of geared precision with the look of friction pegs. Great choice. Finishing it off are your choice of strings, but Will has gone with Aquila on this. That's his personal choice and refreshing to hear as I see so many people dismissive of Aquila completely missing the fact that many professionals use them for performance. And for this spec you are looking at £825. So that's not an impulse price of course, but one needs to remember that this is hand made in the UK and not in a Chinese factory. I upset people years back I said Ken Timms ukes were under-priced (and they went up!), but I stand by that. Look at it another way - even before the bill of materials, tools, power etc, if this takes about 20-30 man hours to make, that's between about £30 to £40 per hour. You'd pay your Plumber twice that and not question it. So no, it's not 'cheap' I suppose, but I think it is fair for something hand made and we should be very careful about telling builders to 'work for less'. For some other perspective it's less than you would have paid for a Howlett and about the same price as a Wunderkammer Ike today. So quirks aside I know when Will first put these out some people thought that it wouldn't work and was a bit of a gimmick. I was possibly in that camp myself. Would it be comfortable? Would that bridge position affect projection? They are fair questions I think when a builder goes outside of the long established norm. Lets deal with the first one.. the comfort...  My word this _is_ comfortable to hold. Whether you are playing rested on the knee or holding it without a strap there is something about this arrangement that makes the uke just 'fit' into your arms extremely well and naturally. It looks like it shouldn't but I can assure you that it does! It's very nice to feel in the hands too on account of the finishing and really light at only 410g. The balance is excellent too. A first tick in the box! Sound wise, I am a big soprano fan and like mine to have a cannon like punch and bark that allows bouncy percussive play. Which brings into question my other worry on the bridge position. And we have another tick in that box too because the projection and bark from this is just super! I've got no issue with the punch at all. Sustain on sopranos is always that bit lower due to the small body, but it is possible with well made instruments to create more than you may expect. Things are a bit more down the middle here on sustain, but it's really not bad. I suspect string experimentation could mix things up here. Tone wise this is largely influenced by the wood of course and I tend to prefer mahogany sopranos due to the darker woodier tone they impart on what is otherwise a naturally brighter uke scale on account of the size. I haven't actually reviewed a great many solid walnut ukes but they do tend to have something of a woody tone, but with a slightly wider frequency range picking up more highs whilst being well balanced.  This one is certainly a bit more on the bright side than a mahogany soprano, but it's rich and interesting. It ticks the main box for a soprano for me in that it has a bouncy rhythmical tone when strummed in old time patterns and is very enjoyable played this way with a very clear sound. This is less of a pure fingerpicking instrument for me though still very clear played this way only with a slight drop in volume I can perceive (which may again be changed with strings choice). But it's still very accomplished. All in all it's a little more laid back than some sopranos I have had my hands on and more on the Kiwaya side of things to my ears than to Martin - but it's still a fine sounding sop! All in all I am obviously aware that the look of this one may be a 'wonk too far' for some uke players, but I personally love the playfulness. I've no issues at all with the build and finish and it's pleasing to see that this wasn't just a case of 'wonk over substance' because it plays like a great bouncy soprano should. That comfort is a real surprise too so it leaves me thinking that the only reason you'd not want this is if the look turned you off. Everything else is top drawer. And, of course... he makes regular ukes too, but, you know... live a little! Very much recommended! Embrace the wonk! https://willgrovewhite.com/ **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Will Grove-White Wonkylele Scale: Soprano Body: Solid walnut Bridge: Ebony slot bridge Saddle: Corian Spacing at saddle: 41mm Finish: Tru-Oil Neck: Reclaimed oak Fingerboard: Ebony Frets: 12 Nut: Corian Nut width: 37mm, 30mm G to A Tuners: Gotoh UPT Strings: You have a choice. Aquila on this one Weight: 410g Country of origin: UK Price: £825 **UKULELE PROS** Mad looks (not for everyone? I love it!) Great looking tonewood Great build and finish Extremely comfortable to play Light Great tuners Great projection Classy soprano bouncy tone **UKULELE CONS** Looks not for everyone I suppose **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 9 out of 10 Fit and finish - 9.5 out of 10 Sound - 9.5 out of 10 Value for money - 9 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9.3 out of 10** ** ** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** ** ** ** ** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## A new ukulele brand (for me) this week. This is the Tom TUT-680M Tenor Ukulele. I was contacted recently by the team at Tom, a Chinese brand with a range of ukes I had not seen or heard of before enquiring about a review. A look at the catalogue had be intrigued me as the range looks pretty classy and reasonably priced. They are not widely available in the UK as yet, so far making their way into some European stores (from where this was sent) and some on the far eastern box shippers.  To be fair though I think they are just getting going. They have a few different ranges of ukes and I believe this one is in their 'Classic Series'. **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** The TUT-680M is a tenor scale instrument (also available in concert) with a standard double bout shape and a classic wood pairing. For this one we have a solid spruce top formed from two sheets which looks to be good quality with tight grain and even colour. It's very pale spruce which I know some people like (and in fact looks almost white in some of my pictures, though they were taken in bright sunlight), but I would prefer a more yellow looks like the Noah I looked at last time. Still, that's a subjective point and it's clearly nice wood. Often spruce is paired with a darker wood for both visual contrast and something that will balance the tone. That's the case here with rosewood for the back and sides. That is not specced as 'solid' so assume laminate, but it still works on the contrast. It's also a well used wood combo in other stringed instruments. The wood grain here is very nice indeed with lots of interest and almost glows a reddish brown to go with the pale top. Nice. The bridge is a tie bar made from more rosewood and is finished tidily and smoothly even if it is a rather generic bridge template and a little pale looking. Something more distinctive wouldn't have gone amiss here, but it works. That holds a bone saddle with a compensated top and string spacing is at 42mm. Decor is, of course, also very subjective so the use of abalone here around the top edge and sound hole is not to my personal taste, though to be fair it's not the ultra gaudy variety and has been applied well.  The abalone is also trimmed with thin black purfling strips. What I much prefer are the maple bindings and back and tail stripe. They look great, particularly against the rosweood and I would have been happy if the uke just had these with maybe a rosewood purfling strip. The body is finished in a gloss which looks to be well applied, not overly thick and with no issues I can find. Inside is tidy, with notched linings, thin braces and no real mess. It's also nice to see that they didn't make the top 'solid for the sake of it' and apply a really thick one. This is thin. The neck is specified as okoume and i'd prefer that to be satin rather than the gloss they have used. It's a fairly standard far eastern neck with joints at heel and headstock and a round back profile. This tapers to a generic 35mm nut with 27mm string spacing. That is not to my taste but, as ever, your mileage will vary. That is topped with an edge bound rosewood fingerboard which is in great condition. I put some macro pictures up in the week and people claimed the frets were badly dressed. Well, that's macro photography for you because they are actually dressed very well and I can't find a hint of sharpness. OK, they are not semi-hemi like some of the contemporaries at this price, but I've got no issue with them at all. You get 18 of those joined at the 14th. Outward small pearl dots are located at the 5th, 7th, 10th and 12th spaces and they are repeated with side dots that include an extra one at the 15th. Beyond the bone nut is a slot head faced in rosewood above a sandwich of other woods which gives a nice stripe effect in the slots. It's also very tidy and I do like the wooden inlaid 'T' logo in the top face. I will say though I am not a fan of the overly large and chunky slot heads and this os one of those. I'd like it much smaller and think this is why the Flight and Fluke frame style open headstocks work better on ukes. The tuners are Tom branded open gears in gold and look to have good quality gearing mechanisms. That's borne out in use too as they are very smooth. The strings are not specified, but look like Worth Brown to me. You also get a tail strap button and a nice gig bag with Tom branded zipper tags which shows that this is not just a generic afterthought. And I can only tell you the retail price I am seeing them in Europe at the moment and that is €299. As a straight conversion that is currently about £255 UK. That led me down the route of what it's up against and things like solid topped Snails are cheaper, but then there are solid top Kalas for more money which suggests it's about right.  Then thinking further, things like the solid topped Flight Carabao Lite can be had for a lot less, so my views are a little mixed on the price and consider it's possibly a touch on the expensive side.... Perhaps that straight Euro to Pounds conversion is unwise. But back to the positives. With the exception of some design elements which are not for me (abalone, pale spruce, nut width, chunky head) the ukulele is built well and finished extremely nicely. It doesn't feel heavy at 605g and sits in the hands well too. Basics first and this is a loud and very resonant instrument. The projection is great and the sustain is good too with a pleasing vibration being sent into your fretting hand and chest. It's lively. With a spruce top and only laminate back and sides I do worry that the brightness of that top won't be as tempered by the laminate as it needs to be. And, as you know, I prefer my ukes, particularly tenors to sound woodier and darker. Sure enough this one is a bright instrument so not to my immediate taste, though I stress that this is another purely subjective view as a great many people LOVE the bright ones. Strummed this is a bit too much on the brightness for me but on the plus side it's extremely clear on tone without any muddiness which is impressive. It's a bouncy tone when strummed and very rhythmical which is less about what I want from a tenor, but some of you love. That it does that shows a half decent build. I'm much more taken with it when picked as it has a real music box style chime to the notes which, again, are clear as a bell and stay that way right up the neck. It's extremely pretty to my ears and I can live with the brighter edge played that way. In fact the more I play it the more I fell for it. I always worry when new far eastern brands get in touch as I never know quite what I will get, and certainly some of the cheaper Amazon Chinese brands are not much cop. Now, I can't vouch for the cheaper end of the Tom ranges, but this one has NOT been thrown together and is very well built and finished. The fret dressing and gloss alone shows me that this has had some care applied to it rather than such things being an afterthought. I therefore do very much hope we see more Tom instruments in the UK as I think this easily punches its weight against the likes of similar priced Snail, Kala, Ohana, Flight etc... Yes i've mentioned some gripes, but again they are largely subjective personal views. This is a good uke! https://tomukulele.com/ **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Tom TUT-680M Scale: Tenor Body: Solid spruce top, laminate walnut back and sides Bridge: Walnut tie bar Saddle: Bone Spacing at saddle: 42mm Finish: Gloss Neck: Okoume Fingerboard: Walnut Frets: 18, 14 to body Nut: Bone Nut width: 35mm, 27mm G to A Tuners: Unbranded open gears Strings: Worth Brown Extras: Strap button, Gig bag Weight: 605g Country of origin: China Price: €299 **UKULELE PROS** Classic look Good core build and finish Very well done neck Great volume Good sustain Extremely clear crisp tone **UKULELE CONS** Generic neck width Not a huge fan of the abalone Chunky headstock **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 8.5 out of 10 Fit and finish - 9 out of 10 Sound - 8.5 out of 10 Value for money - 8.5 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 8.6 out of 10** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW ** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## I always get intrigued when this ukulele brand gets in touch to ask if I want to look at a development. This is the brand new Noah Baby Tenor Ukulele. Noah, that much loved brand run by Matt Cohen in the UK who gets a Vietnamese Luthier to build models for him have gone down very well over the years - and it is MANY years i've been looking at them - the first being back in 2013!.. As I always say, they've also got better and better showing me a brand owner who listens to criticism. I think it's also less well known that Matt can arrange custom builds and I suppose this one was a development of that when a customer had asked him to make a slimline tenor. He had a few made but wanted to develop it into a main model. And here we are with the first Baby Tenor from Noah! **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** So what are we looking at here. Well, taking that initial custom request Matt explains he wanted to get something more out of it and differentiate it from the other Noah models. So as well as keeping the slimline body, they also shrunk the rest of the body dimensions to create a baby tenor. So it's still a tenor scale uke (17 inch scale) but with a much smaller body more akin to a concert to me.  And it's a cute diminutive little thing in the body with a shallow depth too.  Like other Noah's this uses all solid tonewoods and goes with a classic pairing of spruce for the top and Indian rosewood for the back and sides. That gives both a striking colour contrast, but should also give a tonal one too with the rosewood backing off the brightness of the spruce. They are nice looking woods. The bridge is a pin style made from the Vietnamese 'honey wood' called 'Go go mat' and is carved the same style as we saw on the Noah Delta Concert. As you expect with Noah ukes you can see some tooling marks here, but please do remember that these are hand cut and put together by a person and not with half of it being done by machines. That is fitted with a straight topped bone saddle and comes with a string spacing of 42mm. The decor on this one is more simple than some Noah ukes, but my preference. There looks to be a rosewood binding strip to the top and back paired with what I think is a maple stripe. Around the top and back outer faces is black and white purfling. The back gets a double maple stripe which sets it off nicely and the soundhole get a rosewood rosette trimmed in black and white purfling. I think it all goes together very well with the wood choices and is not gaudy but still lifts the ukulele. As with the bridge comment and other Noah ukes, this is done by hand so parts of it are not perfect. Some people dislike that so it would be wrong of me to not mention it, but equally I know a lot of Noah owners who, like me, quite like this hand made look. The body is then glossed and hand polished and with this I can see no major issues bar a bit of pooling at the end of the board. The rest of the top you can see the gloss is very thin. Inside is very tidy with a vertically braced top, regular braced back and notched linings. The neck is not specified, but looks to me like a type of maple which Noah have used before. Maybe it's a local Vietnamese species but often when I see this on Noah ukes it looks much more variable in colour than that very pale maple you often see. It's quite noticeable at the heel joint (again if such things bother you). And that is the only joint as it looks like it's a single piece all the way to the tip of the headstock. Pleasingly it's also finished in satin, not gloss which is another example of Noah listening to feedback. The profile is also pleasing to me as it is not too rounded on the back and despite the smaller body carries what I measure to be just over 36mm at the but and string spacing a smidge under 30mm. Nice. The board is more Go go mat wood which has been oiled well and looks in great condition. I think it is edge bound in more of the same, but again you will find some tooling marks. No matter as there are zero sharp edges on the 18 frets joined at the 14th. I also like the minimal outward facing lack of any markers, but the use of side dots at the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th, double 12th and 15th. The nut is bone and that runs to the familiar skinny, almost coke bottle shaped regular Noah headstock. That is faced in more rosewood and holds the Noah logo in pearly inlay at the top. The tuners are open gears with small black buttons. They don't carry any branding but the mechanisms look decent. There's no play in them or slop which is a good thing but the opposite - if anything a touch stiff. That's a far better problem to have, but I think I have said before that Noah should thing about tuner upgrades. To finish things off are a choice of strings though Aquila as standard (this one arrived with Worth Brown) and a padded gig bag. As ever with Noah, the pricing is keen and these are £289 with standard Aquila or £10 more for a choice of others. That's a great price again especially for something hand built and all solid. And as I am always asked, yes he can ship internationally, but you need to contact him through his website to work out the shipping price. So another nice one from Noah and one that I am very taken with on the dimensions and concept. That small comfortable body with roomy neck is certainly a box ticker for me and is very comfortable to hold. It's very light too at only 565g and balances nicely. It's lovely to hold! Being a smaller body one wonders if it will suffer on resonance and affect volume and sustain, but thankfully neither are an issue here. The volume punch is terrific and the sustain when strummed is more than acceptable. Looking good! Tone wise there is certainly a brightness from the spruce, but the rosewood is mellowing it off a little in the background so it is not too in your face. One or two other spruce top Noah ukes were a little too bright for my own personal tastes, but this is much more rounded and balanced to my ears. It's an interesting player too as it certainly feels like a tenor in the fretting hand, but the sound is closer to concert, with a really peppy jangle when strummed that is extremely rhythmical and clear. It sounds like a half way house between concert and tenor which, I suppose, is kind of what it is. It's very lively played this way. Fingerpicked it has a very pretty clear tone though I find the sustain is less pronounced than on some tenors so melody lines can be a little more staccato. Still it's attractive sounding and very comfortable to play and throw in some intermediate arpeggio strokes and you soon liven the sound up again.  It's quite an intriguing instrument to play as it doesn't quite fit in one box or another. So i'm pleased to see another Noah development and one that moves forward not backwards. In fact this is one of my favourite Noah ukes of those I have played. As I say, intriguing and interesting with a great look and good sound. And that really is not a lot of money for a hand made. Very much recommended! https://noahukuleles.com/ **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Noah Baby Tenor Scale: Tenor Body: Solid spruce top, solid Indian Rosewood back and sides Bridge: Go go mat pin bridge Saddle: Bone Spacing at saddle: 41mm Finish: Hand finished gloss Neck: Unspecified (maple?) Fingerboard: Go go mat Frets: 18, 14 to body Nut: Bone Nut width: Just over 36mm, nearly 30mm G to A Tuners: Open gears Weight: 565g Strings: A choice, but Worth Browns on this example Extras: Gig bag, strap button Country of origin: Vietnam Price: £289 - £299 inc UK delivery **UKULELE PROS** Cute dimensions Classy decor Good overall build Great volume Good sustain Intriguing halfway house tone Fair price **UKULELE CONS** Usual hand made finishing marks that may upset total purists Tuners could be improved **UKULELE SCORES** ** ** Looks - 9.5 out of 10 Fit and finish - 9 out of 10 Sound - 9 out of 10 Value for money - 9.5 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9.3 out of 10** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## As part of my wish to feature more affordable ukuleles on the reviews bench this year, I grabbed this one from a brand I've looked at before. It's the Caramel CAG 28 Curly Acacia Concert Ukulele. And this is also an 'Amazon' ukulele, meaning an instrument that you really don't see in many other places and has the usual listing with an impossibly high number of 5 star reviews. I regularly dip my toe into Amazon ukuleles for the simple reason that, whilst I don't recommend them as a place to buy ukes, many people DO and it seems only right that those 5 star reviews are 'tested' more fairly. That's not to say all Amazon offerings are terrible - I first encountered Enya that way, and one or two others have shown a bit of promise like Donner. As for Caramel, well less so.. they've had three outings on Got A Ukulele and all have been distinctly average with some issues that gave them low scores. Lets see how this one fares. **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** The Caramel CAG series seems to come in three flavours of all laminate concert ukes. You can choose either a dark ebony model (complete with Ovation rip off leaf soundhole design), a plainer red African mahogany model or this, the CAG28 curly acacia model. They are all double bout instruments with the modern ultra rounded larger lower bout which is very popular these days. And yes, to be fair, the laminate acacia here is somewhat curly. It's not the most striking example i've seen, but i'm not calling Trade Descriptions on them - it's pretty enough.. so far. The bridge is not specified, but looks to me like a 'techwood' or possibly paper composite. It's jet black and shaped in an attractive asymmetric style which is different but still manages to look a touch scruffy. It's a pin style with plastic bridge pins and the unspecified saddle looks like plastic to me with a straight top. And here is my first alarm bell. The saddle is seated very low into the bridge indeed. Now that's fine if you need to _raise_ the string action as you can easily put a shim under it, but if we find the strings need to come _down_ , I am not sure there is much hope here as you'd then effectively be running the strings over the bridge mount. Not good. Anyway, spacing here is 41mm. On to the finish and decoration and you don't get much. There is no edge binding meaning you see the laminate wood in cross section, and the sound hole gets an abalone ring. The body gets a gloss finish and before I give you my opinion I thought I would share what the Caramel marketing says... _"CAG28 features a unique glossy finish that sets them apart from standard ukuleles. Similar to the meticulous process used for piano lacquer finishes, each ukulele goes through multiple rounds of careful polishing. The result is a stunning, durable and glossy appearance that catches the eye..."_ _ _ What the Got A Ukulele opinion says is this. It's thick, it's gloopy, it's rippling in places due to poor application and there are flaws in various spots. Don't you love marketing speak? I often put up ultra close up macro shots on the socials in advance of videos and I always say that macro photography brings out every little flaw and can make even a high end Kanile'a look scruffy in the right light. In this case though, the scruffiness was real... You may notice it in some shots, but this is not a good finish and when looked at obliquely in certain lights it turns kind of milky rather than translucent. Inside is tidy to be fair, with regular thin braces and notched linings and not much mess I can see. The neck wood isn't specified but is glossed and made of three pieces with visible joints in the heel and headstock. It's also your usual Chinese broom handle profile at the nut with a 35mm width and 27mm string spacing. Meh... not for me. That is topped with an unspecified material for the fretboard which again could be techwood. I can honestly say though, other than on those £20 brightly painted junk ukuleles this is probably one of the worst conditioned fingerboards I have seen. I am not sure if it is just horribly dry or whether it is covered with remnants of polish they have not removed, but some fret spaces are almost milky white.  It's easily fixed with wire wool, but.... ugh... I don't want to touch it. It comes with 18 frets joined at the 14th, and it's edge bound in something dark to hide the ends. In a surprise to me though, none of them are sharp, even at the upper end even if the dressing does look rudimentary. Fair play I guess. Outward position markers are inlaid in pearl at the 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th and 15th in flowery motifs which are nice to look at but totally spoiled by the poor finish on the wood they are sat in. They are paired with side dots at the same places. Beyond the nut, which looks like plastic, is a slot head which I always think look too big on instruments smaller than tenors. It's faced in something glossy black and carries the Caramel logo in a greeting card sticker. BUT... unlike Martin, at least they glossed over it so there is no risk from clip on tuners. Who'd have thought it... Caramel beat Martin on a design feature! Sadly though the finish on the headstock otherwise is poor - scratches and polish remnants on the black edges, carving marks inside the slots that look like they were done with a hammer drill.. oh dear... The tuners are specified by Caramel as 'Premium tuning machines' and are in black and, naturally side mounted. They look pretty generic to me, but I have seen worse and they work ok to be fair. Finishing things off are the usual Amazon 'kitchen sink'. Firstly you get what Caramel call 'Carbon Fiber' strings which I presume is a 'lost in translation' thing meaning fluorocarbon. You get two strap buttons, a half decent padded bag, picks, spare strings, a strap, picks, cloth, bridge pin puller (and spare pins) and a clip on tuner. And (bearing in mind dynamic pricing) these are on Amazon at £99.99 at the time of review. That's above some of the cheapest you see on Amazon, but in the scale of all ukuleles out there it's still at the lower end. So very much a mixed bag here. An overall attractive enough looking uke (at a distance) with a nice shape and some wood grain interest, but let down by some truly agricultural finishing... Though of course these things are less important if it plays well enough and sounds nice. Let's dive in. Firstly, back to that bridge and 'Houston we 'may' have a problem'. I measure the action at the 12th fret here to be about 2.75mm. Now that is within what I would call 'normal levels' but it is on the high side. That doesn't mean it is not playable, but if you wanted to take it down (and I would) I think you are out of luck with that saddle. Add to that the fact that over time ukes to move and bend a bit, and if that neck started to move under string tension, pushing the strings higher still then you really will have an issue. At the nut on the other hand the action is what I would call low to the point I will be listening out for string buzz. The conclusion - something is not right here for me..... There simply can't be if you need the saddle to be THAT low to get, at best, a 2.7mm action. Hmmmm. Otherwise it's also quite a hefty uke for a concert at 665g though it does balance ok. Basics first - volume and sustain. Sadly neither are out of the park here. Whilst this is not a truly quiet instrument it's not got that much punch and is distinctly average. Sustain too, whilst not totally staccato is average to short. Neither of those things will make for a really enjoyable playing experience. Tone wise when strummed I find this far to thin sounding for my ears and the lack of volume allows any real 'pep'. It's not an offensive tone I suppose, but I just have little more to say on this style of play because it is so one dimensional! Fingerpicking is a nicer sound, with a delicate chime that seems to intonate well up the fretboard. But again, when you have shorter sustain there isn't a great deal of expression you can get out of it and again I am short of words on how to describe it other than 'basic'. I repeat though, it's not an offensive tone at all, and I have heard a LOT worse in Amazon ukes, but it's still extremely generic sounding with no real character. It sounds like a basic uke. I suppose that is what it is, but i've heard better at £100... So another average one for Caramel. Nice to look at from a distance, very much less so when close up with some terrible finishing. And then a bit of a let down on the sound too which, whilst not horrible is quite easily beaten for the ticket price. Meh.... Caramel CAG28 Amazon UK **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Caramel CAG28 Scale: Concert Body: Laminate curly acacia Bridge: Unspecified pin bridge Saddle: Plastic Spacing at saddle: 41mm Finish: Gloss Neck: Unspecified Fingerboard: Unspecified Frets: 18, 14 to body Nut: Plastic Nut width: 35mm, 27mm G to A Tuners: Open gears Strings: Unbranded fluorocarbon Extras: Gig bag, strap button, spare strings, clip on tuner, strap, cloth, picks, bridge pin puller and spare pins Weight: 665g Country of origin: China Price:£99.99 **UKULELE PROS** Nice enough body looks Well dressed frets Inoffensive tone I suppose Cheap **UKULELE CONS** Gloopy gloss finish Rough finishing on bridge Very low saddle - something wrong Horrible fingerboard finishing Poor finish on headstock Average volume and sustain Thin strummed tone Generic **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 8 out of 10 Fit and finish - 6 out of 10 Sound - 7 out of 10 Value for money - 8 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 7.3 out of 10** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## Here's a ukulele that caught my eye, but i've not seen much fanfare about (in the UK at least). This is the new Ortega TourPlayer Series Tenor Ukulele. Ortega are a German instrument brand that have featured on this site several times though never really lit the fire for me for various reasons. But then you are scrolling and something catches your eye that immediately looks interesting so I grabbed one. The TourPlayer ukuleles are a range of new ukes from Ortega that pair with their fairly new TourPlayer series of guitars. These are all tenor scale ukuleles that use the same chambered solid back and sides with solid drop-tops to complete the chamber Ortega call it the 'ultimate stage ukulele'. Let's dig in... **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** So as I say, this caught my eye and I don't mind saying 'in a very good way' as it's quite the looker when you first see it. The models come in four flavours all with the solid chambered okoume bodies, though with different tops. You have a choice of two with spruce tops (one in natural colour and a left hander in black), a blue stained flamed maple top or this one, a gloss burst finished acacia top. That use of the word 'solid' for the back and sides is an interesting one because they don't use the term 'solid' for the tops. Routed out chambered back and sides are technically 'solid' I guess, but not in the normal meaning of the word with ukes - it's a chunky block. I'm not against laminates as you know, but the bigging up of the back and sides seems misleading to me.  Anyway, as I say, I do like the look and think the development certainly has chimes of the successful Kala Night Owl and Revelator ukes which both are built on similar principles. It's in a fairly standard double bout shape with slope cutaway on one of the shoulders that looks great. The okoume block is glossed in a deep reddish stain and seems to be made from about three large pieces. The top is very attractive too with a warm burst and some interesting flamey wood grain in the acacia. The soundholes are also head turners in multiple teardrop shapes on the upper bout. I like it. It's showy but classy at the same time and I can see the 'stage ukulele' element in this respect. The bridge is similar to that I have seen on several Ortega ukes and is a tie bar made of Purpleheart wood that look stained black to me. I'm not that impressed with how it is finished as it looks rather rough and unfinished and needs a sanding! The saddle is bone with a straight top. Spacing here comes in at 42mm. This finish lets the body down. Finishing the body is a gloss finish that looks a bit thick to me on the top with some obvious 'gloop' around the sound holes and some unsightly polish left around the inner edges. I can't see other flaws though and it is uniformly shiny. It also has an attractive top binding strip in flamed maple which looks great. I think it comes together nicely and reminds me of the Taylor T5 guitars. Then I spy the ugly fat control paddle thumped into the side and sigh... OK, it's a 'stage ukulele' so I _get_ the pickup, and it's also USB rechargeable too so no heavy battery. But I just don't want or NEED all this gubbins. Kala went with a good quality passive for the Revelator and Night Owl and that was _totally_ the right choice in my view. Oh well.. That terminates to a jack plate on the bottom bout. Incidentally it's branded as a 'Magus X' under saddle system which is Ortega's own line. I can't show you what is inside as I can't get a camera in there, but I can spy back braces and presume the top has them too. It looks tidy though. The neck is a bolt on to the body (please - don't get me into the debate about bolt on necks.. plusses and minuses...) which isn't obviously specified but I think is mahogany. It's nice to see it is finished in satin and because of the bolt on the neck heel is quite diminutive. I can't see any jointing in it either and I do like the small veloute at the start of the headstock. What I am less happy with is the 35mm nut (27mm spacing) and broom handle round back which is not my cup of tea at all. It reminds me of Fender necks and I simply don't like it. Your mileage may vary of course. Topping that is a fingerboard which is unspecified but may also be purpleheart. It's even in colour but needs oiling badly. It's attractively edge bound in more flamed maple and I like how the end floats over the top of the body. It has 20 frets, joined at the 14th and some of these are on the edge of being sharp despite the binding. There is only one outward facing position marker at the 12th in the form of three pearly 'moon phase' dots, but you also get black side dots at the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th, 15th and 17th. Overall the neck is a mixed bag. The nut is made of bone (with annoying sharp sides, also Fender-esque) and beyond that is a slot head headstock faced in matte black. I'm not totally against slot heads, but I think this lets the look down both on account of it looking massively chunky but also that it lacks gloss and looks, well... bland, especially against the body. It's like all the work went into the body and this was an afterthought. The Ortega logo is screen printed on the top face. The tuners are side mounted open gears in black which work ok, but looking at them closely they are pretty generic and cheap. Finishing things off, aside from the pickup, are a set of Ortega branded white nylon strings and a fairly decent branded gig bag with colour accents which is quite funky. These are not really about in the UK yet, but the price I paid to get one in from Europe was around £215. That's pretty reasonable I think for an instrument with these looks. So it's a slightly mixed bag so far that I will come back to in the summing up. But bar one or to finish and subjective points I still think it's a great looking uke. Set up wise it seems ok despite that narrow nut. It's a chunky thing weighing 860g which I suppose is understandable considering the construction though it doesn't feel uncomfortable and balances nicely too. Sometimes with these more unconventional electro acoustic ukes I find that whilst the plugged in tone is good enough, the acoustic side is a let down. The Epiphone Les Paul and the Fender tele and strat acoustic electrics fall in that category and leave me thinking 'why didn't you just make a solid body. Of course it CAN be done with the Revelator, Night Owl and some of the Bonanza ukes being good examples, so we will see how things go here. The basics actually surprised me a bit here as the volume is pretty good for such a construction. It's not the loudest I've played, but quite passable. Likewise the sustain, whilst not out of the park is perfectly reasonable. It's clearly not a 'dead' instrument so this is a good start. Acoustically though the tone is less impressive for me. It is clear enough, but somewhat one dimensional, bright and a bit 'reedy' to my ears. It's less of an issue when played strummed as you can get some fun jangly patterns out of it, even if they are a bit on the shrill side and don't sound like a tenor to me. Fingerpicking though these traits come more to the fore and it has some quite weedy sounds, particularly as you go up the fretboard which are not that pleasant to me. It's not terrible by any means and many people like the thinner sound, but i'd like a bit more beef. Now, of course this has a pickup and whilst I didn't plug it in on the video (sound you would hear depends entirely on your amp) I have done so and...well.... it makes the same core sound but louder... (Well duh!!). But, once you are plugged in of course you could use an EQ pedal, effects or tone shape on your amplifier to change the sound up. And I guess that will be where it shines.. they do call it a 'stage uke' after all. So overall I still adore the look of the bodies on these and like the concept, but I think it's let down by some of the finishing, a neck not to my tastes, a bland and enormous headstock and my own personal views about active pickups. Still, it IS the looker and I get that stage credential thing on that point. It's also not hugely expensive either. Yet that core tone is a bit thin and uninspiring and I am not sure I could see myself playing it for pleasure without plugging it in. It's not a 'bad' tone and certainly not an Epiphone Les Paul played this way, but the Night Owl for example is a much nicer unplugged sound and the TourPlayer lacks some body. Though, as I say, people will say 'it's meant to be plugged in'... so, yes I could tweak this through an amp, but I judge acoustic electrics on core tone first and foremost when they have sound holes. That all sounds a bit harsh but much of it is subjective and I'm actually a fan of this one for the money so the scoring is better than I had originally envisaged. Gets a recommendation if you bear in mind the points made, and I remain in love with that body! https://ortegaguitars.com/en/ukuleles **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Ortega TourPlayer Scale: Tenor Body: Chambered Okoume back and sides, laminate acacia top Bridge: Purpleheart tie bar Saddle: Bone Spacing at saddle: 42mm Finish: Gloss Neck: Mahogany? Fingerboard: Purpleheart? Frets: 20, 14 to body Nut: Bone Nut width: 35mm, 27mm G to A Tuners: Open gears Extras: Active pickup system, gig bag Strings: Ortega white nylon Weight: 860g Country of origin: China Price: Circa £215 **UKULELE PROS** Great look Nice wood grains on top Half decent volume Surprising sustain Good price **UKULELE CONS** Some finishing gripes Neck is not my thing Slightly sharp frets Not a huge fan of the core acoustic tone Passive pickup please! **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 9 out of 10 Fit and finish - 8 out of 10 Sound - 8 out of 10 Value for money - 9.5 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 8.6 out of 10** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## This week a look at a ukulele type I always enjoy - that is to say a hand built luthier instrument. This one comes from Sweden and is built by Gustaf Wettermark at Bagarmossens Ukulelemanufaktur. That name signifies two things. Firstly, Bagarmossen is a district of south east Stockholm, Sweden and the 'Ukulelemanufaktur'.. well, you can work that out for yourselves! Gustaf tells me he a 'hobby' builder, a term I always treat with extreme caution when I am dealing with builders who say that - mainly because they tend to turn out to be wonderfully skilled creators for which the 'hobby' term I feel devalues their work. Anyway, lets just say 'small' builder, low production, sideline in this case. I've been seeing a few of his builds crop up on the socials for some time and it seems clear to me there is some serious skill going on with his work. Looking at his stuff i've seen he's built a variety of scales, but he told me he wanted me to take a look at a sopranino he was due to be working on. In fact he told me this was a bit more of a special project as he had some space in the calendar and wanted to build what HE wanted. I mention that because whenever I review luthier built ukes you need to bear in mind that I am just looking at one example of their work. Usually these instruments are not 'off the peg' nor are you forced to get one 'just like this'. A luthier review is more a review of their skill than just the instrument at hand. In fact when we get to the price, this is a bit more of a 'special case' too as his base starting prices are much lower. **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** Lets look closer. This is a short scale uke at 12 inches nut to saddle (so not hugely smaller than a standard sop), and made from solid walnut... in fact there is a LOT of walnut in this one. Gustaf explains he usually builds his sopraninos in something like cherry wood but had some nice walnut he wanted to work with. So this is a double bout sopranino made from solid walnut pieces for the top back and sides. Looking at some of his photographs, it looks like the sides on these are formed in a thick ring and then they have a much thinner single piece top and back applied to complete the sound box. Whilst that's not quite the same as builds from a brand like Bonanza, they too had thick sides and to my ear sounded just great leading me to wonder just how much input the sides have a on a ukulele. Of course, those who know their old instrument history will know that Orville Gibson built arch-tops and mandolins this way and it avoids bending or the need for top and back linings. It also looks like the neck, whilst a separate piece is built 'in to' the top of the body with a joint. Interesting. The wood grain is simple, but very attractive in a coffee brown which I think looks just great, particularly on the sides. I also love the thin depth from top to back. It's a cute little thing! The bridge is a through style, very tidily made and finished in rosewood. Some people saw the early pictures and thought it looked big but it's not - remember this is a very small bodied instrument. That holds a straight topped bone saddle in a dedicated slot and the spacing here comes in at about 37mm. On first glance the decoration looks simple when it's actually not.  The top at a distance looks like it has a dark wood binding strip around it, but when you get in closer you see this is rope binding made from lots of alternating pieces of ebony and rosewood. And the rosewood when you catch it in the right light really glows red. Understated but interesting when you know what you are looking for. I think it's wonderful. The body gets nothing else and is finished in a very traditional hand rubbed shellac. The other thing you will notice on the body is the jack socket in the base as Gustaf has fitted a simple passive pickup which uses a soundboard spot transducer. Small instrument, simple pickup, minimal weight - exactly the right choice! There's not much to see inside on account of those thick sides, so no linings needed. The braces are simple and tidy and the bridge has an under plate. The neck is made from a single piece of walnut which _looks_ like it's natural extension from the body as I say above, but that's clever jointing I think and the back piece hides the connection. It's finished in more shellac and feels great tapering to a 35mm nut and 27mm between outer strings. It also has a very comfortable veloute carved into the neck where the headstock starts. I love those. The neck is topped with a rosewood fingerboard with more subtle but clever decoration like the body. Down the middle of the neck is more ebony and red rosewood pieces with a more obvious paler chevron on the 10th space. I'd like this to be a bit more obvious, but that is really nit picking. Down the sides there is more rope binding with a paler piece at the 7th to act as a fret marker. Very clever. It's fitted with 12 frets to the body which are extremely skinny and dressed impeccably with hand done semi hemi ends. This is seriously good work. Beyond the bone nut is a very simple but attractive headstock again with the ebony and rosewood trim which sets it off nicely. The tuners on this example are the impeccable Gotoh UPT in gold with black buttons. Flawless! Being something of a 'special edition' Gustaf explains he had enough walnut to make a coffin case for it too, with a beautiful red velour lining and more of the ebony and rosewood binding trim. It's awesome and probably had as much work as the uke! You also get a handmade 'fretboard' keyring which holds the keys to lock the case. What a lovely pairing making it a real 'treasure' instrument. He's finished the uke with The Tin Man's Magic Ukulele strings (flourocarbon) which is a nice choice and he suggests tuning in D which I understand on a sopranino, though you could play around with others. And for this example we are talking a premium over his standard sopraninos which start at €325. This one has an asking price of €585, but you know what? I still think that is great value. This is all hand made in Europe with serious work in the decoration, case, fret work, polishing, UPT's. I _totally_ get it. The build here is both excellent and clever with a lot of attention to detail. As I always say with luthier builds there are one or two tooling marks here and there, but remember that this is all done by hand, not a robot so you will expect those - in fact i'd prefer it - it makes it feel more real. Saying that, this is on the tidier side for luthier work I have seen and that ropework and frets in particular are spectacular. It's not the lightest sopranino I have held at 420g, but that hardly makes it a heavy instrument. It's also super comfortable to hold without a strap and balances perfectly. Basics first and two things that some of the big brand sopraninos can fail at is volume and sustain. I think it's because some of the factory sopraninos can be over built and that coupled with the smaller amount of body real estate can choke them. Some luthiers though can show what can be done though, and it's the case here. The volume punch is terrific, and whilst sustain will always be lower on a sub soprano it's not too bad here at all. I love how lively it feels in the hands and you can _feel_ every note. Tone wise it's also sometimes hard to describe sopraninos as the higher tuning can make it hard to sense tonal signatures amidst the brightness.  This one certainly has a bright zingy tone, but I am sensing some woodiness too and a very pretty harmonic chime when you strum it.  It's very pleasant and naturally peppy and jangly when strummed, but a word about accuracy too. The smaller you go with a fingerboard the harder it is to dial in the intonation. Things are terrific here right up the neck (when you ignore my fluffed playing). It's a very clear, crisp and precise sound which shows the credentials in the build. Sopraninos are not for everyone of course due to that brightness and whilst it's a bit too much for my personal tastes, I know many fans of these tiny instruments and this is clearly an accomplished one. So it's a delight to be able to bring you yet another great home grown luthier, and a second one from Sweden too. There ain't half some talented people out there and i'm lucky to get to experience them. If you are a luthier build fan, then Gustaf needs to go on your shopping list to speak to. He's got the skills! Highly recommended! You can see more of his work  on this Facebook page or his Insta, or contact through his website. Links below https://ukebagis.wordpress.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ukebagis https://www.instagram.com/ukebagis/ **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Bagarmossens Ukulelemanufaktur Scale: Sopranino Body: All solid walnut Bridge: Rosewood, through style Saddle: Bone Spacing at saddle: 37mm Finish: Shellac Neck: Walnut Fingerboard: Rosewood Frets: 12 Nut: Bone Nut width: 35mm, 27mm between outer strings Tuners: Gotoh UPT Strings: Tin Man's Magic Ukulele Strings Extras: Passive pickup, hand made wooden case, key-ring Country of origin: Sweden Weight: 420g Price: €585 **UKULELE PROS** Wonderfully cute look Great tone woods Extremely talented and clever decoration Some of the best fret work i've seen Superb tuners THAT case! Great volume Decent sustain Great clarity and accuracy Very fair price **UKULELE CONS** Nope! **UKULELE SCORES ** Looks - 9.5 out of 10 Fit and finish - 9.5 out of 10 Sound - 9 out of 10 Value for money 9.5 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9.4 out of 10** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## Well here's a uke brand I've been itching to get hold of for ages now. This is the 'Oli L2-BCR Baritone - a brand that caused some great excitement when they launched gets a run out on Got A Ukulele! 'Oli have been around for a little over a year now, though have only just started appearing in the UK. They are a new 'house brand' of the very well known 'The Ukulele Site' store in Hawaii run by Andrew Kitakis and his team. It seems a little churlish to me to refer to them merely as a 'House brand' Uke, as what is really the case here is a long thought out, ground up ukulele development between one of the globes most well respected uke stores and a renowned luthier team in Java under Ryan Condon and his team. This is not an 'off the peg' uke with a TUS badge slapped on the headstock, but rather Andrew's team have taken their own knowledge, advice from luthiers, pro players and the like to create their own instrument line. A really nice story in my view. **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** So as I say, people have been drooling over these for a while despite them only being available from TUS. Enter stage right, Alex at Southern Ukulele Store in the UK who secured a bunch to be available in the UK at both SUS and World Of Ukes. They both have quite a few in different varieties, which is my cue to try to explain the product lines. As I understand it they start with the 'X Series' as the base level - more standard ukuleles and then move up through two more 'tiers' called the L1 and L2. These add in some more premium appointments, key being the lattice bracing that I believe the L stands for. What i've also noted is that whilst they seem to have some core model types with namings that tell you what they are (TMG - Tenor, Mango Gloss, BCR- Baritone, Cedar, Rosewood etc), there also seem to be sub-varieties on some of the decor appointments, as is the case here. More on that below. The L2-BCR therefore is in the upper tier from 'Oli and is a Baritone with a solid cedar top and solid rosewood back and sides. More specifically this is solid Western Red Cedar on the top and solid Indonesian Rosewood for the back and sides. That is a popular wood pairing in high end classical guitars which I expect will give a cedar warmth coupled with a darker tightening up of the tone with the rosewood. Tone aside these are clearly very nice tonewood selections as they each look beautiful and pair with a wonderful contrast. The top grain is tight and dead straight and the stripes on the rosewood is something I could gaze at all day. I would also note the overall shape that, despite being a trad double bout affair is pretty skinny side to side giving it a vintage uke feel to me that I am very taken with also in a world dominated by newer 'fat bottomed' ukes. The bridge is a tie bar style made from ebony and very nicely finished and tapered on the side wings in a way that avoids it looking generic. That holds a bone saddle with a curved top (for reasons I come on to below) and has a string spacing of 46mm. I mentioned that there are some decoration variations on the 'Oli ukes and whilst I had seen a TUS video of an L2-BCR with more regular black and white purfling to the top this one goes with a very striking blue turquoise purfling around the top and sound hole trim. It's a colour I wouldn't normally shout about, but from the moment I opened the case I just gasped as I think it works really nicely and presents more of a 'statement' uke look than the regular binding. I'd also tell you that it is less 'in your face' in the flesh than some photos would suggest.  That blue edging pairs with more regular dark wooden ebony binding to the top, back and soundhole edge. You also get a lower bout arm rest bevel, also in ebony (and doesn't stand out like some can!) and a side sound port with ebony trim too. The body is then finished in a gloss which looks thin and impeccably done. Inside is extremely tidy and interesting too. Alongside the notched linings and regular back braces the top is lattice braced as you will see below. That is to say that rather than single cross braces or a large X brace, there are multipled latticed braces on the top. I can also see the back braces are really skinny and the two sound holes are strengthened on the edges with additional plates. The neck on this one is made of mahogany and i'm pleased to see they gave it a satin coat. There is no joint I can see at the headstock but it has a stacked heel arrangement with an attractive ebony wood cap on the end. The nut end also has what is almost a volute stopper which is comfortable. The profile is quite rounded on this one, and it's also a fairly average (to me) 37mm with 28mm D to E. I'd like it a touch wider and flatter, but as it's a baritone i'm still finding this comfortable and even more so when you read on. Oh, and it has an adjustable truss rod too. That is topped with more ebony for the board which is in great condition. It's fitted with 20 jumbo ish frets with 14 to the body and there is also a slight radius to the top (don't ask me the measurement..) for comfort which is very nice to see and feel and offsets the width hugely for me. The board is also trimmed with more turquoise blue which looks great. Fret markers are Flight style offset wooden inlays that serve as both outward and side markers at the same time. They sit at the 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th and 15th. Beyond the bone nut is a simple effective headstock with a slightly asymmetric wave top that mirrors the wave on the end of the fingerboard, but in reverse. That is faced in glossed ebony and is also trimmed in blue. The 'Oli logo is a wooden inlay and looks good too. Classy. Tuners are the divine Gotoh UPT planetary pegs in black. Some of the best tuners out there and my heart skipped a beat when I saw rear facing tuners on a baritone. Wonderful! ALL ukes should come with these! It comes strung with a Ko'olau Aho baritone set with both the D and G string being wound. You also get a lovely O'ahu fabric trimmed hard shell case which is seriously good quality.  And for all that you are looking at a UK price of £1,599. Serious ukulele money for sure, but this is a seriously specced and finished instrument. For me these are at price points comparable to high end Pono instruments and things like the Moon Birds. As such, I have no doubt these will find their buyers even if it may be too much of a stretch for some. So as you can see the build and finish here are impeccable. I love the details and old-timey look with that modern spritz from the blue trim. It's very comfortable to hold and not heavy for a baritone at all at 890g. Basics first and of course baritones rarely miss a trick on volume and sustain. Both are great here and the resonance in particular is just wonderful with a pleasing vibration that can be felt wherever your body is touching it. Really nice. Tone wise I was expecting warmth from the cedar and it certainly has that. But there is a snappy edge to the higher notes too which balances it off. I don't really consider baritones as old timey strummers for my tastes, and much prefer this fingerpicked with some chord strums thrown in. Either way though it has what I call in the video a 'cosy' sound that I find really comforting and relaxing. That isn't to say muddy at all as there is excellent note clarity on this that really shines whilst the lower strings are providing a glowing kind of warmth in the background. It's also extremely responsive on the fingers meaning you can get all sorts of frills out of the tone with ease and you don't feel you are fighting it to release tone. This is all VERY accomplished sounding that is hard to criticise. I suppose with the work that went into development, it was always going to be. I really admire the story here - extremely knowledgable ukulele experts working with extremely proficient players and master luthiers to build a series from the ground up rather than slapping a badge on. I know that Andrew and team are proud of these and I can now see why. You can see, feel and hear the development that went into these and they've created a uke that sits firmly at the top table. I'd gladly own this one. Very highly recommended! https://theukulelesite.com/ https://www.southernukulelestore.co.uk/ **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: 'Oli L2-BCR Scale: Baritone Body: Solid Western Red Cedar top, solid Indonesian rosewood back and sides Bridge: Ebony, tie bar Saddle: Bone Finish: Gloss Neck: Mahogany Fingerboard: Ebony, radiused Frets: 20, 14 to body Nut: Bone Nut width: 37mm, 28mm D to E Tuners: Gotoh UPT Strings: Ko'olau Aho Baritone Extras: Hard case Weight: 890g Country of origin: Indonesia Price: £1,599 **UKULELE PROS** Extremely classy almost vintage look with modern twists Superbly clean build and finish Very comfortable to hold Radius neck Great tuners Terrific volume and sustain Clear tone with a cosy warmth **UKULELE CONS** Nope... **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 9.5 out of 10 Fit and finish - 10 out of 10 Sound - 9.5 out of 10 Value for money - 9 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9.5 out of 10** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## A ukulele scale in this particular series that I had been hoping for for quite some time now. This is the new Martin 0X Tenor Ukulele. The 'X' in the name from this extremely famous stringed instrument maker is the clue here, as this is another in their 'HPL' or 'High Pressure Laminate' instruments. Martin have used this material for some time going back to the 0X Bamboo and 0XK sopranos I looked at first back in 2017. I've since looked at their concert too. Those are a few years ago so it's worth a recap. HPL is _not_ wood. There we are.. that's the thing, and it's also the thing that makes certain uke fans apoplectic with rage for reasons I really don't understand. HPL is actually sheets of paper card pressed very firmly in a resin to create a very light, very hard material that is also used for kitchen counter top finishing. Why don't I understand the rage? Well, because having played several from Martin, but also Bonanza and Enya, it's an eco material that really sounds very good to my ears. No, it doesn't have signature tonal properties of individual tone-woods (the outer image on here is just a graphic print, not wood) but they are tough and, quite simply, work as materials for instruments for me. Get over it. That out of the way, let's dig in. **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** The Tenor version of the 0X line for Martin was the final missing piece for me having put out sopranos and concerts already. It comes in two flavours, either a very striking, 'oh so Johnny Cash' matte black version or this one, equally striking, and called 'Sunset'. And remember what I said above - the material here is not wood so anything that you can see that looks like wood grain in the body (bar the bridge) is just a screen print on the outer facing. Martin do irritate me a little on this as their product spec does read like you are getting some Mahogany here (or Koa in the 0XK soprano) but you are not. Naturally this is your typical double bout Martin shape for the body with the 'print' being wood grain, left straight brown on the back and sides and a, rather lovely (in my view), sunburst finish to the top with dark black upper bouts. I think the top print is supposed to be spruce which is the usual choice for sunbursts, but as I say, just a graphic.  I do accept though that it's a touch on the 'severe' side and the dark areas look nothing like a wood finish. Whilst the grain print may infer this has two pieces for each part it's just the print and the top, back and sides are all formed from single sheets - something easy to do with HPL. The bridge is very stock Martin in the form of a small tie bar made from 'select hardwood' which could be anything, but still is very tidily finished. At least it's not soft Sipo wood though I think that with Martin prices they could at least tell you what you are getting. Sitting in that is a compensated white Tusq saddle and the spacing clocks in at 41mm. Decoration is an odd one to talk about with HPL instruments, mainly because the nature of the material means you could put anything on it (as Bonanza ukes will attest). But in terms of 'trad' decoration features you get the usual skinny Martin white and black soundhole rosette as a transfer and nothing else. I think the edges of the top and back have been treated to something dark though as you are not seeing the HPL in cross section, rather a dark strip. It's also nice to see they are chamfered too so you are not getting a sharp 90 degree angle which will dig into the arm. Other than that the natural finish of HPL is satin so that's it for the finishing. Like other Martin 0X series ukuleles, the inside introduces some real wood in the bracing and notched linings and like every Martin I see, it's extremely tidy. It also has an odd wooden plate behind the main top brace which I suspect may be to stop the HPL top bellying. You can also look at the more natural colour of the raw HPL without the outer graphic which is a kind of blue-ish stone grey. The neck uses another design employed by Martin before, and another that has made people 'sniffy' for reasons I don't understand. It's made up of lots of long strips of wood (Birch in this case) laminated along the length of the neck and bonded together creating a groovy looking stripe that looks great in the more carved areas. No, it's not a single piece, but what this technique does (sometimes called Stratabond) is create a very strong neck resilient to bending and twisting. What's not to like about that? Oh, and like other Martin ukes, the neck is connected to the body with a dovetail joint. The profile is very Martin, so fairly squashed on the back but a more average 34mm nut width and spacing of 29mm that I measure. Not perfect for me, but the profile saves it. Topping that is more 'select hardwood' which is dark and even in colour. It comes with 20 frets, joined at the 14th and despite not being edge bound, they are dressed well. I also note that the edges of the the board are slightly 'rolled' which removes the 90 degree cut and feels very comfortable in the hands. Nice. Markers are the usual Martin tiny dots facing out at the 5th, 7th, 10th, double 12th and 15th and you get those on the side too with an extra 3rd. The nut is made of more Tusq and beyond that you get the very obvious Martin crown headstock faced in more black HPL. I am eternally thankful that this ditches the 'greeting card sticker' logo and opts for a gold screen print which looks far better. I am also massively thankful they didn't go with their recent choice of Graphtech ratio planetary tuners on this (a product I consider totally unfit for purpose now - too many examples of failures including my own..). Instead you get excellent Grover brand open gears with small cream buttons. Wonderful tuners. Completing the package are a set of Martin strings and the newly upgraded Martin gig bag which I think is excellent. And like most things Martin the price is pretty serious and comes in at £459. It's a lot of dough, but considering the price of the soprano and concert HPL ukes, this is an understandable step up I suppose. Hey, some people will have a beef with Martin on pricing even if they were $10... personally I judge price on the quality of build and parts and think I can see where the value is here. But yes, I have to admit, it's expensive... though do remember that it's not made in China. So, whilst I appreciate this will not be for everyone, I personally love the look of this and the build and finish are simply excellent. HPL can feel a bit on the hefty side, and whilst this isn't super heavy, at 720g it's on the heavier side for a tenor. It's lovely to hold though and balances just fine. I said above that my earlier Martin HPL reviews came out very positive, and that's because I find HPL is a genuinely good material for making tone. No it doesn't sound like wood, but equally it doesn't sound boxy or like plastic either. Both those other Martin HPL's sounded great and actually preferred the HPL soprano to their entry level solid wood model. Here the volume is terrific, which I do tend to find with well made HPL ukes. It's got a cracking punch that will not see you get lost in a jam. Sustain is good too, not stellar but certainly better than average. Things are looking good. Tone wise it has a very clear, precise voice with superb clarity. That is not to say 'shrill' or 'bright' and in fact I find it is extremely balanced through the mids, oddly much like mahogany! Strummed it sounds very bouncy and you can hear it harmonise with itself giving it a nice rhythmical edge that is very enjoyable. Yes there's some bright, but also some bass and much inbetween. As I say, balanced. No, it's not a woody tone, and if I wanted to be more brutal I suppose it's a little one dimensional, but I still like it. It's pleasant. Fingerpicking is chimey and pretty and the volume stays decent right up the neck. I also find it very comfortable to play this way with that smooth neck. I was trying to find a better way to sum up the tone and what I thought was that this is an 'addictive' uke. It's very nice to have 'one more play' partly because it's comfortable, but also because it's nice to listen too. Not over complex, not super simple, just kind of 'nice'. Closing this review, yes, I know people love to bash Martin, but I am very taken with this one, as I was with their other HPL ukes. They are simply very well made ukes, look good and play very nicely too. Sure, it's quite a few clams, but hey, it's a very good uke! Recommended! https://www.martinguitar.com/ **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Martin 0X Scale: Tenor Body: HPL (High Pressure Laminate) Bridge: 'Select' hardwood, tie bar Saddle: Tusq Spacing at saddle: 41mm Finish: Natural HPL satin Neck: Birch stratabond Fingerboard: Select hardwood Frets: 20, 14 to body Nut: Tusq Nut width: 34mm, 29mm G to A Tuners: Grover open gears Strings: Martin Extras: Gig bag Weight: 720g Country of origin: Mexico Price: £459 **UKULELE PROS** Nice looks Excellent build and finish Nice neck feel Great tuners Very nice bag Terrific volume Good sustain Very clear mid tones **UKULELE CONS** Bit pricey **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 9 out of 10 Fit and finish - 9.5 out of 10 Sound - 9 out of 10 Value for money - 8.5 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9 out of 10** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## Continuing my look at good value ukuleles I was pleased recently to get hold of this brand new one from Flight. This is the Flight NUT500 Tenor. These were only _very_ recently announced, and, I don't think are even in UK Stores yet (Got A Ukulele first once again?). Flight say this new trio in their Natural Series is here to 'shake up the ukulele world', being a range of solid topped ukuleles at an 'unbeatable price'. This got me thinking about how many solid top ukes I've actually looked at and whilst they can be ten a penny in the 'who are they' brands on Amazon, it's not actually _that_ many from the household names. I suppose the aNueNue Color comes to mind, as does the Uma UK-05SC, both great low priced instruments, but sure enough... this Flight series undercuts them both on price. **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** The NU 500 series comes in three scales, soprano through to tenor and i've been lucky to have had a play of all of them, but chosen to feature the Tenor for this review (see the video for some sneaks of the others). They all have the same specs though, which is to say solid mahogany tops on laminate mahogany back and sides bodies. They also all come in an attractive modern and very rounded double bout shape which is common for Flight now and looks great, particularly on the concert in my view. Being made from mahogany it's never going to set the world alight on looks I guess, but it's nice enough and simple to look at. In fact simplicity runs through this one in order to stake that claim on low price, and you know I like simpler looking instruments so this doesn't scare me. The top back and sides are also a decent match to each other. That may seem an odd thing to say considering they are all mahogany, but I have seen several uke examples with solid tops where the solid sheet is clearly from a very different batch to the back and sides and looks odd - here the woods all look similar which is nice. The bridge is a through body style plate made of 'techwood' being either a composite or a stained hardwood. I'm going composite here as it looks very like Richlite to me with the smooth satin finish and that's a material I think we should be seeing more of as it works well and doesn't involve using ebony or rosewood trees. It's very tidy too. Sitting in that is an ABS plastic saddle and a spacing of 41mm. Being a ukulele built to a price point means you get very little decoration, so no bindings, no purfling, no abalone, but I quite like it for that clean look. The sound hole ring is a laser etch job which usually sets my skin crawling, but you know what? - I am rather taken with the geometric design here. It's a modern look which is quite clean and nothing flowery or 'faux Hawaiian' which I can't stand. I could live with that and I think it shows that you can make this technique work with the right design. OK, I'd still prefer an inlay but, again.. back to the price.. The body is finished in an open pore satin which is thin and even all over and has no complaints from me. Elsewhere on the body are a pair of strap buttons and you get them on all the scale choices too. Inside looks tidy with notched linings and regular thin braces. No issues here.. The neck is specced as Okoume and is also satin coated. it's formed from three pieces with joints in the normal places which are not too obvious. At the nut the profile is pretty generic with a rounder back than I would like and a pretty standard 35mm nut with 27mm spacing. It's not to my taste, but as I say, rather standard and I can't have everything.. Topping that is a rosewood fretboard, which is even in colour and looks well conditioned. It does need a bit of a scrub with wire wool though as there are remnants of oil that make some fret spaces look a bit scruffy. Being a value driven instrument you don't get the excellent semi-hemi fret ends that Flight use a lot, but this is still edge bound and the frets are dressed nicely with no sharp edges I can feel. Position dots face out at the 5th, 7th, 10th and 12th and they are paired down the side with an extra one at the 15th. Beyond the bone nut is a crown shaped headstock faced in a darker wood (rosewood) which looks clean and classy against the mono colour of the rest of the instrument. The Flight F logo is a pearl inlay in the top face. The tuners are similar to those I've seen on Flight before - black open gears with brassy coloured mechanisms. They are unbranded but work just fine. Finishing the deal along with the strap buttons are a set of D'Addario Titanium strings and a more functional but still decent Flight branded gig bag. And I've talked about value.. well I am not sure of UK store pricing but the Flight RRP is €99 for the tenor and a bit cheaper for the concert and soprano. Terrific value and really not far away from the prices of the laminate entry models from the likes of Kala and Ohana. Heck, this is CHEAPER than laminates like the Baton Rouge Sun ukes. Superb value indeed. So a lot to like here so far, and certainly for that price. The build is great as is the finish (bar the fingerboard needing a clean). It's also light at 545g, balances well and is nice to hold and handle. Basics first and the volume is absolutely terrific on this one. This packs a wonderful punch and projects clearly without a lot of effort on your strumming hand. Great. Sustain is a little more average here. That isn't to say it is 'poor' or 'bad' as there is certainly some sustain, but it's not the longest ring out i've played. Still, string experimentation would likely also adjust that. The tone itself is very much down the mids as you would expect from mahogany, but there is a bit of brightness and bass too giving it a balanced and interesting sound. I think this is a delight as a strummer. Played that way this is a really peppy, jangly and bouncy sounding instrument that is harmonising with itself and giving you the impression you have more than four strings. Fingerpicking is chimey and again has great volume and clarity right up the neck. Throw in some strums to your melody lines and it's good all round! OK, it's not a hugely complex sound with the sort of character you would get from an expensive koa or mango uke, but it's a clear and very enjoyable mahogany tone that put a smile on my face to play. And 99 euros... Yes it's a simple looker too I suppose, but it works extremely well as a value ukulele. In fact the main takeaway here is this is punching WELL above the asking price and that makes it a total no-brainer ukulele for me. At this ticket price these should sell by the bucketload and it comes very highly recommended. Great uke!! https://flightmusic.com/ **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Flight NUT500 Scale: Tenor Body: Solid mahogany top, laminate mahogany back and sides Bridge: Techwood, through bridge Saddle: ABS Finish: Satin Neck: Okoume Fingerboard: Rosewood Frets: 18, 14 to body Nut: ABS Nut width: 35mm, 27mm G to A Tuners: Open gears Strings: D'Addario Titanium Extras: Strap buttons, gig bag Weight: 545g Country of origin: China Price: €99 **UKULELE PROS** Good build and body finish Light Excellent projection Balanced tone with rich mids Peppy strummed sound Terrific value for money **UKULELE CONS** Neck profile not for me Fingerboard on this one needs a scrub! **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 8.5 out of 10 Fit and finish - 8.5 out of 10 Sound - 9 out of 10 Value for money - 10 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9 out of 10** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## Another big shop own brand ukulele this week, and one i've been trying to fit in for some time. This is the Hartwood Renaissance Pineapple Soprano Ukulele. This is brand that a number of my readers asked me to take a look at, presumably on account of their easy availability and low price. The Hartwood brand is one of the 'house' brands of the music behemoth Gear4Music and the range covers various woods, scales and shapes as well as prices from around £30 to about £75 depending on spec. They are all laminate ukes, as is this one and whilst this is not quite 'bottom end' it's not far off. And, no, I have no idea why it's called the 'Renaissance'... **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** It seems each of the Hartwood ukuleles go to town with 'marketing speak' using terms like 'meticulously crafted' and 'exceptional quality' throughout the range. I can live with those even if they are just Chinese rebadge laminates, but of course they are pretty silent on that L word, referring to this as simply 'Mahogany'. Cheeky. So laminate it is, and another pineapple hot on the heels of the last review.. Well, I have had a two week break... I have said that I am a fan of pineapple shaped ukes and I particularly like them in soprano scale like this. The laminate mahogany here is a little pale and generic on the wood grain, but it's hardly offensive to look at if very samey. And because of that generic look, if you think it looks like certain other brand models, well.. that's probably because it comes from a shared production line in China. The bridge is an 'as to be expected' tie bar that is specified as 'artificial rosewood'. It doesn't look like composite wood, so will be another hardwood stained dark. It's screwed in place and is a little untidy in places where you can see whatever they finished it with blistering slightly on the grain which is irritating. It's fitted with a plastic straight topped saddle and has a string spacing of 36mm. Simple. The decoration is generic insofar as it has the very common cream binding to the top and back with black purfling stripes on the top face. I don't mind the look of these even if they are very common, but the laser etched sound-hole rosette is not my thing at all. I get that this point is subjective, but whilst this is fairly tidy it's overly simple and rather naive looking to me. Back to that binding though - and whilst it adds some visual interest the finishing on the outer edges is positively SHARP. This is not a comfortable ukulele to hold and these need dressing back. The body is then finished in a satin which is open pore and not very thick. Sadly in those open pores are a few specks of white polish that have not been buffed out. Elsewhere on the body are two strap buttons. Personally I see no need for buttons on a soprano, but that is just me. Inside is tidier than I would expect with regular braces, notched linings and no mess I can see. I must say though that the laminate top is quite thick on this one, so this is clearly not the pro grade laminate you see on some brands like Kiwaya. The neck is specced as mahogany which is very pale and has obvious joints at the heel and an annoyingly angular one at the headstock. It's a generic round profile at the nut end and a disappointing 34mm nut with with 27mm G to A. Yes, it's a personal thing, but I would never buy a ukulele with these nut dimensions. It's topped with more artificial rosewood which is in pretty decent condition and very even in colour. Even more surprising is the fact it is edge bound which hides the ends of the 15 frets (12 to the body) which also have no hints of sharp edges. When you see the price of this ukulele you will agree that his is a surprise even if they do need a bit of a polish! Pearly dots face out at the 5th, 7th, 10th, double 12th and 15th, but sadly there are no side dots, which on a beginner instrument will be all the more important. WHY? Beyond the plastic nut is a simple headstock faced in a veneer of darker mahogany. I don't know how to describe the shape which is a simple top curve with a bite taken out of it, but I don't mind it. The Hartwood logo is laser etched in the top face. The tuners are very generic guitar style closed gears which I really don't want to see on a ukulele, and certainly not on a soprano. They are largely smooth to use, but one seems a little sloppy. It comes with nothing else but those strap buttons and strings that 'look' like Aquila but are not specced or labelled as such so will not be. And the asking price is a paltry £39.99 which is not much at all for a ukulele.  Bear in mind the entry level laminate Kala and Ohana sopranos with similar laminate specs and bindings will cost you more than twice this, and you will see how cheap this one is. Sure there are 'Amazon specials' out there for silly low prices too, but they are a bit of a roulette game. Saying that, you will at least get a bag with them.. And to be fair to it and Gear4Music, despite some small QC issues here and there, this is not a badly made ukulele and a well finished one in many areas. It's light at 445g and balances well too which is oh so important for me on a soprano as I don't tend to use a strap with them.  Let's have a play. I've spoken of my love for pineapples and in particular pineapple sopranos before as that lack of waist can fatten out what can often be a thinner nasal sound from this small scale.  With cheaper laminate I would also hope that this helps even more. Basics first and the volume and sustain are both passable, but not particularly earth shattering. Neither are bad, but just very 'down the middle'. Sadly on the tone there is a slight intonation issue going on which I think is down to a slightly high action coupled with the fact that sopranos are particularly 'picky' on setup. This comes through in the video tone, but I will try to get beyond that and talk about the core tone. With cheaper laminate I often say they can have a boxy, echoey, nasal tone and when strummed that is what I am getting here. It has a strange harmonic echo which I don't find all that pleasant and can sound muddy and a little confused. It's not the worst tone I have ever heard and it's far better than some of the brightly coloured cheapies you see around, but I suppose the best way I can describe it is that it is as generic to listen to as it is to look at. Boxy. Fingerpicking is a little better (intonation up the neck aside), with a prettier tone that doesn't get quite so muddled, but through in a slight strum and the boxy tone returns. Setup will improve this on the intonation and wouldn't take long, but the core tone still seems a bit basic to me. As I say, not the worst I have seen and build wise it's pretty good. It's not much money at all but I can see WHY it's half the price of the entry level Kala and Ohana ukes as the tone is just not there. The setup is a disappointment and whilst an easy fix for me, how many people spending £40 on a first uke are going to tackle that? That's the key reason I suggest buying at uke specialists of course and brings into question how good the value for money really is here. So some good here, some not so good. Not a complete howler of a uke at all, but you can easily do better. https://www.gear4music.com/ **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Hartwood Renaissance Pineapple Scale: Soprano Body: Laminate mahogany Bridge: Artificial rosewood Saddle: Plastic Spacing at saddle: 36mm Finish: Satin Neck: Mahogany Fingerboard: Artificial rosewood Frets: 15, 12 to body Nut: Plastic Nut width: 34mm, 27mm G to A Tuners: Closed chrome gears Strings: Unspecified Weight: 445g Country of origin: China Price: £39.99 **UKULELE PROS** Generally good core build Light Cheap Works as a uke... **UKULELE CONS** Some scruffy finish elements Laser etching looks basic Narrow neck No side dots Guitar style tuners Poor out of the box setup Boxy tone **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 8 out of 10 Fit and finish - 7.5 out of 10 Sound - 7 out of 10 Value for money - 9 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 7.9 out of 10** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## From an otherworldly level ukulele from this brand to one for us mere mortals. This is the Ohana PKT-14 Pineapple Ukulele. A couple of weeks back I took another look at one of the Ohana Custom shop ukuleles made by Brad Kahabka in California for Ohana. It was dream level stuff, and a nice development for Ohana at the upper end, but of course Ohana have been in the ukulele game longer than most brands now and have been putting out very reliable affordable ukes for years. In line with my mission to feature more affordable ukuleles this year I thought it would be good to get back down to earth with the brand. Oh, and this one is in a shape I've always loved and probably don't feature enough of either! **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** The PKT-14 Pineapple is a more entry level offering from Ohana, and because of that we are dealing with all laminate mahogany woods here in the very traditional pineapple / paddle style shape that loses the usual waist. Actually, pineapples are arguably one of the earliest shapes of ukes and I believe the first ever Kamaka instruments were in this shape. More on that later on. I must say though, for a laminate ukulele, when I first opened the box on this one I wondered whether Matt at World of Ukes had sent me the wrong instrument. The grain is extremely attractive on the top in a rich orange brown glow, but just looking at the sound hole edge shows me this is very thin higher grade laminate. This is NOT a basic plywood box. What I like less (and don't understand) is why the back wood is such a different colour, almost yellow and has far less interesting grain.  I suppose it matches the neck and you don't see it when playing, but it jars with me. It's a familiar look that is classy I guess. The bridge is a tie bar style, specced by Ohana as 'hardwood'. That could be anything, but it has clearly been stained dark. To be fair it is extremely tidy on the finish so I have no complaints. Sitting in that is a straight topped bone saddle with a string spacing of 41mm. The decoration is simple but effective. There are black bindings to the top and back with black and white purfling to the top edge. These give the instrument a lift beyond the more basic wood construction. The sound hole gets a cream ring trimmed in black which isn't in any way gaudy and suits the instrument. The finish is specced as satin which it clearly is, but there is a sheen to it over the mahogany which is really rather lovely to both feel and look at. This is not your usual flat factory satin, but feels a bit more polished. Inside is simple but very tidy. The kerfing is not notched, but the braces are nice and skinny with the top being vertically braced. I can't see any mess, and as I say the top laminate is extremely thin. The neck wood is not specified so could be mahogany but could equally be a host of things. It's made from three pieces and tidy though. At the nut the profile is not overly rounded and  I'm somewhat pleased with a nut width I measure at about 36mm with 28mm G to A. It's a touch skinnier than I would like but better than average and with the profile it comes together comfortably. The fingerboard is specced as 'hardwood' again, but is in great condition and even in colour. Saying that it's noticeably different in colour to the bridge and such things catch my eye and annoy me. The edges are bound in a dark wood so there are no fret ends to be seen, and you get 19 of those joined at the 14th. The dressing on these is great too without a hint of sharpness. Pearly position dots face out from the 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th and 15th and thankfully there are small side dots too. Beyond the bone nut is the usual standard Ohana headstock which is one I have always liked and found to be classy looking. It has a similar trim to the body which adds to that class and the Ohana logo is a silvery screen print. The tuners are listed on the Ohana site as Grover open gears, but there is no name stamping on them so I would question that. What I will say is they look and feel the same as Grovers, so does it matter? These are in chrome with vintage shaped buttons. Finishing it off is nothing more than a set of Aquila strings, so the lack of a bag is worth noting. But saying that, this is really not a lot of money at £155 so I am less concerned and it will fit in a tenor soft bag (though unlikely a hard case). Good value though, but in 2025 a lot of the competition is giving you some sort of bag even on ukes far cheaper than this. I'm liking what I am seeing here a lot. It's a classy looking uke that looks anything but cheap laminate with a great build and finish. The wood colour mis-matches are a bit of an odd one, but that's about it with my issues and this may differ from model to model. Overall it's a nice looker. It's extremely well set up (bear in mind - it came from World of Ukes - Matt is famously meticulous), and isn't heavy at all at 585g and balances very nicely too. A word first about the pineapple shape though. What I find this shape does through the removal of the waist is boost the mid-tones of a ukulele and give it a lot more 'meat' on the sound.  A more rounded tone. With soprano pineapples that can serve to turn some instruments that are a little shrill or nasally into a richer sounding uke. You need less of that on a tenor, but I find on the larger ukes, pineapples are great for getting more out of laminate tonewoods. I'm pleased to see it here for that reason. Basics first on volume and sustain, and both are extremely good for a cheap instrument. It has a real punch without much effort on your strums and the sustain is surprisingly longer than you would expect too. Good news. Tone wise I am not going to get ahead of myself and suggest this is like a £1,000 instrument, it's not. But it's a £155 uke and it punches better than that price on tone to my ears. There is a real clear balance to the tone - not too bright, not too dark, not too boomy - but just pleasant and clear. When strummed it's easy to get some jangly 'pep' from it which sounds great. Fingerpicked it's very pretty too with some really chimey notes and, again, great clarity. There is a touch of a laminate echoey edge to the tone, but not a great deal and I have heard far worse in laminates, and in fact worse in some solid topped ukes. This is a very straightforward accomplished tone that works very well. I'm loving it for the money. So I'm delighted that I have another example of what I mean by 'good laminate'. This is well made, decent looking, nice to play and sounds better than the £155 would suggest. A recommendation! https://worldofukes.co.uk/ https://ohana-music.com/ **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Ohana PKT-14 Pineapple Scale: Tenor Body: All laminate mahogany Bridge: Hardwood tie bar Saddle: Bone Spacing at saddle: 41mm Finish: Satin Neck: Unspecified Fingerboard: Hardwood Frets: 19, 14 to body Nut: Bone Nut width: 36mm, 28mm G to A Tuners: Unbranded chromed gears Strings: Aquila Weight: 585g Country of origin: China Price: £155 **UKULELE PROS ** ** ** Good build and finish Great volume Good sustain Comfortable neck Clear balanced tone No brainer price **UKULELE CONS** Some wood colour mis matching No bag **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 8.5 out of 10 Fit and finish - 8.5 out of 10 Sound - 8.5 out of 10 Value for money - 9 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 8.6 out of 10** **UKULELE REVIEW VIDEO** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## Back with a well known ukulele brand this week, and a model that was released a couple of years back but has eluded me until now. This is the Kala KA-ASZCT-ST XL Tenor Ukulele. Quite the garbled naming code there I am sure you will agree though there is some method in the madness as it's referring to the use of solid tonewoods which I will come on to below. The XL is the bit that intrigues me as this isn't just a tenor ukulele with a 'big butt', but rather is billed as a halfway house ukulele between a tenor and baritone. It has a slightly  bigger body than most tenors but also a scale length of about 19 inches (very slightly under) which IS what I would class as baritone. Interesting. **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** And as I say above we are talking all solid tonewoods on this model with a pairing of spruce for the top and ziricote for the back and sides. They pair really well with the uber pale spruce contrasting with the chocolate brown ziricote to great effect. It uses two pieces for the top, back and sides with the sides complemented by the decoration I come on to below. The woods look great with tight straight grained spruce with some bear claw going on and really interesting almost mottled swirly ziricote. I love the look of this one even if we have seen this pairing of pale spruce with darker backs many times before. It's extremely clean looking. The bridge is a pretty standard Kala tie bar affair, but hey.. they work. It's made from Indian rosewood and has some decorative trim where the strings tie. It could be a touch smoother, but I have seen a lot worse. Sitting in that is a straight topped NuBone saddle. String spacing here is 39mm. The decoration is really rather classy too with real flamed maple bindings to the top and back trimmed with black purfling and a tail and back stripe done in the same manner which really sets the ziricote off.  The sound hole gets a simple black edged ring which is also quite understated and contrasts better with the spruce than abalone would have done. The body is then satin finished which is nicely done with no flaws, pooling or mess. It all comes together for a very attractive looking uke. Inside is pretty standard but tidy. Notched linings and the braces are not too thick. The neck is made from mahogany in three pieces (with well hidden joints) and is pleasingly finished in satin. Whilst it is your typical far eastern profile at the nut, I'm delighted to see a 38mm nut width and spacing of 30mm which make it very comfortable for my hands. That is topped with more dark Indian rosewood for the fingerboard which looks to be in decent nick. It's edge bound to hide the fret ends and they are nicely dressed back such that I can't feel a single one. You get 19 of those joined at the 14th and outward and side pearl dots at the 5th, 7th, 10th, double 12th and 15th. A nice neck indeed. For this one we get a slot head which I really like on larger ukuleles. I looks to be veneered with more ziricote which is layered giving a nice striped effect in the slots. The Kala logo is inlaid in what looks like pale wood. The tuners are side mounted open gears branded 'Kala'. I am not sure of the origin of them, but they are very smooth and have a great ratio. And finishing it off are a set of strings and nothing else. I think the lack of a gig bag is a very obvious omission in this day and age. Strings wise, in stock (as this is) I believe they come with rectified nylon for strings 1-3 and a wound low G. However some stores (like SUS as I recall) may be selling these with Aquila so do check what you are getting. Either way, C tuning on an increased scale length will mean great string tension and no chance of a flabby low G! For that you are looking at an RRP of about £490 which I think is a bit much considering the lack of bag. Thankfully retail seem to more sensible and if you shop around you can find these for £400 - £420 or so which is a bit better. Yes, it's all solid wood that I haven't got much complaint with, but that is quite a competitive price point. But as I say, this is a ukulele I am liking very much both on build / finish, but also the classy looks.  It's a bigger than average tenor but still not overly heavy at 800g and balances very nicely when held too. Setup is also great on this example. I don't mind admitting that when I knew this was arriving I wasn't expecting to be that blown away. It is, after all, quite a trad ukulele (bar that scale) with a lot of spruce real estate on the top. What actually happened when I played it though was a really pleasant surprise because I fell in love with the sound immediately. Basics first and the volume and sustain are both excellent. It's a very punchy ukulele with minimal effort and a sustain that goes on and on and vibrates into your chest. Really lively. But if you are expecting overly zingy and bright this is not what you are getting. Instead I find the tone really well balanced, direct down the mids and really, really clear. It gives me the impression I am playing a bari, perhaps with the sustain, but in the regular tenor key which gives it more crispness and 'ukulele sound' than some baritones have. I find a lot of baritones can get a bit boomy and muddy when played strummed, but there is not a hint of that here. In fact you get very clear ukulele 'jangle' that doesn't lose footing. And despite all that spruce, as I say it's much more balanced on tone that I had expected. Fingerpicking is similarly clear and direct and a joy to play with that string spacing. It's wonderfully pretty and with that sustain you can add bags of character to your melodies. So, as I say, VERY pleasantly surprised. This is great looking and terrific sounding instrument that has a tone that is right up my street and terrific punch. Yes I think for the price i'd want a little more (just a nice bag really), but these are nice solid woods. I've fallen for this one! Very much a Got A Ukulele recommendation! And thanks to Kala UK for the loan! https://kalabrand.com/ **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Kala KA-ASZCT-ST Scale: XL tenor Body: Solid spruce top, solid ziricote back and sides Bridge: Rosewood tie bar Saddle: Nubone Spacing at saddle: 39mm Finish: Satin Neck: Mahogany Fingerboard: Rosewood Frets: 19, 14 to body Nut: NuBone Nut width: 38mm, 30mm G to A Tuners: Kala brand open gears Strings: Rectified nylon on 1-3, wound low G Weight: 800g Country of origin: China Price: Circa £420 retail (£489 RRP) **UKULELE PROS** Very classy looks Great build and finish Comfortable neck Great volume Superb sustain Balanced clear tone **UKULELE CONS** Maybe gloss would set off the ziricote more? Wot no gig bag? **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 9.5 out of 10 Fit and finish - 9 out of 10 Sound - 9.5 out of 10 Value for money - 8.5 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9.1 out of 10** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** ** ** ** ** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## Another ukulele this week I have been seriously looking forward to writing about. This is the Ohana Custom Shop DT-RCW Tenor. Much like I did of the Kala brand, for some years I have been saying that Ohana really needed a re-invention as their model line up was starting to look a bit tired in the face of the new competition coming through. Kala addressed that with models like the Revelators and Contours and to be fair to Ohana, they seriously excited me in 2023 when I learned about their new California based custom shop (and was lucky to look at the dreamy DTK-2 Deluxe Tenor). That Custom shop is continuing under their luthier Brad Kahabka who is still making fully California made instruments. Southern Ukulele Store have had a few more in (and more to come!) and I'm delighted they lent me this one. In fact this was one of the first prototypes of that new Custom Shop. **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** That Deluxe I looked at was like no other Ohana I had come across before, and, in fact was one of the nicest ukuleles I think i've ever played. This time we have a change of woods, but this time more local with a choice of Californian sourced tone-woods. Naturally we are talking all solid tone wood and this uses Californian redwood for the two piece top and Californian claro walnut for the back and sides. I think this is actually the first redwood ukulele I have reviewed, though I have played a couple. It's a revered tonewood for instruments on account of it's cedar like warmth (despite NOT being a cedar) yet with more response, and lower weight. Oh, and it looks utterly beautiful too. I believe the combo of redwood with walnut is another classic pairing and recall hearing of high end mandolins using that mix. The grain on the top is tight, straight and finished in a wonderful warm colour. The back is a thing of beauty with a pale section of sap wood square in the middle for more detail interest. The whole thing looks extremely classy and grown up. The bridge is an ebony pin bridge with wonderful carving, tapers and finishing. It looks like the pins are ebony and they are tipped with abalone dots. It's always nice to see a bridge that is just a little different in shape. Sitting in that is a bone saddle and spacing clocks in at 44mm. Decoration wise things get a little blingy but certainly not over the top. There appear to be wooden binding strips to the top and back with abalone purfling strips, trimmed in black to both also. The sound hole gets the same. It's all nicely done and not too gaudy and pairs well with the wood of the body to my eyes. It has a nice walnut inlaid tail stripe too. The body is then hand glossed and this has been done very well to without a single flaw, run or pool. It's like a mirror. Inside is of interest to people who stare in sound holes. It's very tidy indeed of course. The braces are drilled through in geometric shapes and the kerfing is a kind of concertina strip of wood that looks very clever. The neck is made from mahogany and is a beautifully carved largely from single piece with an angular heel and attractive veloute stopper at the nut end. That heel is trimmed with some stacked capping topped in walnut which looks just great. The profile is certainly to my taste too as is the comfortable 38mm nut with 30mm G to A. I 'believe' that the necks on these also contain a carbon fibre rod for long term stability. Oh, and it's satin, so full marks for that too! That is topped with an ebony fingerboard with a nice carved shape at the end that matches the headstock. It's in good condition, but you can see the tooling marks here and there if such things bother you. It appears to be bound in something black which hides the 19 frets joined at the 14th. They are all dressed impeccably.  It has attractive offset mother of pearly position markers on the face at the 5th, 7th, 10th, double 12th and 15th. These don't wrap around, but you do get small white side dots as well. Beyond the bone nut is a curved top headstock which appears to be faced in what could be more walnut. The Ohana logo is inlaid in pearl at the top right. I prefer this simpler finish to the last Ohana custom I looked at which had what I considered to be an ugly black inlay piece. Simple is better! For the tuners we have Gotoh open gears which are a wonderful set of Japanese tuners on a par with the more commonly seen Grover. Excellent. Finishing things off on this one are a set of D'Addario EJ87T strings on one to three with a wound low G. You also get a wonderful tweed finished hard case with an Ohana name plate. And the price on this example is £1,799. I was actually expecting this to be a touch more for a California made luthier instrument so whilst it's a wedge of cash, I can see the value. You can't actually buy this one as it has sold, but it's good to look at the standard of these unique instruments as there are likely to be more coming into the UK in other styles as I say above. So all rather lovely so far with a great build and finish. It's nice and light to hold at only 640g and balances extremely well.  Volume and sustain are both extremely good, particularly the sustain which goes on and on and on and.... It's incredibly lively! Tone wise I am told that redwood has some of the woody warmth of cedar but with a bit more attack. And there is certainly warmth here with a very rich warm sound that has bags of depth and range. This is how I like my tenors to sound with a woody edge but still one that is very clear. I would say though that when strummed I would personally lose the low G but that is just personal opinion. I just feel this is warm enough as it is! Still, it's got bags of character. Fingerpicked, I can honestly say this is one of the nicest sounding ukuleles I've played this way. It's gorgeously pretty in tone with bags of interest and of course the great sustain allows it to be extremely expressive. I'm really blown away by the individual notes in this style showing that this isn't just a classy grown up instrument in looks alone. Ohana have some real talent on their hands in their Custom Shop and it's a delight to see. This one is a fine, fine instrument with classy looks and a great tone. More of this sort of thing please Ohana! https://ohanacustomshop.com/ https://www.southernukulelestore.co.uk/ **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Ohana Custom DT-RCW Scale: Tenor Body: Solid Californian redwood top, solid Californian claro walnut back and sides Bridge: Ebony, pin bridge Saddle: Bone Spacing at saddle: 44mm Finish: Gloss Neck: Mahogany Fingerboard: Ebony Frets: 19, 14 to body Nut: Bone Nut width: 38mm, 30mm G to A Tuners: Gotoh open gears Strings: D'Addario EJ87T Extras: Hard case Weight: 640g Country of origin: USA Price: £1,799 **UKULELE PROS ** Very classy, grown up looks Excellent build and finish Wonderfully playable neck Great volume Superb sustain Rich, extremely pretty tone **UKULELE CONS** I got nothin'... **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 9.5 out of 10 Fit and finish - 9.5 out of 10 Sound - 9.5 out of 10 Value for money - 9.5 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9.5 out of 10** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## Back this week with a ukulele that requires me to point out some bias - it's from a brand that is probably one of my favourites. This is the Kanile'a 'Ilikai Tenor Pro Ukulele I've been on record several times saying that there is just something about the feel of a Kanile'a ukulele that moves me in ways that others never have quite so much. And this particular one has interested me for a few months now as something quite different from their usual offering. In fact I believe this is the first full production model (specials and store exclusives aside) from Kanile'a to NOT use Hawaiian Koa in the tone woods. Say hello to the 'Ilikai which I am told means 'horizon' for reasons that are probably obvious from the look! **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** The 'Ilikai series is available in all sizes including a tenor like this one and uses all solid flamed maple woods for the top, back and sides. As I said in last weeks review of the Flight Navigator, that's a bright sounding wood so we shall see if Kanile'a have weaved some magic into this one. And it's a beautiful set of woods even before we get on to the colouring with beautiful bookmatched tiger stripes that just shimmer The bridge is the usual Kanile'a style pin bridge made of jet black ebony and is sublimely finished and smooth. That holds a compensated synthetic bone (Tusq) saddle in black. Spacing here is 44mm. But it's all about the finish on the 'Ilikai. Yes, you get the usual UV cured gloss that Kanile'a are so famous for (best glosses in the business in my opinion - people think 'gloss is gloss' but when you see something like Kanile'a gloss - trust me, they are NOT all equal), but the woods all around are stained in red on the lower bouts and blue on the upper creating the 'horizon' look from the name - earth and sea.. (or if you turn it upside down a sunset over the ocean I suppose!). I fully understand that coloured ukuleles are not everybody's cup of tea, but this is _really_ doing it for me - and I'm actually surprised at my own reaction. It's very much a statement ukulele, very bold and... well... I think it's a beauty. And of course you can still see the wood grain so the colouring is not 'hiding' anything. To add to that, most 'naturally coloured' ukes are stained, just in wood tones.. so what is the difference really?. You also get some ebony binding to the top and a black soundhole ring which I think is 'just enough' to finish it off. Oh, and you also get an oval side sound port which I think may be the first i've seen on a Kanile'a?  Cor.. Inside is tidy and employs more of the Kanile'a trademark tech developments in both the Tru R bracing (with cutouts and clever fitting that allows the top to move more) and Tru Reduction thich thins parts of the sound board top with a latticed etching pattern to remove weight and keep stability. Yes please! The neck is made from a single piece of mahogany and is another star of the show, as they are on every Kanile'a I have played. There is something about the neck from this brand that is so comfortable for me. It's satin, and tapers to a well flattened nut profile and 38mm nut width (30mm from G to A). The perfect neck profile for my tastes as they always are with this brand. It's topped with more ebony for the fingerboard which, like the bridge is smooth, dark and in superb condition. It has 19 frets with a 14th fret body joint and all are dressed wonderfully. Position dots are made of poplar stained turquoise at the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th, double 12th  and 15th and these are repeated with smaller stained poplar dots on the side. One thing that I think is a slight shame is it is not edge bound so you see the fret ends, even if you can't feel them. The nut is made from more black Tusq and unsurprisingly for a Kanile'a that came to be via Southern Ukulele Store, the set up is perfect. The headstock is the usual Kanile'a shape and wonderfully thin from front to back. It's faced in something ebony and carries the Kanile'a K logo which is also made from blue stained poplar. The tuners are not Grover as they originally were from this uke brand but look comparable in quality and are stamped with Kanile'a. They are open gears with small black buttons and work brilliantly. Completing the package are a set of Worth fluoro strings on strings one to three and a GHS Phosphor bronze wound on the G. That immediately makes sense to me with the use of bright sounding maple. You also get the Kanile'a padded gig bag which again is about as good as it gets with bags. And the price... well premium uke prices are ever rising and this one is no different at a cool $2,745, or if you buy from SUS in the UK £2,499. Big money and it prices me out of owning one. That's significantly more than their entry level natural koa tenor at $925, but that is an unfair comparison as this is a pro spec instrument with gloss and bindings so more comparable to the koa tenor Pro (though is still more expensive than that). I can see there is a lot more going on here though with things like the staining, and stained wooden inlays. Hey, it's a Kanile'a hand made in Hawaii, it was never going to be five hundred quid! So, OK, as expected from Kanile'a, a sublime build and finish. I put a teaser pick up before this review and it's fair to say that based on my followers the looks are 'divided', but even for someone like me who prefers a simpler looking uke I just can't stop looking at this. I think it's quite beautiful. I am intrigued by the use of maple in all the tone woods though and whether that is going to be just too much 'zip', but that's where the second half of the review comes in. Basics are, as fully expected from this brand and the store that carried it, superb. Faultless setup. It's not at all heavy at 625g and is wonderful to hold. The volume is wonderful and as is the sustain that just goes on and on.. Top marks Now the core tone. A fully maple uke.... Yes there is a crisp-ness and yes there is a low G keeping some of the low end, but honestly this one has foxed me and I put that down to the clever people building them. This is NOT just 'some slabs of maple with strings on' - there is so much more going on with this. Sure it's crisp as I say, but it has a wonderful rounded tone that is incredibly interesting to listen to. I sometimes mention in reviews that they get a 'my wife' test. She hears everything I test and only on very rare occasion does she turn her head and say 'that sounds wonderful'. She did that to this one. Views like that are of value to me as they are not expected or asked for. The uke did the job! Strummed this certainly has some brightness, crispness and attack, but there is masses of range too meaning it doesn't sound strident, too in your face or one dimensional. Fingerpicking is just utterly delightful and as addictive to play this way as all Kanile'a ukuleles tend to be. I sometimes use the term 'plays itself' sparingly, but it always applies to Kanile'a. I put much of this down to the fact that making a wonderful ukulele is not simply a case of 'cutting a front back and sides out, glueing braces on and putting it together'. This is where you see the difference between cheaper factory production and a more considered build as I have no doubt that a big part of the complex tone here is down to the magicians at work with tuning the actual build. Add in to that a neck feel which, whilst subjective of course is just absolute perfection for my tastes and, well... This is impeccable - all Kanile'a instruments are I think, but I like the boldness with this one. It's out of my price range and I fully accept the views on looks are divided, but remember what I always say. _Looks don't make sound._ This is wonderfully (and cleverly) built and finished and plays like an utter dream. Another dream uke to highly recommend! And thank you so much to Southern Ukulele Store for letting me borrow this one! https://kanileaukulele.com/ https://www.southernukulelestore.co.uk/ **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Kanile'a 'Ilikai Pro Scale: Tenor Body: Flamed maple Bridge: Ebony pin bridge Saddle: Black Tusq, compensated Spacing at saddle: 44mm Finish: Gloss Neck: One piece mahogany Fingerboard: Ebony Frets: 19, 14 to body Nut: Black Tusq Nut width: 38mm, 30mm G to A Tuners: Kanile'a branded open gears Strings: Worth clear with GHS bronze low G Extras: Padded gig bag Weight: 625g Country of origin: USA Price: £2,499 **UKULELE PROS** Sublime build and finish Bold statement looks Terrific volume and sustain Remarkably balanced tone considering the tonewoods Wonderfully playable feel **UKULELE CONS** Don't be silly... **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 10 out of 10 Fit and finish - 9.5 out of 10 Sound - 9.5 out of 10 Value for money - 9 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9.5 out of 10** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

## A ukulele i've been keen to take a look at since I first saw one late last year. This is the new Flight Navigator Tenor. And it's case of Flight once again adding another ukulele design to their range. I suppose there is only so much you can do with a ukulele whilst still keeping it a uke, so I fully understand playing around with finishes, colours and detailing. It's about buyer choice I guess and whilst 'you might not like the look of that one, you might like the look of this one'.. Clever move even if the core uke is not ground-breakingly new. **SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW** And when it comes to the looks I will state very early on that I absolutely adore the styling here. I'm a big fan of tobacco sunburst on instruments and my most precious acoustic guitar, a Gibson carries one of it's own. OK, that's subjective bias and you may not like sunbursts, but I do. In fact before even playing the thing I will tell you that I think this is one of the nicest looking Flights i've come across. OK i'll stop gushing on that point as there are a lot of other departments we need to consider. Back to the core build. This is an all solid wood tenor ukulele (also available in baritone) with solid flamed maple for the top and solid Indian rosewood for the back and sides. And that's a nice pairing with brightness from the maple and some rosewood to darken the sound off. I will say this about the colouring - a look online at other examples shows that these will naturally vary quite a bit with some showing more burst than others. I really like this one with the darker top shoulders though and just enough burst on the lower end. Oh and the flaming in the maple is sublime too! The bridge is the pin style we usually see from Flight with no other trim. It's made from rosewood and in good condition. The pins on these are topped with coloured inserts like some other Flight ukes, but I am pleased they went with pearly white toppers rather than a bright colour. Sitting in that is a bone compensated saddle with string spacing of 42mm. The body is all finished in gloss which is very nicely done and it also sports the scalloped cutaway on the top shoulder finished in darker gloss and a comfort edge on the lower bout. Elsewhere on the body you will spy a jack socket because these come with the Flight Double pickup system as standard. I've moaned enough about pickups in ukes, but again I can live with these as the controls are discretely tucked in the sound hole rather than in an ugly side box. Still, i'd prefer to buy one without. Inside is pretty tidy with notched linings and thin braces. Like some other Flight ukes this has the top braces drilled through to remove mass but maintain rigidity, Kanile'a style. The bridge pins do look like they were knocked in by a hammer though! The neck is similar to that seen on several other Flight ukes and is made from mahogany with a black skunk stripe running right through the middle. Pleasingly this is finished in satin and not gloss. It tapers to reasonably rounded profile and a roomy 38mm nut with 30mm string spacing Topping that is more rosewood for the fingerboard. Sadly on this example whilst it is even in colour it's in need of a scrub and a clean from the QC department.. It's fitted with 19 frets joined at the 14th and like several other Flight ukes are semi hemi dressed on the ends so extremely comfortable. Position dots are in the form of inlaid wooden triangles at the 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th and 15th and you also get white dots on the side. Nice neck, shame the wood is scruffy. Beyond the bone nut is the usual Flight open frame headstock. Its faced in more of the flamed maple which really works well and ties the design together. The tuners are the same sort of black open gears used by Flight on other ukuleles and work well as well as looking nice. Completing the package are a set of Worth Brown strings as standard and the now famous Flight red padded bag. And these come in at £469. It's a serious mid level price but is actually a touch cheaper than their hugely popular Fireball tenor or a 4SB. Saying that, it's quite a bit more than something like the Carabao  or the Peter Moss tenor so as per my comments on the Sammy Turton model, I am in two minds on the price. I'd also still like them to offer a cheaper model with no pickup as an option. So much to like here so far. This arrived set up well (bar the fingerboard) so no complaints there. It's a hefty thing compared to some other tenors coming in at 735g, I presume partly due to the pickup and partly due to the use of rosewood, but it balances ok. Thankfully the core sound points don't disappoint as this has great volume and good sustain. It's a lively instrument that doesn't take huge effort to project. Tone wise I assumed the maple would be bright and it certainly is. I assume the rosewood is toning it down a little as are the strings, but it's still extremely zingy in sound. That's not to my taste on tenors as I prefer a woody darker tone, but that's purely subjective and I know many people love this sound. When strummed it's extremely jangly and fizzy in character with lots of self harmonisation going on and great clarity. It's a bit too much for me, but as I say.. personal view. Fingerpicking for me is where this really shines as it has a bell like chime to the notes which are super clear and bright. It's also a delight to play this way on the roomy neck. Through a strum in the mix though and the jangle gets a bit too much for me, but it's beautifully delicate on picked notes. Still, all in all it's a very competent sounding instrument and my points are all subjective. It sounds great. All in all, this isn't groundbreaking in terms of uke development, but as I say, there is only so much you can do with a core uke. I so like the Flight approach in offering lots of style options to their buyers so there is something for everyone. And as a big fan of sunburst instruments this ticks all the right boxes for me on that side. Thankfully it's also very well made and is a competent sounding uke that will fly off the shelves I think. And deservedly so. Highly recommended. https://flightmusic.com/ **UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP** Model: Flight EQ-A Navigator Scale: Tenor Body: Solid flamed maple top, solid Indian rosewood back and sides Bridge: Rosewood pin style Saddle: Bone, compensated Spacing at saddle: 42mm Finish: Gloss Neck: Mahogany Fingerboard: Rosewood Frets: 19, 14 to body Nut: Bone Nut width: 38mm, 30mm G to A Tuners: Side mounted open gears Strings: Worth Brown Extras: Double brand pickup, gig bag Weight: 735g Country of origin: China Price: £469 **UKULELE PROS** Killer looks Sound build Nicely applied gloss Great volume Good sustain Excellent clarity of tone **UKULELE CONS** Scruffy fingerboard on this example Would like a non pickup option **UKULELE SCORES** Looks - 10 out of 10 Fit and finish - 9 out of 10 Sound - 9 out of 10 Value for money - 9 out of 10 **OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9.3 out of 10 ** **UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW** © Barry Maz **GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!** SAY THANKS WITH A BEER! BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON **OR THRU PAYPAL** **THANKS!** copyright Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele 2008-2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.