Happy Friday! NUD!
This was an unplanned purchase, all thanks to the “please buy this uke” thread. I’d been leaning towards ordering a tenor from Loprinzi and when this one popped up on the ‘bay I didn’t hesitate. Well I actually did let it settle overnight… we were camping after all. But in the morning it was still listed so I pounced. Here are some pics with the Martin C1K:
It arrived today and I gotta say, the tenor size is for me. The model is AK-T so model “A” tenor in koa. It came in an Ohana hardcase of imitation croc/gator with emerald crushed velvet lining. Fits well, and much better protection than a gig bag, though heavier. The color on the Koa is very nice, darker with some red to it. It’s not fancy or highly figured, but is very nice looking overall. I assume the bridge and fretboard are rosewood, I quite like some color streaking over jet black ebony. There is no binding but all joins are well made, no bumps or irregularities anywhere in it. Inside is pretty tidy as Baz would say, there is one spot of glue squeeze and one spot where the notched linings have a splinter. I can probably grab that with a set of hemostats. The label has only Donna’s sig. The headstock has a bookmatched overlay, presumably koa. I assume the neck is mahogany. There is one joint in the neck at the heel, the headstock is one with the neck. Both the 36.5mm nut and saddle are white, I can’t tell if they’re synthetic or bone. The nut slots are tighter than on the Martin. The rosette appears to be a decal which is uninspiring; it does give a little pop so I suppose it’s alright. The end of the fretboard is a straight cut and rounded down to the hole. I like their newer radiused end better. I really like the ducktail of the Martin’s fretboard best of the styles I’ve seen. It looks like the frets were worked on, sanding in the direction of the frets without protecting the fretboard so it has lateral marks. Or maybe they are left by the bandsaw? I don’t know. The fret markers are not overly large, I like that they’re bigger than the Martin’s and pearloid. The Grover tuners could have been aligned better, I’m pretty critical about alignment of things. If I keep this one long term I want to install UPTs anyway. The E string is brown and the CEA strings are black. Maybe a Worth E, no idea about the rest.
It is louder and has longer sustain than the Martin C1K. How it compares to other tenors I’ve no idea. I played Lava and the intro to Over the Rainbow. It’s nice! My first time playing a low G and I like it. Stairway sound right on it as well! I don’t know how to describe it with the words you hear others use, but I’m quite pleased with it.
There are only 2 faults besides the slightly misaligned tuners. There is a small gap between the top and the bottom of the fretboard at it’s end. I don’t think this matters, it just stands out against the neatness of all the other glue joints. And then it looks like there is a slight twist, counterclockwise as you look from bridge to but. It’s very hard to photograph, it’s slight. I think the nut may be a wee hair high on the bass side, and maybe the thicker brown E string contributes to the illusion? On my guitars the bass strings are higher than the treble, and they ramp down to the treble side. The Martin actually does this a bit too. Maybe there’s no twist and it’s just the thicker string and some optical illusion. In any case, there is no problem playing it and I’m being hyper critical because it’s the first used instrument I’ve ever bought.
Overall I’m tickled pink! The only question is, will I decide to sell the Martin
Eta: silly me, I neglected to look in the storage pocket inside the case. There I find a pack for Aguila “Lava” strings, marked “tenor high g” and a Worth pack marked “4th - G” containing a 0.91 brown string and a skinny black string.
