I was pleasantly surprised to see that my ukulele shipped from Oahu last Friday. I was shocked when the tracking information told me it was in Los Angeles by Saturday morning and would be delivered today, Monday. FedEx raised my hopes even further by texting me this morning that the package was out for delivery and would arrive sometime between 9:00 and 10:50 AM. Using that degree of precision, (10:50), was a nice touch and demonstrates deep insight and skill in what is euphemistically called enhanced interrogation techniques, but we know it more commonly as torture. Of course 11 AM passed, and the estimate was 9 to 1 PM, and then later in the afternoon, the estimate was delivery by 8 PM. A little after 4 as I was giving up hope and trying to figure out if it was even possible to speak to a human at FedEx, the doorbell rang.
It was a box sporting large The Ukulele Site logos on the top and bottom. The box contained an 'Oli L1-CMGS solid mango concert ukulele in satin finish and a few other odds and ends. As usual, everything was snugly packed and arrived in good shape. In addition to the ukulele, I ordered some extra strings, a humidifier, and I also asked to substitute a KoAloha hard case for the included Oahu hard case. I already had a concert sized Oahu case for the 'Oli and I want to put my Pops concert in a KoAloha case.
There were a number of strands (think spider web) that drew me to this. We brought our Anuenue C4 (solid cedar top with laminate back and sides) concert and Pono ATD (all solid acacia) tenor to the OC Ukulele Festival. I was reminded of how much I enjoyed playing the Pono, and although the C4 served me well at the festival, I started thinking about a Pono concert. Looking at the marketplace here and the stock at TUS, I was considering something like a Kalele concert in acacia or or an AC or ACD. As a ukulele addict and general fan of the TUS podcast, I had followed the development of the Pono lattice braced models, but I never recal seeing it in concert scale. Then there was this thread that introduced me to the 'Oli line and pushed me over the edge. I liked the design, the side sound port, the sound, and here it was, a lattice braced concert. I went to the site, and ordered the single 'Oli Concert that was listed, which was a high gloss acacia. It seemed right, like it was going to be a little brother to our ATD. That was last Tuesday.
On Wednesday, I got a call from Andrew. He said that he was working my order, and as my set up instructions were rather specific, he really wanted to get everything just right. He told me that he wasn't completely happy with the angle of the neck on the particular instrument that I chose, and he was concerned that he wouldn't be able to get the action just right. He was of course apologetic, but I was really thrilled at the level of detailed QC and concern. He didn't have another acacia model with gloss finish, but he had a couple of 'Oli concerts in mango that hadn't been listed yet, and he thought he might have another acacia in satin. I told him that for me it was all about the sound and playability and that the looks were about 7th priority to me. I have nothing against gorgeous instruments, but especially this one is a utility instrument not a display item.
On Thursday he sent me pictures of two satin finish mango concerts that he thought sounded great, and I picked one. He also said that the satin was $50 less and he was refunding the $50 rush charge with no charge for the KoAloha hard case upgrade. I thought that was more than generous and they got the ukulele finished and shipped out on Friday! I cannot say enough about how terrific the people are at TUS. Andrew sets the tone, but I have had similar wonderful experiences with so many folks that work there. They have been there for me from the very beginning.
Enough talk, here are some pictures. I am showing the front and back, in two views. The first is flat neutral illumination on the carpet, and the other is illuminated by some sunlight in a stand. Whether it is the mango wood or the finish, this ukulele has a kind of slightly translucent character to its wood grain that really comes alive in changing lighting conditions. The usual mug shot photos just don't do it justice.
The sound hole and side sound port are trimmed in ebony and the sound hole has a delicate rosette as well. The headstock logo and neck endcap are ebony as well. It has the Gotoh tuners that I'm very fond of. I also noticed that it appears to have a truss rod in the neck? Not sure, it didn't come with a wrench unless it is hiding somewhere in the case and I didn't see it. It has Ko'olau Aho fluorocarbon strings and I believe a Fremont Soloist low G; it is a smooth wound gold string.
Obviously, this is my first 'Oli, but it is also my first mango ukulele, though I have played them once or twice in a local shop. I am going to save comments on the sound of the instrument for tomorrow, after I have had more chance to play it. The fit and finish are excellent and although the strings are stretching, the intonation up the fretboard is perfect. The neck is full, and slightly less round than my Pono, but more full than my Pops or KoAloha necks. I haven't looked at measurements, but the neck feels about the same width as I am used to, but the strings seem slightly closer than I am used to, though nothing very significant. It seems like I have a little more room between the edge of the fingerboard and the A and G strings. While it is heavier than my Pops concert, the Pops instruments are feather weights. This instruments feels lighter than my C4 and very well balanced. While it doesn't have the bevel, the edges are slightly rounded and it is very comfortable to hold. In fact the satin finish just feels good. I liked the mango inlaid fret markers that add an understated architectural look to the design, but I also love them as fret markers. They are more visible that the typical tiny edge dots and you see them from any angle as you are playing.
It was a box sporting large The Ukulele Site logos on the top and bottom. The box contained an 'Oli L1-CMGS solid mango concert ukulele in satin finish and a few other odds and ends. As usual, everything was snugly packed and arrived in good shape. In addition to the ukulele, I ordered some extra strings, a humidifier, and I also asked to substitute a KoAloha hard case for the included Oahu hard case. I already had a concert sized Oahu case for the 'Oli and I want to put my Pops concert in a KoAloha case.
There were a number of strands (think spider web) that drew me to this. We brought our Anuenue C4 (solid cedar top with laminate back and sides) concert and Pono ATD (all solid acacia) tenor to the OC Ukulele Festival. I was reminded of how much I enjoyed playing the Pono, and although the C4 served me well at the festival, I started thinking about a Pono concert. Looking at the marketplace here and the stock at TUS, I was considering something like a Kalele concert in acacia or or an AC or ACD. As a ukulele addict and general fan of the TUS podcast, I had followed the development of the Pono lattice braced models, but I never recal seeing it in concert scale. Then there was this thread that introduced me to the 'Oli line and pushed me over the edge. I liked the design, the side sound port, the sound, and here it was, a lattice braced concert. I went to the site, and ordered the single 'Oli Concert that was listed, which was a high gloss acacia. It seemed right, like it was going to be a little brother to our ATD. That was last Tuesday.
On Wednesday, I got a call from Andrew. He said that he was working my order, and as my set up instructions were rather specific, he really wanted to get everything just right. He told me that he wasn't completely happy with the angle of the neck on the particular instrument that I chose, and he was concerned that he wouldn't be able to get the action just right. He was of course apologetic, but I was really thrilled at the level of detailed QC and concern. He didn't have another acacia model with gloss finish, but he had a couple of 'Oli concerts in mango that hadn't been listed yet, and he thought he might have another acacia in satin. I told him that for me it was all about the sound and playability and that the looks were about 7th priority to me. I have nothing against gorgeous instruments, but especially this one is a utility instrument not a display item.
On Thursday he sent me pictures of two satin finish mango concerts that he thought sounded great, and I picked one. He also said that the satin was $50 less and he was refunding the $50 rush charge with no charge for the KoAloha hard case upgrade. I thought that was more than generous and they got the ukulele finished and shipped out on Friday! I cannot say enough about how terrific the people are at TUS. Andrew sets the tone, but I have had similar wonderful experiences with so many folks that work there. They have been there for me from the very beginning.
Enough talk, here are some pictures. I am showing the front and back, in two views. The first is flat neutral illumination on the carpet, and the other is illuminated by some sunlight in a stand. Whether it is the mango wood or the finish, this ukulele has a kind of slightly translucent character to its wood grain that really comes alive in changing lighting conditions. The usual mug shot photos just don't do it justice.
The sound hole and side sound port are trimmed in ebony and the sound hole has a delicate rosette as well. The headstock logo and neck endcap are ebony as well. It has the Gotoh tuners that I'm very fond of. I also noticed that it appears to have a truss rod in the neck? Not sure, it didn't come with a wrench unless it is hiding somewhere in the case and I didn't see it. It has Ko'olau Aho fluorocarbon strings and I believe a Fremont Soloist low G; it is a smooth wound gold string.
Obviously, this is my first 'Oli, but it is also my first mango ukulele, though I have played them once or twice in a local shop. I am going to save comments on the sound of the instrument for tomorrow, after I have had more chance to play it. The fit and finish are excellent and although the strings are stretching, the intonation up the fretboard is perfect. The neck is full, and slightly less round than my Pono, but more full than my Pops or KoAloha necks. I haven't looked at measurements, but the neck feels about the same width as I am used to, but the strings seem slightly closer than I am used to, though nothing very significant. It seems like I have a little more room between the edge of the fingerboard and the A and G strings. While it is heavier than my Pops concert, the Pops instruments are feather weights. This instruments feels lighter than my C4 and very well balanced. While it doesn't have the bevel, the edges are slightly rounded and it is very comfortable to hold. In fact the satin finish just feels good. I liked the mango inlaid fret markers that add an understated architectural look to the design, but I also love them as fret markers. They are more visible that the typical tiny edge dots and you see them from any angle as you are playing.
