Daniel Ho Vintage Soprano ʻUkulele by Romero Creations

[DJ Mango]

I'm not disagreeing with you but keep in mind that Daniel Ho / Romero Creations is an "outside" customer to Kiwaya .
Even if they sound the same , if I were to choose between them I might choose the Romero Creations .

 

[man0a]

I'm not disagreeing with you but keep in mind that Daniel Ho / Romero Creations is an "outside" customer to Kiwaya .
Even if they sound the same , if I were to choose between them I might choose the Romero Creations .

I agree that they need to split their profit with Daniel and Romero somehow. There is also the issue that US dealers typically charge a huge markup on Kiwaya ukuleles (double the Japan retail price is not uncommon). Part of that is because importing small numbers of products from Japan is inefficient. Part of that is because enough consumers are willing to pay the price. Personally, unless that extra cost is noticeable in the playability or sound quality, I am out.

 

[EDW]

Could just be that the price reflects it's a Limited Edition run of the Famous FS-1G with a different vintage color wood stain , different head stock and logo , wider nut , bit larger sound hole , more frets , different bridge , a strap button , and perhaps produced to even more exacting quality control .

That must be some really nice strap button!

I am not making any judgement on Romero or Kiwaya. Kiwaya has always been known for their great quality builds. Romero also has a great reputation. I don't have an issue with the price. It does not seem crazy for a well made great playing or sounding instrument. You can't really put a price on the enjoyment one would get from it.

I know the Kiwaya laminate is perhaps the best in the business. My question is really just curiosity about the potential differences between the instruments as a point of reference. I did not intend to imply any kind of questionable business or pricing. I hope it was not interpreted that way

 

[DJ Mango]

No , it was not interpreted that way .

A few months ago I emailed Romero Creations about this ukulele .
Their email address bounced so I called .
Person that answered the phone said this model was new , didn't have much info and told me to call Pepe Romero Jr. and gave me his phone number .
It was around holiday time and didn't get around to call and then I lost his number .
Just now called the company number and the answering machine said they're closed till March 6th .
(408) 998-2640

My guess is added frets and slightly larger sound hole makes for a slightly different playing experience .
And being a Daniel Ho limited edition with a different look makes for a different pride of ownership experience .
Up to the individual if it's worth the premium .
But maybe there's more to it .
I'm going to follow up.

 

[EDW]

I am looking forward to hearing more if you get info. I am also looking forward to some comments from the lucky person who buys one!

 

[DJ Mango]

From : Soundhouse Japan e-commerce website :
A soprano ukulele woven with the ideas of Daniel Ho, a ukulele artist who has won the Grammy Award in the Hawaiian Music category for 6 consecutive years. Based on his own experience so far, a large sound hole is adopted and placed slightly closer to the fingerboard. The tension of the string also adopts the same through-hole bridge as the upper model.

 

[DJ Mango]

From Daniel Ho . com :
Daniel's musical creativity extends beyond composing, performing, and producing music. He also designs musical instruments with some of the world's leading makers and companies.

 

[DJ Mango]

Looking through Romero Creations website I see that a large sound hole and a pull through bridge are two design elements they use .

 

[DJ Mango]

I still think the price for this Daniel Ho special edition is outrageous. I remember when Kiwaya released a special edition FS-5DX that was a fancier version of their best selling FS-5 model. The FS-5DX has 14 frets above the body, which is more useful (to me) than putting the extra frets next to the sound hole. I don't think the wider fretboard is all that useful, especially since the base model FS-5 already has a wider fretboard than my Romero Creations STC concert ukulele. If Romero thinks a wider fretboard is useful on a soprano, why not put it on their concert ukuleles as well? Plus, I think the side geared tuners on the Romero soprano are very ugly compared to the UPT tuners on the FS-5DX. The FS-5DX was only a 30% price increase vs the FS-5 while the Daniel Ho edition is 3 times the price of the FS-1g. I can see the Daniel Ho edition being interesting if it was a 30 to 50% price increase, but 3 times the price is too much.

Here is an old thread in this forum about the FS-5DX: https://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/threads/new-deluxe-version-of-kiwaya-ks-5-fs-5.155515/

The Kiwaya branded version of the Famous FS-1G , Kiwaya KS-1G is $379 at Aloha City Ukes .

 

[DJ Mango]

 

[Ukecaster]

Looked at pics again, the Romero soprano's soundhole is much bigger than the Famous/Kiwaya. I expect that can provide more volume/projection.

 

[man0a]

Looked at pics again, the Romero soprano's soundhole is much bigger than the Famous/Kiwaya. I expect that can provide more volume/projection.

The luthier's forum has discussed sound hole size at least a couple of times. If I read what they say correctly, there is a sweet spot for sound hole size. Too large or too small can reduce your volume. In the sweet spot, a smaller sound hole can boost lower frequencies while a larger sound hole can boost higher frequencies.

Read this for more details: https://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/threads/sound-hole.147093/

However, since Kiwaya laminate sopranos tend to be very bright to begin with, I'm not so sure that boosting the higher frequencies is a good thing.

 

[Ukecaster]

Cool, thx for the link

 

[Contrails]

The luthier's forum has discussed sound hold size at least a couple of times. If I read what they say correctly, there is a sweet spot for sound hole size. Too large or too small can reduce your volume. In the sweet spot, a smaller sound hole can boost lower frequencies while a larger sound hole can boost higher frequencies.

Read this for more details: https://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/threads/sound-hole.147093/

However, since Kiwaya laminate sopranos tend to be very bright to begin with, I'm not so sure that boosting the higher frequencies is a good thing.

The Romero creations baritone 6 has a smaller than normal sound hole. Maybe it’s to enhance the lower frequencies as you mention as short scale ‘guitars’ tend to be brighter.

 

[rainbow21]

That is why I was wondering about the specs. I don’t know if they are close other that the few relatively small changes or if there are differences in the build

That is why I am curious if there are differences in the build other than the things mentioned. Any clips I have heard so far sound great

However, since Kiwaya laminate sopranos tend to be very bright to begin with, I'm not so sure that boosting the higher frequencies is a good thing.

There is no clarity on what the differences are.

I expect that Daniel Ho designed the body to his specifications, including the bracing and other design choices. I do not expect that he (or Kiwaya) said to just move and make the soundhole larger with a string through bridge and sell is as a Romero Creations.

 

[DJ Mango]

You forgot strap button , and Daniel Ho logo .

Translated from Kiwaya website by Google :

The Romero Creations Japanese model supervised by Grammy Award-winning ukulele artist Daniel Ho is in stock!

A lot of ideas from Daniel Ho, a ukulelele artist who has won the Grammy Award in the Hawaiian Music category for 6 consecutive years

Based on my own experience so far, I adopted a large sound hole and placed it slightly closer to the fingerboard.

The tension of the string also adopts the same "through hole bridge" as the upper model. This realizes the rich sound of Romero Creations tradition in the price range of the entry model.

The most easy-to-pick up standard body shape for ukulele beginners. ( High-G specification)

The body end is equipped with a strap pin as standard, and even beginners can play the ukulele immediately.

In addition, this model uses 17 frets, and it is possible to play using the treble range. The range of songs that can be played will expand.

In order to achieve high quality suitable for the signature model of a Grammy Award-winning artist, the peg uses a 14:1 gear tuner made by GOTOH. In addition, a stable pitch can be obtained at each position on the fingerboard, realizing comfortable playability unique to the Made in Japan model.

Specification

Brand: Romero Creations

Item number: Daniel Ho Signature Vintage Soprano

Size: Soprano size

Body: Mahogany plywood

Neck: Mahogany

Fingerboard: Walnut (12F joint/17F)

Bridge: Walnut

Nut and saddle: ABS resin

Peg: GOTOH Gear Peg

Installed string: Clear fluorocarbon

1 end pin installed

With a soft case

Total length: about 520mm

Scale: about 351mm

Nut width: about 36mm

Specs for the Famous FS-1G

Total length: about 538mm
Scale: about 351mm
Nut width: about 36.5mm

 

[man0a]

What is the retail price in Japan? Maybe the price we are seeing from one US retailer is "exaggerated"?

 

[EDW]

There is no clarity on what the differences are.

..... I do not expect that he (or Kiwaya) said to just move and make the soundhole larger with a string through bridge and sell is as a Romero Creations.

Much of the time you don't see dimensions (bout, depth, body, etc) listed for various instruments. In this case, they may have designed an entirely new instrument using Kiwaya's laminate. But, they may have used the KS-1 as a starting point and tweaked those things for their taste. You sometimes see that kind of thing as well. It is hard to know.

 

[DJ Mango]

Romero Creations D-HO Vintage Soprano is listed on Kiwaya's website for 58,300 yen , US$ 387
Kiwaya KS-1G , haven't found Japan price .
Famous FS-1G , 19,030 yen on J-Guitar (Japan) , US$126

 

[DJ Mango]