Loprinzi Owners Club

Review From Ukulele Magazine , 2017

LOPRINZI AM-B​

THE LOOK Everything on this all-solid mahogany ukulele, minus the tuners and strings, is handmade in the LoPrinzi family’s small Florida workshop. (The company was founded by Augustino LoPrinzi and is now led by his daughter Donna.) It is basically appointed, but in a way that says “simple elegance” instead of “plain as vanilla pudding.” This bari’s “old world” headstock stands out as something extra-lovely in a world with only a few headstock designs.

THE FEEL Indeed, if there is any uke in this roundup that feels like it came from a small shop, it is the LoPrinzi. The thin five-piece neck—two larger mahogany pieces over a center stripe of walnut sandwiched with maple—was very inviting, and had a wide fingerboard that made it seem much more aimed at the fingerstyle player.

THE SOUND When strummed, the LoPrinzi sounded pretty much like the other baritones in this group, but when we played fingerstyle blues or classical, it really stood out. Perhaps most revealing is that this was the ukulele we kept picking up again and again. Each note was plump and round, with portly bass and smooth trebles. One player commented, “If I was going to play like Mississippi John Hurt, I would take this.”

SPECS
BODY Solid Honduras mahogany top, back, and sides; rosewood bridge with bone saddle; satin varnish finish
NECK Mahogany neck with maple/walnut/maple center strip; 20-fret rosewood fingerboard with mother-of-pearl position markers; bone nut; Grover open-gear tuners
Made in US

 
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DJ Mango said:
Review From Ukulele Magazine , 2017

LOPRINZI AM-B​

THE LOOK Everything on this all-solid mahogany ukulele, minus the tuners and strings, is handmade in the LoPrinzi family’s small Florida workshop. (The company was founded by Augustino LoPrinzi and is now led by his daughter Donna.) It is basically appointed, but in a way that says “simple elegance” instead of “plain as vanilla pudding.” This bari’s “old world” headstock stands out as something extra-lovely in a world with only a few headstock designs.

THE FEEL Indeed, if there is any uke in this roundup that feels like it came from a small shop, it is the LoPrinzi. The thin five-piece neck—two larger mahogany pieces over a center stripe of walnut sandwiched with maple—was very inviting, and had a wide fingerboard that made it seem much more aimed at the fingerstyle player.

THE SOUND When strummed, the LoPrinzi sounded pretty much like the other baritones in this group, but when we played fingerstyle blues or classical, it really stood out. Perhaps most revealing is that this was the ukulele we kept picking up again and again. Each note was plump and round, with portly bass and smooth trebles. One player commented, “If I was going to play like Mississippi John Hurt, I would take this.”

SPECS
BODY Solid Honduras mahogany top, back, and sides; rosewood bridge with bone saddle; satin varnish finish
NECK Mahogany neck with maple/walnut/maple center strip; 20-fret rosewood fingerboard with mother-of-pearl position markers; bone nut; Grover open-gear tuners
Made in US

Click to expand...

I love that little G Hawaiian style run!
 
If a Loprinzi label states that the model is...Custom XXX, does that mean that it's a true custom, made at someone's request. I know some makers will sell a line of instruments and call them custom, even though they're regular production models. Epiphone is famous for this.

My latest Loprinzi acquisition is a used tenor, model Custom CM-T. I've found a similar but not the same soprano, but that's it. The soprano is curly mahogany also, but the rosette and binding are different.

I really wish Donna would write the date of completion on the inside label.
 
KevinFL said:
If a Loprinzi label states that the model is...Custom XXX, does that mean that it's a true custom, made at someone's request. I know some makers will sell a line of instruments and call them custom, even though they're regular production models. Epiphone is famous for this.

My latest Loprinzi acquisition is a used tenor, model Custom CM-T. I've found a similar but not the same soprano, but that's it. The soprano is curly mahogany also, but the rosette and binding are different.

I really wish Donna would write the date of completion on the inside label.
Click to expand...
I checked my 2 special/custom orders from Donna- I had both of these built to my exact (and almost identical) specifications. The label in my Concert says "Custom Concert"- whereas the Baritone is labelled "AM-B (I guess for African Mahogany, which both ukes were made from).
It would appear she doesn't really have a "locked-in-place" method of labeling them. And I agree, a date would certainly be nice- if not expected!
 
MarTay6 said:
I checked my 2 special/custom orders from Donna- I had both of these built to my exact (and almost identical) specifications. The label in my Concert says "Custom Concert"- whereas the Baritone is labelled "AM-B (I guess for African Mahogany, which both ukes were made from).
It would appear she doesn't really have a "locked-in-place" method of labeling them. And I agree, a date would certainly be nice- if not expected!
Click to expand...
My other Loprinzi is a custom tenor I ordered years ago and the label has 'Custom Tenor' written on it. It's one of the older style labels with Augustino's signature along with Donna's. The serial numbers are 1087 apart. That's a lot of instruments from a small builder.
 
Two Loprinzi Koa concerts here. Both terrific.

AK-C #4970 signed by Donna
AK-C-Special #5123 signed by Donna

I think the A stands for Model A, the K stands for Koa, and the C stands for Concert. I don't know what "Special" means, but the "special" one has an ebony fretboard/bridge. The instruments are quite different. Both were purchased second hand from individuals.
 
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dancephoto said:
Two Loprinzi Koa concerts here. Both terrific.

AK-C #4970 signed by Donna
AK-C-Special #5123 signed by Donna

I think the A stands for Model A, the K stands for Koa, and the C stands for Concert. I don't know what "Special" means, but the "special" one has an ebony fretboard. The instruments are quite different. Both were purchased second hand from individuals.
Click to expand...
Both my ukes have ebony fretboards/bridges- and are constructed from African Mahogany.
 
DJ Mango said:
New LoPrinzi website !

https://www.augustinoloprinzi.com
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Great day in the morning! The website gods have heard my prayers to redesign the LoPrinzi site; I historically found the old site so off-putting and hard to navigate I gave up ever considering their well regarded instruments.
Looking forward to it being full up and running.
 
Eggs_n_Ham said:
Great day in the morning! The website gods have heard my prayers to redesign the LoPrinzi site; I historically found the old site so off-putting and hard to navigate I gave up ever considering their well regarded instruments.
Looking forward to it being full up and running.
Click to expand...
Yes, it's much better eh. Still waiting for their available stock to be updated (the shop section)
 
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