![]() It's not a Hawaiian tone, sure - its a laminate £150 instrument, but I must say it has a voice that sounds far better to my ears than some ukes I have played costing MUCH more, solid wood ukes included. This instrument has a tone that belies both its price and its construction - its clear, good separation between the strings when strummed and seems capable of both giving a bark when you want it to and delivering a sweet tone when plucked too. And what about the tone - well again, this surprised me too. And remember, this is a laminate ukulele. This really does have a good clear sound that I am impressed with. However, and importantly, none of the volume out front is sacrificed. That side sound hole does a fabulous job of projecting sound to the player. ![]() The first thing that struck me when I played this was how loud it is. So, what about those sound holes? Gimmick? I don't think so. That is not to say it's a pain to hold (it isn't, its nicely balanced too) but it just feels heavier to me than a concert normally would. One thing I would point out is the uke is a little on the heavy side, perhaps on account of that chunky pickup. That leads to an accurate playing experience. Setup too is extremely good and this arrived with action at the nut and saddle just how I like them so no adjustments needed. No flaws at all and those sound holes, I think, look great. So looks and finish wise I think it's very good indeed. The Riptide logo is a transfer in silver, but is applied well and looks great.Ĭompleting the package, it comes strung with Aquila strings. Certainly nice to see somebody doing something a bit different to the standard three pointed crown that so many ukuleles sport. ![]() The headstock has an appealing look to my eyes, with a striking angular design I am quite taken with. There are no fretboard markers to add to the minimalist look, but thankfully they have included side markers in white mother of pearl at the 5th, 7th, 10th and 12th frets. We have 18 nickel frets with 14 to the body and they are all very nicely finished without a hint of a sharp edge. The fingerboard is rosewood with a nice bit of colour variation and stripe in it. It's nicely finished also and made from three pieces with a joint at the heel and at the headstock. On to the neck, and the wood is not specified, but it may be mahogany. That isn't employed on this uke, and it uses two traditional top braces, although one runs across the upper bout (under where a traditional sound hole would lie). Some instruments with off centre sound holes are built that way to allow the luthier to use an alternative bracing system such as Kasha. ![]() That side soundhole is handy for letting you see what is going on inside the instrument, and I must say it all looks very tidy, with no glue spots and notched kerfling neatly applied. That isn't to say the finish is overly thick, it isn't but to my eyes it looks a little flat and plain (it may be the lack of traditional sound hole I suppose - as it creates a LOT of wood to look at on the top). It is very nicely finished all over with no drips or runs, but I think it would have been nicer to let the grain of the wood laminate show through a little more. The body is made from laminated mahogany and is stained a chocolate brown colour. It's a technique borrowed from their parent company Boulder Creeks guitar line. Just where you expect to see a sound hole, you don't! It's up on the top left of the top of the instrument, and comes paired with a second sound hole on the side of the body that faces the player. The EUC-5NS is a standard shaped concert ukulele, made in China, but with a striking difference to 99% of ukes on the market. Wrong of me to misjudge, of course, but was I right? When you read on you will see that I was very wrong! And keep in mind, these ukes retail for a shade over £150. When I had seen these ukes in stores I was not of the impression that they were going to be much good. Now before I get into the bones of the review I have an admission to make. ![]()
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