Blackbird Clara re-review... Now I get it

Booli said:
which 'blackbird' do you mean?

They have 'BTU' which is black carbon fiber tenor

and 'Farallon' which is eKoa tenor

and 'Clara' which is eKoa concert...

can you share a photo of your wonderful 'blackbird' for us please Brenda?
Click to expand...

Sorry I did not see this until now. Here it is.... this is an upgraded blackbird with 19" scale and 12" radius fretboard. It was strung with Aquila Red as per Joe from Blackbird recommendation but I have changed it to classical guitar strings after this video because it’s too bright for me.
https://youtu.be/AAvhhrHDGJY

 
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besley said:
Heresy! Turn in your Farallon, right now!
Click to expand...

I am keeping the Farallon, but will turn in my membership badge........no I'm keeping that as well:p

After playing nothing but the Farallon for 4 days straight I came away with a greater appreciation of it's over all sound. As I said I do like it, just like some of my all wood ukes better
 
DownUpDave said:
I am keeping the Farallon, but will turn in my membership badge........no I'm keeping that as well:p

After playing nothing but the Farallon for 4 days straight I came away with a greater appreciation of it's over all sound. As I said I do like it, just like some of my all wood ukes better
Click to expand...

Yeah, this is the weird thing. I love the sound of my Clara: rich, full, and clean. Each note on each string is clearly defined. But it doesn't sound. . . woody.

It's a great uke. I take it traveling because it travels well and sounds great. Yet the clarity leaves me with "playing fatigue" after awhile.

I've been on a string chase with my Clara to mellow it out. Best result so far is Worth Brown Medium. Not a fan of nylon strings so I don't want to go there.

Any ideas?
 
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PereBourik said:
....I've been on a string chase with my Clara to mellow it out. Best result so far is Worth Brown Medium. Not a fan of nylon strings so I don't want to go there....Any ideas?
Click to expand...

I've had both Worth browns and Living Waters on my Farallon, and find the Living Waters to be more mellow. You can get the Living Waters now at Uke Republic, so you don't have to wait for shipping from the UK.
 
PereBourik said:
Yeah, this is the weird thing. I love the sound of my Clara: rich, full, and clean. Each note on each string is clearly defined. But it doesn't sound. . . woody.

It's a great uke. I take it traveling because it travels well and sounds great. Yet the clarity leaves me with "playing fatigue" after awhile.

I've been on a string chase with my Clara to mellow it out. Best result so far is Worth Brown Medium. Not a fan of nylon strings so I don't want to go there.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

When I had a Clara I had it strung with Aquila Reds and it sounded great. Several dozen people played it and were very impressed with how wood-like it sounded. Now, Reds formulation has changed since than so I'm not sure how the new ones will do, but it's worth a $5 try. ;-) I have Carbonblacks on my Farallon and it sounds fantastic to my ear. Mine is a bit different in that it is braced differently due to the unigrain top. I really doubt anyone would know it's not wood in a blind test. Here is a sound sample:

https://soundcloud.com/ukulele-eddie/farallon-linear-b-carbonblacks
 
Ukulele Eddie said:
When I had a Clara I had it strung with Aquila Reds and it sounded great. Several dozen people played it and were very impressed with how wood-like it sounded. Now, Reds formulation has changed since than so I'm not sure how the new ones will do, but it's worth a $5 try. ;-) I have Carbonblacks on my Farallon and it sounds fantastic to my ear. Mine is a bit different in that it is braced differently due to the unigrain top. I really doubt anyone would know it's not wood in a blind test. Here is a sound sample:

https://soundcloud.com/ukulele-eddie/farallon-linear-b-carbonblacks
Click to expand...

You HAD ? Where did it go? How did I miss that sale??:eek:
 
PereBourik said:
Yeah, this is the weird thing. I love the sound of my Clara: rich, full, and clean. Each note on each string is clearly defined. But it doesn't sound. . . woody.

It's a great uke. I take it traveling because it travels well and sounds great. Yet the clarity leaves me with "playing fatigue" after awhile.

I've been on a string chase with my Clara to mellow it out. Best result so far is Worth Brown Medium. Not a fan of nylon strings so I don't want to go there.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Because I have a tenor scale I took Mezcalaro's advice and used nylon baritone strings for the E and A spot, tenor gauge wounds for the G and C spots. After many string changes, chasing the tone I wanted this did it. Seeing as you have a Clara that is concert scale that won't work. I have had good luck with singles from Strings by Mail in Savarez or Pyramid carbon for a warm sound. Go .024" on the A string and .027 on the E strings. Tension will be firm but they are warm sounding for florocarbon
 
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