I agree, wholeheartedly. That sound sample with Corey
snaps. Spruce top eliminates any of the listlessness that plagues some baritones. Also, I love cutaways, especially on bigger instruments, iDavid. Why? There's enough string scale to vibrate even at high frettings. You can, actually, get a great sound from the uppermost frets, so why not be able to access them. That's a fine ukulele (as Sam13 said, from owning its tenor little brother).
Although the TG looks great, and some could argue that it is the best of both worlds (guitar and baritone), others might say it doesn't know what it wants to be and falls in the "gray zone" that is good at neither. If I was going to move to a parlor guitar scale, well, I'd get a parlor guitar and learn to play the two additional low strings--strings that are necessary to truly move that huge, non-uke soundboard.
Personally, one of the main reasons I adore ukes is for their percussive nature--that borne of the short scales. Regardless of tuning, the longer the scale, the less percussive, the less I like it.
Everyone likes something different. I doubt the TG will be popular (will it even continue to be manufactured, based on sales numbers? I don't know) with the uke crowd or the guitar crowd. It's a specialty instrument, certainly. Some adore the search for the right guitar-hybrid-baritone strings, etc. The "science" and uniqueness of the whole thing attracts some. And that's alright. I would hate thinking about those things.
Do review your TG, iDavid. So far, Rakelele, I think, is the only one to have owned and reviewed the TG. His opinion is very respected, and adding yours to the review mix will
double the number of online reviews for the uniquely sized instrument. LOL The bright side: if you get one, you and Rakelele will be the undisputed, worldwide experts on TG ukes.
