Rubin Ukes -> Caramel Ukes

aarondminnick

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 22, 2014
Messages
106
Reaction score
0
Location
Columbus, OH
I've been following Rubin Ukes (manufacturer of pretty, inexpensive ukes on eBay) for some time and noticed that they just changed their name from Rubin to Caramel Ukulele. The ukes are all still marked "Rubin" but that may change in the future.

I also noticed that their newest A/E offerings boast upgraded electronics: 3-band EQ and integrated tuner.

I bought an A/E rosewood tenor a couple of months ago and have been very happy with it. Action was high, but plays great after setup from my local shop.
 
I like "Rubin" better than "Caramel". The former reminds me of Ruby (well, Rubin is German for ruby) and sounds precious and valuable, indicating quality. Caramel gives me the mental image of a slightly molten, somewhat undefined, plastic-y mass of stuff. ;)
 
I just ordered a Caramel uke from Amazon. Model CC401, concert sized. I'll post a review when it shows. I'm a dead newbie to ukes but I do know my way around bass/guitars and can hopefully tell the difference between faults in the instrument and what's my fault for not being able to play worth a damn, lol.
 
I like "Rubin" better than "Caramel".

I agree. I wonder why they changed?
 
I just got the Caramel zebrawood tenor a couple days ago. Yeah, it's just a 65 dollar Chinese laminate uke but it's built solid, looks good, plays well, sounds ok and it's acoustic/electric, comes with Aquilas and has binding on the front and back. Have the Rubin pocket uke also. All this name changing from Rubin to Caramel and this big line-up of various size electro-ukes in various wood finishes for cheap could mean that Caramel is looking to take on Kala/Makala for ukulele world dominance; I was recommending my Makala concert to friends who were looking for a first ukulele, now I mention Caramel too, more for the money.
 
Just noticed the Caramel ukes on Amazon. I have bought 6 of the Rubins and was impressed with the quality and value. The only negative was an issue with the binding on the necks of a couple of the instruments. I bought the instruments knowing about the defect, and I still liked them. Hopefully they have abandoned that particular binding.
I have given all my Rubins away to my kids and grandkids. I may have to order a Caramel just for me. I love the mahogany model with the butterfly sound holes.
 
I have a Rubin Tenor Zebra wood travel, glossy, and a Caramel Zebra wood Concert with tuner/amp. I purchased a rosewood tenor and a pair of the "Butterfly" holes in Concert and Sopranino for my Daughter and Grand daughter. All of them had high action, but my local shop fixed them for $10-20 each.
I've had the Tenor for four months and am very happy with it. I'm trying it Low G.

I thought I'd try a concert so I bought a Kala concert Mahogany but found it unsuitable so I traded it in for a Ohana CK-22 spruce top concert yesterday. The Ohana is louder than my Caramel and very differently voiced.

For the price the Caramels pretty darn good, even with a setup added. The Ohana cost almost 3X what the Caramels cost, but is a little easier to play. The Zebra wood ones seem more mellow and softer. But I can strum the snot out of them and not have to worry, if they break I'll buy another one.:drool:

My neighbour bought a spruce topped, willow body Caramel and we are waiting for it to come in so we can jam. :D

Finishes on the Caramels and Rubins is a little less than the Kala and Ohana but 1/3 the $$.

Nice Uku's at a good price.
 
Last edited:
I have one a zebrawood tenor that I bought as a kick around Uke. Well it turns out that it is actually pretty nice. The eq and tuner work great. I have played it at several events and I am please so far in just about every way. Of course it's not a high end Uke, but it it an unbelievable value for $65 shipped!

I liked it so much that I ordered the solid top Acacia tenor. It was $85. All I can say is that I am super impressed. I have been playing it for a month now. I had to lower the action(no problem) on the zebra model. This ones action was pretty good out of the box. It is hard d to explain what a steal this thing is. It's tone is excellent. I strung the acacia model low g. I have other more expensive ukes but I catch myself playing the caramel ukes more than the others.
 
Last edited:
Hey there!

I bought the solid acacia top sopranino and it played quite horribly out of the box. I lowered the action at the bridge/saddle and then at the nut... allowed the strings to settle in (possibly Martin strigns might be better than the aquila strings for this little one) and it is actually a lot of fun to play, with a sweet gentle voice (it's only little) that can be strummed up for a little more volume. I have grown to love it as I can practise at night and the missus and kids are not disturbed from their sleep. it's a very attractive little beast and the only flaw apart from the setup out of the box (not uncommon in more expensive ukes) is that the tuners are a little cheap and slippy. I am going to tackle this next with a little ghetto modding...

I also have just recieved the Caramel Butterfly sound hole electric soprano. It's supposed to be Mahogany... if it is it's a very light coloured mahogany laminate. Anyway, overall very impressed, action not too high, tuners are closed and reasonable quality. a good amount of volume and a very playable neck. The dimensions of the neck and frets are very similar to my Koa Pili Koko soprano, a 'large hand friendly' soprano neck, so yeah very pleased as I love playing my KPK. Fretwork is even and level, no buzzes. Voice wise, plenty of volume, it's not 'plunky' at all. I need to play it more than my surreptitious fiddle at work and have no idea how it sounds through an amp yet, will update you all in another comment on this post.
 
Last edited:
I wouldn't be here if it weren't for a Carmel ad on my facebook feed toward the end of summer. It caught my eye, I clicked on it and thought, "Wow, I can get a uke for $40!" Then I started reading uke reviews, came across this thread, listened to sound samples, spoke to several retailers, and the rest is history. While I didn't end up getting a Carmel, I found myself reflecting back on my journey just yesterday. Anyway, I'm glad to see this thread still alive and that people are enjoying their Carmel ukes!
 
All solid tenor uke for 90 Bucks? How? Any dealer for Europe?

They ship free to Europe. (I think)

Direct from china. Search ebay. I got the spaulted laminate Rubin with pick up it was probably the best out of the box uke I have. Frets are great action is okay, I have a friend who said the intonation seems better than his kamaka.
 
All solid tenor uke for 90 Bucks? How? Any dealer for Europe?

You could also buy the Hora solid Mahogany directly from the factory, EU-made from EU wood. It's 73 euro, shipping will depend on your country, my Hora was shipped for 18 euro to the Netherlands. Or a laminate body with a solid top, the solid spruce top is just 46 euro. Great instruments.
http://www.hora.ro/other_ethno_instruments.html
Scroll to the bottom of the page.
 
So just a quick update on playability. Played it unplugged for a while. Nice sounding with plenty of volume, those lazer cut butterflies are loud little buggers. It makes good volume with no need to bash the strings at all. It played very well with no nasty surprises. I may have got lucky on the setup. I no complain....

Plugged in to a little vox practise amp it was very easy to get good understated distortion without resorting to overdrive buttons. Found myself playing some Rolling Stones very naturally. For the price it's hard to beat, actually better said, it's a good humble little uke that punches way above it's price range.
 
Last edited:
I noticed on Amazon that Caramel is raising their prices and going more high end what with the new amp/tuners.

I got a Rubin zebra wood sopranino,for $30! It had a small blem on the neck edge binding, but $30!
I switched out the strings for Fremont black lines and wow, it chimes with a pick.

By the time I saved up for a CT-100 tenor zebra wood, they ran out. Caramel said they'd be back in stock in a week, but will the price still be right?

The Caramels seem to be a little better set up than the Rubins. For those who want a little more bling, you can fill in the flames in the rosette with sparkle paint and it looks real nice.
 
Sopranino

Hey there!

I bought the solid acacia top sopranino and it played quite horribly out of the box. I lowered the action at the bridge/saddle and then at the nut... allowed the strings to settle in (possibly Martin strigns might be better than the aquila strings for this little one) and it is actually a lot of fun to play, with a sweet gentle voice (it's only little) that can be strummed up for a little more volume. I have grown to love it as I can practise at night and the missus and kids are not disturbed from their sleep. it's a very attractive little beast and the only flaw apart from the setup out of the box (not uncommon in more expensive ukes) is that the tuners are a little cheap and slippy. I am going to tackle this next with a little ghetto modding...

I also have just recieved the Caramel Butterfly sound hole electric soprano. It's supposed to be Mahogany... if it is it's a very light coloured mahogany laminate. Anyway, overall very impressed, action not too high, tuners are closed and reasonable quality. a good amount of volume and a very playable neck. The dimensions of the neck and frets are very similar to my Koa Pili Koko soprano, a 'large hand friendly' soprano neck, so yeah very pleased as I love playing my KPK. Fretwork is even and level, no buzzes. Voice wise, plenty of volume, it's not 'plunky' at all. I need to play it more than my surreptitious fiddle at work and have no idea how it sounds through an amp yet, will update you all in another comment on this post.

Does anyone know where i may find a case to fit my Rubin RP-100 sopranino. Just bought it and having problems finding a case.
 
Does anyone know where i may find a case to fit my Rubin RP-100 sopranino. Just bought it and having problems finding a case.

Welcome to the board. I have never seen a sopranino case. I bet you'll have to get a soprano case and live with a little looseness.
 
Are you looking for a gig bag or hard case? There's a gig bag for a 17" sopranino on ebay. And the only sopranino hard case I know of is an Ohana sopranino case. I've seen it sold by Uke Republic and a few other online uke shops. Just gotta check the measurements first to see if it fits
 
I purchased a Caramel Zebra wood concert and really love it so the day after Christmas I purchased a Zebra wood tenor and today a ZWood Soprano, so I'd have the whole family. Call me silly, but I think having a whole herd of Zebras that play music is kind of neat. My UAS is satisfied and if my wife doesn't kill me, I may learn to play all of them.
 
Top Bottom