After playing mostly sopranos and tenors for a while, I felt once more drawn to the concert size, hoping to find in it the Goldilocks size that gives me the best of both worlds. I also wanted an instrument that is ideal for re-entrant C tuning as I prefer D tuning on sopranos and either low-G or reentrant Bb tuning on the tenor size.
My first ukulele had been a €150 Stagg UC80-S concert, but I quickly got curious about the smaller and bigger sizes and didn't give the concert size much of a chance. Later on, I tried a KoAloha Opio concert (sapele model) where I eventually felt the sound was a bit brash, and a KoAloha Longneck Pineapple (which I really liked and that made me want a "full" concert ukulele, but that I eventually sold to get a Kanile'a GL6, which I then sold to get a Blackbird Farallon, which I then returned -- I'm not really as indecisive as this makes me look!).
Talking with Jollyboy, the topic of the concert size came up and I started to look around a little. I didn't necessarily want to get a new uke, but you know how it goes. Once the idea rummages through the mind, the postman will soon bring a new baby. Southern Ukulele Store had the new aNueNue Moon Bird ukuleles in stock, which struck me as aesthetically very appealing and attractive, the fluid design especially, but there were only soprano and tenor sizes available at SUS. I thought to myself, "If they had this in concert size, I'd bite." A few days later I spotted the concert model of the series at the new World of Ukes, ran by Matt Warnes who publishes UKE, the UK's ukulele magazine (full color printed, really a neat quarterly). I talked some with him (personable, witty guy), he recorded a demo of the actual instrument for me), and well, I bought it! It arrived this week, so what I write here are just my initial impressions. If it works out for me, I might do a "after a few months" review down the road.
Here are some high quality photos from the manufacturer, which look better than what I can take with an iPad on this cloudy day. And here are Matt's photos of the instrument I bought). Matt's photos are very accurate: the rosewood is as chocolate-dark as shown, the headstock logo is a pearl inlay. If you want to see a particular part and don't mind a quick snapshot, let me know.
The specs:
Top: Solid Swiss Moon Spruce
Sides and back: Solid East Indian Rosewood
Headplate: Ebony
Tuners: Gotoh UPT (black and gold), my favorite tuners
Neck: Mahogany
Bridge: Ebony
Nut / Saddle: Buffalo Bone
Fingerboard: Ebony
Rosette and fretmarkers: Spalted Maple
Binding: Rosewood
Sidemarkers: could be pearl, could be plastic
Total Frets: 20 (14 to the body, 17-18 on the cutaway side)
It came in a custom wooden hardcase with dark blue, real leather (darker than in photos,) and brass latches. The lockable case has feet on the side as well as on the bottom (so it won't get scratched when it's opened on the floor). There is a small aNueNue logo embossed on it. This is actually the best case I own and it's miles beyond the €80-100 hardcases I have. I know, it's just a case, but I'm really impressed with it. It's unusual to get such a case in this price category.
The ukulele itself is nothing short of amazing. Flawlessly finished, cleanly crafted (no glue blobs), very light, stunning as it looks in the photos. The saddle is heavily compensated (I didn't know it would be, so that was a very nice surprise) and the intonation is spot on all the way up the neck. I tested it with the Polytune tuner too, because I was so fascinated by how accurate the intonation is.
It has a relatively slim neck that feels comfortable to me. No radiused fretboard (sorry Sam and Dave!). The action is comfortably low without buzzing when playing harder. To me, it feels perfect. It's just very easy, effortless to play, very buttery and smooth. Since it's so light, I find myself playing it comfortably without a Uke Leash.
The sound (samples below) is loud, full, and there are gobs of sustain. It rings on and on. It came with aNueNue's own brand of fluorocarbon strings, the Black Water strings (they have Clear Water also). Those are a little bit lower tension than some other fluorocarbon strings and also sold separately. The gauges for the soprano and concert versions are, from A to G: 0.49mm/.019", 0.70mm/.027", 0.76mm/.031", 0.55mm/.022". (The Clear Water ones are .020, .025, .029, .022, so thinner and minimally less tension.) There are also tenor versions of these strings (I only have a set of the Black Water ones: .023, .027, .031, .025). I really like the Black Water strings. Tonally, they are probably a little like the Worth Browns, though it's hard to tell for me since I know this instrument only with its original strings yet. I do like their feel and sound, and they work well on this instrument. In a month or two I'll try the Clear Water ones for comparison.
Right, the sound! Matt of World of Ukes, kindly did a demonstration of the actual instrument for me and he is fine with the audio files being shared. Since he has a better recording setup and playing ability than me, I'll spare you my playing and include his recordings instead for a fair representation of what the uke sounds like!
Fingerpicking
Strummed
Sustain up the neck is really good and it doesn't lose much projection, which has always been one of my bugbears with the shorter scales.
Dropping €1100 (it's probably cheaper in the US) on a non-custom, non-Hawaiian uke that is "handmade in China" is not something that I did without thinking hard about it (there's some stigma), and I was curious if the instrument would meet my expectations. And it really did! Other than the label, nothing says "Made in China" about this uke. From sound and materials to craftsmanship, this is a top-notch ukulele that doesn't need to hide from the K brand models, and euro for euro, or dollar for dollar, the Moon Bird delivers probably more: the outstanding quality case, the UPT tuners, pearl inlay and the compensated saddle add quite a bit of value. And it plays wonderfully with superb projection.
There are also soprano and tenor versions of these, and aNueNue make a koa model of the same series, for those are prefer different woods sizes.
This will be the only ukulele I'll be playing for the next four weeks, to really get to know it- Yes, that is how much I enjoy it.
Hope this was helpful - at least the sound samples! There's not much information on aNueNue here on the forum, especially not their higher end models.
My first ukulele had been a €150 Stagg UC80-S concert, but I quickly got curious about the smaller and bigger sizes and didn't give the concert size much of a chance. Later on, I tried a KoAloha Opio concert (sapele model) where I eventually felt the sound was a bit brash, and a KoAloha Longneck Pineapple (which I really liked and that made me want a "full" concert ukulele, but that I eventually sold to get a Kanile'a GL6, which I then sold to get a Blackbird Farallon, which I then returned -- I'm not really as indecisive as this makes me look!).
Talking with Jollyboy, the topic of the concert size came up and I started to look around a little. I didn't necessarily want to get a new uke, but you know how it goes. Once the idea rummages through the mind, the postman will soon bring a new baby. Southern Ukulele Store had the new aNueNue Moon Bird ukuleles in stock, which struck me as aesthetically very appealing and attractive, the fluid design especially, but there were only soprano and tenor sizes available at SUS. I thought to myself, "If they had this in concert size, I'd bite." A few days later I spotted the concert model of the series at the new World of Ukes, ran by Matt Warnes who publishes UKE, the UK's ukulele magazine (full color printed, really a neat quarterly). I talked some with him (personable, witty guy), he recorded a demo of the actual instrument for me), and well, I bought it! It arrived this week, so what I write here are just my initial impressions. If it works out for me, I might do a "after a few months" review down the road.
Here are some high quality photos from the manufacturer, which look better than what I can take with an iPad on this cloudy day. And here are Matt's photos of the instrument I bought). Matt's photos are very accurate: the rosewood is as chocolate-dark as shown, the headstock logo is a pearl inlay. If you want to see a particular part and don't mind a quick snapshot, let me know.
The specs:
Top: Solid Swiss Moon Spruce
Sides and back: Solid East Indian Rosewood
Headplate: Ebony
Tuners: Gotoh UPT (black and gold), my favorite tuners
Neck: Mahogany
Bridge: Ebony
Nut / Saddle: Buffalo Bone
Fingerboard: Ebony
Rosette and fretmarkers: Spalted Maple
Binding: Rosewood
Sidemarkers: could be pearl, could be plastic
Total Frets: 20 (14 to the body, 17-18 on the cutaway side)
It came in a custom wooden hardcase with dark blue, real leather (darker than in photos,) and brass latches. The lockable case has feet on the side as well as on the bottom (so it won't get scratched when it's opened on the floor). There is a small aNueNue logo embossed on it. This is actually the best case I own and it's miles beyond the €80-100 hardcases I have. I know, it's just a case, but I'm really impressed with it. It's unusual to get such a case in this price category.
The ukulele itself is nothing short of amazing. Flawlessly finished, cleanly crafted (no glue blobs), very light, stunning as it looks in the photos. The saddle is heavily compensated (I didn't know it would be, so that was a very nice surprise) and the intonation is spot on all the way up the neck. I tested it with the Polytune tuner too, because I was so fascinated by how accurate the intonation is.
It has a relatively slim neck that feels comfortable to me. No radiused fretboard (sorry Sam and Dave!). The action is comfortably low without buzzing when playing harder. To me, it feels perfect. It's just very easy, effortless to play, very buttery and smooth. Since it's so light, I find myself playing it comfortably without a Uke Leash.
The sound (samples below) is loud, full, and there are gobs of sustain. It rings on and on. It came with aNueNue's own brand of fluorocarbon strings, the Black Water strings (they have Clear Water also). Those are a little bit lower tension than some other fluorocarbon strings and also sold separately. The gauges for the soprano and concert versions are, from A to G: 0.49mm/.019", 0.70mm/.027", 0.76mm/.031", 0.55mm/.022". (The Clear Water ones are .020, .025, .029, .022, so thinner and minimally less tension.) There are also tenor versions of these strings (I only have a set of the Black Water ones: .023, .027, .031, .025). I really like the Black Water strings. Tonally, they are probably a little like the Worth Browns, though it's hard to tell for me since I know this instrument only with its original strings yet. I do like their feel and sound, and they work well on this instrument. In a month or two I'll try the Clear Water ones for comparison.
Right, the sound! Matt of World of Ukes, kindly did a demonstration of the actual instrument for me and he is fine with the audio files being shared. Since he has a better recording setup and playing ability than me, I'll spare you my playing and include his recordings instead for a fair representation of what the uke sounds like!
Fingerpicking
Strummed
Sustain up the neck is really good and it doesn't lose much projection, which has always been one of my bugbears with the shorter scales.
Dropping €1100 (it's probably cheaper in the US) on a non-custom, non-Hawaiian uke that is "handmade in China" is not something that I did without thinking hard about it (there's some stigma), and I was curious if the instrument would meet my expectations. And it really did! Other than the label, nothing says "Made in China" about this uke. From sound and materials to craftsmanship, this is a top-notch ukulele that doesn't need to hide from the K brand models, and euro for euro, or dollar for dollar, the Moon Bird delivers probably more: the outstanding quality case, the UPT tuners, pearl inlay and the compensated saddle add quite a bit of value. And it plays wonderfully with superb projection.
There are also soprano and tenor versions of these, and aNueNue make a koa model of the same series, for those are prefer different woods sizes.
This will be the only ukulele I'll be playing for the next four weeks, to really get to know it- Yes, that is how much I enjoy it.
Hope this was helpful - at least the sound samples! There's not much information on aNueNue here on the forum, especially not their higher end models.