NUD Farallon arrived

Congrats, Dave and Hodge. So happy for you both. Mine is just a few more weeks out. So excited.
 
I have it strung low G, my tuning of preference for tenors. With your Clara being low G it makes sense to have your Farallon high G. I remember when you got your Farallon, the review you did was very helpful in pushing me towards getting one.

Maybe I need a Clara for a car uke :p...........right Tim.

Yes!! Ha-ha.
 
DownUpDave and DocJ:

Congratulations! Welcome to the Farallon club. I have one as well but at the time of my purchase about a year ago, they did not offer side ports and radiused fretboards, which I would have preferred.

Luke

Luke,

I made passing mention of this earlier in the post. I was thrilled to learn you can add a sound-port after the fact for $135. I sent mine back to Blackbird for this. (As it happens they are also addressing an issue with the MiSi pickup under warranty. I was experiencing a low frequency hum that would go away when you touched the jack- probably some sort of a grounding issue-but I love the sound of the Farallon plugged in! )
 
I was pleasantly suprised to have my Farallon delivered to me yesterday. HMS sent it out on Wednesday and for it to make it to my address in Canada in three days was great. Another big shout out and kudos to Andrew and his staff for delivering me a well set up beautifully playing instrument. I ordered mine with a radius fretboard, sound port and string through bridge.

This Blackbird Farallon is amazing, simple as that. The sound is full and loud and resonant AND articulate. It is one of those rare ukes that sound as good strummed as fingerpicked. What really impresses me is the feel, balance and playability. It is as comfortable to play and as easy to play as my two favorite tenors. It feels like an old friend already. The neck has a great feel to it, being a medium depth with a nice D shape to it. The back has a very pronounced arch to it that eliminates the need for braces. I was worried this uke would feel like plastic or artificial and I would not warm up to it. This is not the case. In my hands I feel as if it is a wooden instrument or at least something made from the land with a natural feel.

I like this instrument a lot and it will be interesting to see how the sound improves as the strings get played in, not that it needs to improve, it's damn good as is!!!

View attachment 101153View attachment 101154View attachment 101155View attachment 101156View attachment 101157

Thank you and congratulations. A very talented luthier indeed. I love the arched back, a feast for the eyes and ears.
 
Thought I'd include today's sound comparison to the Farallon. I posted this in reviews but adding it here.
Just recorded comparisons to some of my other tenors in B tuning with all the same recording settings. The Farallon holds it own against some other amazing ukes.

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I had mine tuned the same way for a while but I found that Ab3 sounded a bit "dead". I eventually came back to linear C tuning where it's less a problem (to my ears).
 
Congratulations, Dave and Hodge! These sound like mighty fine instruments, and your descriptions really make me consider getting one in the future. Definitely needs to have the side sound port and radius fretboard, perhaps string through bridge, and I guess I'd prefer a gloss finish. The sunburst looks cool, but for me, the headstock would have to be black or stained as well in order to fit in with the overall look.

As for the discussions about side ports: Wouldn't it be neat if Blackbird made a cover for the sound port, so anyone could play their uke with and without one, open it up for rehearsal and close it when playing for an audience, etc.? I bet it would be easier to make a cover for those composite materials than it would be for a wooden instrument. Another plus for the Blackbird...
 
Sorry I went AWOL on my own thread, busy day yesterday.

@Solorule, hey Brenda, you can always come over and play it but no you can't keep it at you house:rolleyes:

@Ifoo6952, thanks for the welcome into the Farallon club

@M3ukulele, Hey Monty you really should get a Farallon with a sound port. I always order with a soumd port if it is available, makes a difference to the player no matter how it is strung. Blackbird's stated wait time is 12 weeks and the string through bridge added 10 days.

@Alytw, Adam thanks for the compliments, another member had the string through before me and when he posted a picture I knew I had to have it.
 
@Camuke, Campbell that is a very good comparison with the Gibson J200. As great as these sound and the big benefit of being non-wood the overall look and great aesthetics are sometimes forgotten. Blackbird has put a lot of time and effort into these instruments. As much as I LOVE my solid wood instruments I applaud Joe at Blackbird for looking to alternatives to a dwildling resourse and I wanted to support this company.

@etudes, I know how much you like yours and I really enjoyed the video you had done......cost me some money. Please do a review and give your opinion about before and after sound port when your Farallon is returned

@sam13, Simon I know you need more time with mine as I had just changed the 3rd string out from floro to wound an hour before and you only played it for about 3 minutes. Simon is so uke crazy, like the rest of us, that he stopped by on his way home from a dinner out with his family. He left them in the car as he ran into my house to give the new Farallon I quick strum, I'd only had it about 2 hours at that point

@Kvehe, Kathryn we are indeed luck guys........you would look really good behind one of these.....just sayin'
 
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@Ukulele Eddie, Thanks so much and your Farallon is going to be quite the looker. I have "sunburst envy" after seeing the one at HMS.

@1931Jim, I appreciate the comments, very assute points regarding the arched back and the skilled luithers at Blackbird

@Rakelele, Rainer you would really enjoy one of these. Joe seems to be very open to doing custom work and I am sure he could do a black headstock for you. Let us know when it is due, hahaha!!!
 
A big thanks to Doc J for weighing in and giving his opinion and the excellent sound sample. It was so much fun swapping emails about our incoming Farallons and the fact we got them the same day. As most people here know Hodge has owned just about ever great make of ukulele out there. When he says the Blackbird compares favorably with the best customs that means alot.
 
My 2 dogs are doing fine as well. :)



I've got mine in low G (Oasis Warm, Smooth wound G). It sounds better (to the player) with the sound port vs. when I cover the sound port. Andrew and Kalei both say the soundport makes a big difference it the demo video.
https://vimeo.com/220854857


Thought I'd include today's sound comparison to the Farallon. I posted this in reviews but adding it here.
Just recorded comparisons to some of my other tenors in B tuning with all the same recording settings. The Farallon holds it own against some other amazing ukes.

Farallon : https://app.box.com/s/ia38ngucfkfb9vutvfz4ilhiewt16n51
LFdm spuce & rosewood: https://app.box.com/s/6tfex24yrg9fbsv5kluv6x09bux3rmf6
Grimes quilted maple: https://app.box.com/s/zv0ntq8mxd2h4oalro10nmgjm2rdno6v
Rieck spruce & koa: https://app.box.com/s/b2vx8tj0vcf6x617fvv747y1dd9dijj0


Hodge, thanks for doing the comparisons ... I had a moment to listen to them on very good speakers and really enjoyed them a bunch.

Much appreciated. Thanks again.
 
Congrats Dave! I love that they got smart and made it through the body stringing. Neat looking and easy to re-string.
I sure don't hate the way it looks. I bet it's loud enough to cheese off the neighbors!
 
Congrats Dave! I love that they got smart and made it through the body stringing. Neat looking and easy to re-string.
I sure don't hate the way it looks. I bet it's loud enough to cheese off the neighbors!

Thanks Nickie, it certainly is a canon, no need for an amplifer with this one
.
 
can anyone compare it to the black Carbon Fiber BTU one they also make? That one doesn't seem to get much love here. I think the eKoa is amazing and innovative genius stuff.
 
can anyone compare it to the black Carbon Fiber BTU one they also make? That one doesn't seem to get much love here. I think the eKoa is amazing and innovative genius stuff.

Firstly, congrats Dave and the other fine folks that have Farallons now. :)

It would not surprise me if there is a new trend of Farallon-envy here on UU, unless this has been going on before, and I have not seen it yet...but you can count me among that group...

Secondly, I too am interested in comparisons to the BTU as igor has mentioned above...if you are of this experience, please do tell...maybe in another thread? so as not to steal the thunder from the Farallon love...
 
can anyone compare it to the black Carbon Fiber BTU one they also make? That one doesn't seem to get much love here. I think the eKoa is amazing and innovative genius stuff.

I've also previously owned a black Carbon Fiber BTU. The Farallon has better sound IMHO. The black Carbon Fiber BTU was loud, very resonant, but less woody sounding, the gstring was a bit overpowering. It sounded distinctly different from wood tenors. The Farallon sounds like it is a wooden tenor ( a very excellent wooden tenor).
 
I've also previously owned a black Carbon Fiber BTU. The Farallon has better sound IMHO. The black Carbon Fiber BTU was loud, very resonant, but less woody sounding, the gstring was a bit overpowering. It sounded distinctly different from wood tenors. The Farallon sounds like it is a wooden tenor ( a very excellent wooden tenor).


I've also played the BTU, but it was such a long time ago that I can't really compare the tone with my Farallon. I can tell you that if you go over to the Acoustic Guitar Forum, in the Carbon Fiber page, that folks there have also been going nuts over the Blackbird eKoa guitars as being quite special compared with regular carbon fiber offerings. I have two carbon fiber guitars - a CA GX and an Emerald X7 - and I'd LOVE to get my hands on the new Blackbird Savoy.

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=48
 
A big thanks to Doc J for weighing in and giving his opinion and the excellent sound sample. It was so much fun swapping emails about our incoming Farallons and the fact we got them the same day. As most people here know Hodge has owned just about ever great make of ukulele out there. When he says the Blackbird compares favorably with the best customs that means alot.

I have had my Farallon for about 3 months now, and have had a chance to experiment with different string combinations and compare it with some very nice ukuleles. I would agree that it compares very favorably with high end instruments. When you add in the fact that you can take it/play it anywhere, it really stands alone.

Though I have never had the chance to play the carbon fiber models, I did extensive listening research, and none of the sound samples moved me. When I saw a sample of Corey playing the new Ekoa model, I was immediately struck by the tone, and you could tell Corey was as well. I like mine so much, I am enquiring to see if they will make a baritone for me.
 
I have had my Farallon for about 3 months now, and have had a chance to experiment with different string combinations and compare it with some very nice ukuleles. I would agree that it compares very favorably with high end instruments. When you add in the fact that you can take it/play it anywhere, it really stands alone.

Though I have never had the chance to play the carbon fiber models, I did extensive listening research, and none of the sound samples moved me. When I saw a sample of Corey playing the new Ekoa model, I was immediately struck by the tone, and you could tell Corey was as well. I like mine so much, I am enquiring to see if they will make a baritone for me.


Kevin you know you were very instrumental in me deciding to purchase a Farallon. I am more than thrilled with it and I thank you for all your great feedback.

SIGN ME UP for a baritone as well. Hopefully Joe from Blackbird reads this.
 
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