Congratulations, lucky guy!
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 ...........right Tim.
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
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!!!
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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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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
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!
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.
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).
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.