neo1022
Well-known member
I just bought one of the "affordable" Tiny Tenors (Solid Sitka Spruce top, laminate mahogany sides and back), and I'm very happy with it. These lower-cost versions are made in Vietnam and QCed by Romero Creations. Based on what I've heard (and evidenced by this instrument), Vietnamese factories seem to be matching (or outpacing) the Chinese factories in terms of quality right now—and this factory was supposedly chosen by Romero based on their ability to realize his very specific design requirements. As far as I can tell, this "affordable" version differs from the more expensive $499 Tiny Tenor in the following ways: laminate instead of solid body and sides, slightly deeper body shape that the higher-end models (to compensate for any loss of resonance from the laminate sides and back, I assume); mahogany instead of ebony headstock, and laser-etched instead of abalone inlay DH (Daniel Ho) signature on headstock. Might be some other differences, but these are the obvious ones...
As several people have observed with Romero Creation ukes, the intonation is spot-on along the length of the fingerboard. Sustain in amazing (although the C string has a bit less sustain at the 5th and 6th frets). These notes seem to be opening up a bit the more I play the instrument, and they're not very noticeable now (although I might also be adapting to the instrument...!). The thing sounds great--very bright, clear, and loud. Mine is strung high-g, but it came from Romero Creations with Pepe Romero low-g (wound) and his own custom-branded fluorocarbons. The thing sounds amazing with Pepe Romero wound low-g, btw-- huge sustain with a great full bass note. [Note: I decided the sound was a bit too bright with the high-g strings, so I went back to the original low-g setup using Pepe Romero strings. I think this spruce-top really benefits from low-g to balance out the brightness. Always sounded good, but with low-g it's something quite special. And if you're a fingerpicker, there's no question--low-g].
Tuners are matte black and very cool looking and functional (I heard they are Grover, but unbranded). Instrument has a bound fretboard--a fine-grained lighter brown wood, with fret side markers in all the right places. 17" tenor scale, 14 frets to the body (16 total). Through the bridge strings (very clean looking and easy to change). Saddle and nut are real bone, and saddle is compensated. Black binding with thin white line. The only bling is a very very pretty and well-executed abalone rosette outlined in black. Seems to be a slight bit of neck relief near the center of the fretboard (maybe 1/100th). I assume that's intentional, and not a slight bow...
As for construction, the instrument is feather-weight and lightly built (which probably accounts for the great intonation and resonance). Lovely simple satin finish on the entire body. The internal construction is pretty clean (no glue marks). Pepe uses a 3-fan bracing method on back, and on mine the center back brace seems to run at a slight diagonal down the centerline of the instrument (meaning it doesn't meet the tail block at the center, but to one side). Not sure if this is intentional or not, but it certainly doesn't affect the sound, so I'm not concerned. Other than that, nice build all around. One niggle is the label inside the body—it's a black and white thick gloss paper "Romero Creations Tiny Tenor" label that, to my eyes, looks a bit tacky. The pyroengraved wood label in the ~$500 versions looks much nicer.
Fit and finish is pretty good. The satin finish looks great, but in oblique light I can see that there is some unevenness—some areas are a bit more satin, while others are a bit glossier. Only visible under very specific lighting conditions. No glue marks inside body. The head block had an ugly number stamped in ink on the out-facing surface—I'd have expected the builder to reverse this so the clean side faced out. A bit of light sanding cleaned it right up, though. Some very minor glue smears on fretboard (only visible under oblique lighting)--cleaned these up with some light razor-blade work, and now it looks pristine. All in all, a few more build-related aesthetic issues than I expected, but all are minor (and most were easily remedied). My Kala ukes seem all looked a bit more "clean" from the factor, but I suppose the issues noted on the Tiny Tenor might be chalked up to first-run issue... As mentioned, none affect playability, intonation, or durability—all of which are excellent.
When played, the thing feels alive. It pulses, vibrates, and feels like it's living--much more so than any other uke I've played. Jason Arimoto at U-Space played it for me (he's an amazing uke player!) and showed me just what this instrument can do in the right hands, and I was blown away with the clarity and projection of the sound. The large single bout construction produces the purest notes I've heard on a ukulele, with none of the odd harmonic overtones that are sometimes generated by the typical uke shape. This, along with the slightly increased string spacing makes it great for finger picking as well as strumming. Also, the wide-bout body makes it really comfortable to hold and play, and allows for a much more comfortable and natural hand/arm position than most concert scale instruments offer.
Came with a nice Romero Creations-branded nylon/polyfoam case that is perfectly fitted to the instrument's paddle shape, and offers a lot of protection. Will also fit in most standard concert size gig bags (but not hard cases). I bought a Road Runner gig bag from Guitar Center and it fits like a glove. As I said, I'm very impressed with the quality and sound of this instrument, especially at this price point (~$269 case included). When you consider that you would pay ~$80 - $100 for a decent hard case, it become apparent that you can get a nice Romero Creations Tiny Tenor for basically the same cost as a cheap Cordoba or Lanikai plus an add-on hard case. Pretty amazing deal, imo!
These can be a bit hard to find right now, but U-Space in Little Tokyo (Los Angeles) carries them. I think they're also in-stock and available from Uke Republic and The Ukulele Site (great price there, btw). I highly recommend this instrument--I'm sure it will be very popular, assuming people can get over the unusual shape!
RATINGS:
Features: 10/10
Nice overall package, with some innovative features such as body size and shape, through the bridge strings, nice tuners, understated finish, and included polyfoam case.
Sound: 9/10
Great sound! Loud, perfect intonation, 2 notes with small lack of sustain. Not really noticeable, and the two "low sustain" notes seem to be opening up a bit with playing
Action:9/10
Very good out of the box-- had the a string lowered a bit at the nut. I can fret even tough chords on this, without much effort.
Fit & Finish: 8/10
Satin finish seems delicate and came somewhat uneven -- some areas on the soundboard are a bit more satiny than others in oblique light. As for construction, tne back brace seems to run at a slight angle--not sure if this is typical of Romero fan bracing or not... Also, the head block had a stamped number facing out--might be an inventory number, but seems to be a part identifier code. Should have been glued in so that the number was hidden on the back of the block. Sanded it off, and it looks great. Very minor glue smear on fretboard, easily removed by scraping *very* gently with razor blade--looks perfect now. Body is very light and resonant--perhaps a benefit of the seemingly thin but very hard satin coat. All these flaws are acceptable for a production instrument, I suppose... (that said, my Kalas seem to require *no* cleanup work...)
Reliability/Durability: 9/10
Well-built, should last forever. Finish seems delicate, but this is the nature of the beast with a light and resonant satin spruce top...
Customer Support: X/10
No experience with this
Overall Rating: 9/10
Great deal for the money! The only reason I don't rate it a 10 are the small imperfections in the finish and the aforementioned angled back brace. No impact on sound (and only noticeable if you're really scrutinizing the instrument). Really pleased with this instrument. Sounds and plays like a much more expensive instrument, but affordable enough to be a "beater" you can travel with... So far, this uke has proven to be my favorite--really, the best all-around instrument I've played.
_____________________________________________
Current Uke Stable:
Soprano:
Kala travel uke (spruce & mahogany) (KA-SSTU)
Concert:
Kala Pacific Walnut (KA-PWC)
Tenor:
Romero Creations Tiny Tenor (Spruce & Mahogany)
Kala Spruce-Ovangkol (KA-ASOV-T)
Beginning uke player with early onset UAS. Just getting started...!
As several people have observed with Romero Creation ukes, the intonation is spot-on along the length of the fingerboard. Sustain in amazing (although the C string has a bit less sustain at the 5th and 6th frets). These notes seem to be opening up a bit the more I play the instrument, and they're not very noticeable now (although I might also be adapting to the instrument...!). The thing sounds great--very bright, clear, and loud. Mine is strung high-g, but it came from Romero Creations with Pepe Romero low-g (wound) and his own custom-branded fluorocarbons. The thing sounds amazing with Pepe Romero wound low-g, btw-- huge sustain with a great full bass note. [Note: I decided the sound was a bit too bright with the high-g strings, so I went back to the original low-g setup using Pepe Romero strings. I think this spruce-top really benefits from low-g to balance out the brightness. Always sounded good, but with low-g it's something quite special. And if you're a fingerpicker, there's no question--low-g].
Tuners are matte black and very cool looking and functional (I heard they are Grover, but unbranded). Instrument has a bound fretboard--a fine-grained lighter brown wood, with fret side markers in all the right places. 17" tenor scale, 14 frets to the body (16 total). Through the bridge strings (very clean looking and easy to change). Saddle and nut are real bone, and saddle is compensated. Black binding with thin white line. The only bling is a very very pretty and well-executed abalone rosette outlined in black. Seems to be a slight bit of neck relief near the center of the fretboard (maybe 1/100th). I assume that's intentional, and not a slight bow...
As for construction, the instrument is feather-weight and lightly built (which probably accounts for the great intonation and resonance). Lovely simple satin finish on the entire body. The internal construction is pretty clean (no glue marks). Pepe uses a 3-fan bracing method on back, and on mine the center back brace seems to run at a slight diagonal down the centerline of the instrument (meaning it doesn't meet the tail block at the center, but to one side). Not sure if this is intentional or not, but it certainly doesn't affect the sound, so I'm not concerned. Other than that, nice build all around. One niggle is the label inside the body—it's a black and white thick gloss paper "Romero Creations Tiny Tenor" label that, to my eyes, looks a bit tacky. The pyroengraved wood label in the ~$500 versions looks much nicer.
Fit and finish is pretty good. The satin finish looks great, but in oblique light I can see that there is some unevenness—some areas are a bit more satin, while others are a bit glossier. Only visible under very specific lighting conditions. No glue marks inside body. The head block had an ugly number stamped in ink on the out-facing surface—I'd have expected the builder to reverse this so the clean side faced out. A bit of light sanding cleaned it right up, though. Some very minor glue smears on fretboard (only visible under oblique lighting)--cleaned these up with some light razor-blade work, and now it looks pristine. All in all, a few more build-related aesthetic issues than I expected, but all are minor (and most were easily remedied). My Kala ukes seem all looked a bit more "clean" from the factor, but I suppose the issues noted on the Tiny Tenor might be chalked up to first-run issue... As mentioned, none affect playability, intonation, or durability—all of which are excellent.
When played, the thing feels alive. It pulses, vibrates, and feels like it's living--much more so than any other uke I've played. Jason Arimoto at U-Space played it for me (he's an amazing uke player!) and showed me just what this instrument can do in the right hands, and I was blown away with the clarity and projection of the sound. The large single bout construction produces the purest notes I've heard on a ukulele, with none of the odd harmonic overtones that are sometimes generated by the typical uke shape. This, along with the slightly increased string spacing makes it great for finger picking as well as strumming. Also, the wide-bout body makes it really comfortable to hold and play, and allows for a much more comfortable and natural hand/arm position than most concert scale instruments offer.
Came with a nice Romero Creations-branded nylon/polyfoam case that is perfectly fitted to the instrument's paddle shape, and offers a lot of protection. Will also fit in most standard concert size gig bags (but not hard cases). I bought a Road Runner gig bag from Guitar Center and it fits like a glove. As I said, I'm very impressed with the quality and sound of this instrument, especially at this price point (~$269 case included). When you consider that you would pay ~$80 - $100 for a decent hard case, it become apparent that you can get a nice Romero Creations Tiny Tenor for basically the same cost as a cheap Cordoba or Lanikai plus an add-on hard case. Pretty amazing deal, imo!
These can be a bit hard to find right now, but U-Space in Little Tokyo (Los Angeles) carries them. I think they're also in-stock and available from Uke Republic and The Ukulele Site (great price there, btw). I highly recommend this instrument--I'm sure it will be very popular, assuming people can get over the unusual shape!
RATINGS:
Features: 10/10
Nice overall package, with some innovative features such as body size and shape, through the bridge strings, nice tuners, understated finish, and included polyfoam case.
Sound: 9/10
Great sound! Loud, perfect intonation, 2 notes with small lack of sustain. Not really noticeable, and the two "low sustain" notes seem to be opening up a bit with playing
Action:9/10
Very good out of the box-- had the a string lowered a bit at the nut. I can fret even tough chords on this, without much effort.
Fit & Finish: 8/10
Satin finish seems delicate and came somewhat uneven -- some areas on the soundboard are a bit more satiny than others in oblique light. As for construction, tne back brace seems to run at a slight angle--not sure if this is typical of Romero fan bracing or not... Also, the head block had a stamped number facing out--might be an inventory number, but seems to be a part identifier code. Should have been glued in so that the number was hidden on the back of the block. Sanded it off, and it looks great. Very minor glue smear on fretboard, easily removed by scraping *very* gently with razor blade--looks perfect now. Body is very light and resonant--perhaps a benefit of the seemingly thin but very hard satin coat. All these flaws are acceptable for a production instrument, I suppose... (that said, my Kalas seem to require *no* cleanup work...)
Reliability/Durability: 9/10
Well-built, should last forever. Finish seems delicate, but this is the nature of the beast with a light and resonant satin spruce top...
Customer Support: X/10
No experience with this
Overall Rating: 9/10
Great deal for the money! The only reason I don't rate it a 10 are the small imperfections in the finish and the aforementioned angled back brace. No impact on sound (and only noticeable if you're really scrutinizing the instrument). Really pleased with this instrument. Sounds and plays like a much more expensive instrument, but affordable enough to be a "beater" you can travel with... So far, this uke has proven to be my favorite--really, the best all-around instrument I've played.
_____________________________________________
Current Uke Stable:
Soprano:
Kala travel uke (spruce & mahogany) (KA-SSTU)
Concert:
Kala Pacific Walnut (KA-PWC)
Tenor:
Romero Creations Tiny Tenor (Spruce & Mahogany)
Kala Spruce-Ovangkol (KA-ASOV-T)
Beginning uke player with early onset UAS. Just getting started...!
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