Martin C1K Review - Quality Control Problems

AlohaKine

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Hello,

Sorry to those that read this review before, I was like a Kid in a Candy Store all excited and I really didn't take the time to look the Uke over and really make sure things were good, so I apologize to you that read this, because I really over looked mistakes I later found.

I want to make this very clear from the beginning, so people do not misunderstand me or the purpose of this review, which is not to tear anyone, or any company down, but to only share the facts with my experience of two C1K purchases, one week a part from each other.

I purchased two Martin C1K online from SamAsh, they seem to be a very nice company that really goes out of their way to help you and offers deals, so this is the reason I picked them.

It would be great, for the benefit of the other members that have never owned a C1K, that if anyone has recently made a purchase to please share your experience. I truly hope that I have just had the bad misfortune that others will not experience, that this is just a rare occasion, and others are getting nice instruments for their money.

Below are the points I have noticed between my two Ukes.

1. Martin has a good Koa wood supplier I found out about, but at times isn't working with the wood good, doing good finish work, sometimes rougher feeling bodies, and sometimes bad lacquer finishes with little to no sheen in the wood. My dark wood Uke had no sheen to the wood, and the texture was rougher to the feel, really dry looking. My lighter colored Uke had a nice satin feel and nice sheen to the body, this is exactly the way it should be, not like my dark Uke, no sheen, dry and rough textured.

2.The weight of the Ukes is not consistent, the darker Koa Uke is heavier, with more weight along the neck and head.

3. Both Ukes frets were not properly dressed, frets are sharp on both sides of the necks, not fun to play on either neck.

4. Small cosmetic flaw, one Uke had Sipo placed as the headstock Plate instead of Koa. Koa is what Martin lists as the wood to be used for the headstock.

5. Fretboard on one Uke was a bad cut of wood, the very spotted look that Sipo can have, instead of a nice cut with nice grains as it should of been, that was also very dry, and without any nice finish to it. I've seen better looking fretboards on $100 Chinese made Ukes.

6. Not saying this is a good or bad thing, I just didn't find the necks on the C1K comfortable. The C1K were actually the first Ukes I've ever played that had a thin radius to them. All the Ukes I've ever played had a thicker more comfortable radius to the hand. Maybe this is common among Martin, I'm not sure, since this is the first time I've tried the C1K.

I have seen a lot of Ukes made by Ohana and Kala at half the price of the C1K finished better.

We all understand mistakes are made, but are these types of mistakes acceptable, and it makes me wonder, maybe Martin needs to be held to a higher standard, because when I get two Ukes in a row with problems, which is suppose to be superior quality, I'm sorry, I'm not seeing this Martin quality. I don't expect to see these types of mistakes from Martin at this price, I expect to see this on lower priced Chinese made Ukes, By the way superior quality is what Martin says on their website about these Ukes, these are not my words.

The pictures below...

The first two pictures are the darker wood, it's not bad wood, but it was not finished good, so there is no sheen to the body and the wood is very dry and rough feeling to the touch.

The last two are of course the lighter wood, it was finished better, with a more satin finish, the wood was smoothed out better and a nicer sheen finish. When you look at these pictures the lighter areas of the wood you notice are appearing this way in the pictures, because this is the sheen of the nicer finish and how it brings out the wood. The front side of the picture doesn't really show the sheen as much as you can see it in person, but it is a big difference over the darker Uke. On the backside there is a lot of sheen to the Koa, a nice look of Koa I would expect to see on all these Ukes from Martin, which is nothing like the first Uke.

But with the lighter colored Uke, there is something here, that maybe many people will over look and not consider, and that is the inconsistent wood on the top and bottom. Notice the top how straight grain and plain, more of what I've seen is the typical Martin Ukulele look of wood, and the back is more curly. The point is, most Ukes you see, if the top is straight, the back is too, both like book matched, especially in this price range of an Uke. This is the first time in a price range of an Uke like this, that the styles of wood from top to bottom were very inconsistent, that I've seen.

These pictures are not about the contrast between Koa, when you compare five different Ukes as an example, because depending on the Koa stock, they might all end up very different from one another, which is neither bad or good, if properly worked with wood, it's only going to amount to a Tonal difference. This review is really about the quality of wood, sometimes good sometimes not so good, and the matching of wood to the Uke, sometimes not matched, as I pointed out with the lighter Uke, having a big difference in top and bottom wood, and also how the wood was worked with. In the darker wood, whoever had the job of the finish work, did a poor job, not making the wood smoother and giving it a better lacquer finish. I'm not sure how others will feel about the look of the back on the darker wood, again it's not bad Koa wood, it's just that it was not finished properly, so it looks really poor.


Read the comments below, then scroll down the forum to the #4th reply for more images.


1. First image nice grains, second image, spotted looking wood, which can be found in Sipo. I'm not sure why anyone would pick this spotted look of grains for a fretboard look if you can have nicer grains like the first image. Also the spotted grained fretboard was a lot dryer in texture, which didn't feel good to play on. The spotted grain fretboard also looks really cheap.

Click the images to blow them up, make sure the image appears in your browser, so you get the largest size, then you'll see the more spotted look of the fretboard and how bad this appears... :(

I really find this pinkish/clay look of the Sipo fretboards mixed with a Koa body in bad taste. Of course tone is the most important thing we want, and some might not care about looks, and I understand this. To me an instrument is a piece of art and I appreciate it for it's beauty and craftsmenship, like anyone else, I'm assuming. With these thoughts in mind, it seems as though whoever thought of this look, doesn't quite understand fashion and mixing things together, for a more proper look. To me this Sipo look is not the look I want in a traditional Koa Uke, I also think it adds a cheap look to the Uke, I don't see it enhancing the beauty of the instrument, I find it diminishing the look and quality. Maybe everyone is getting nice looking Sipo necks and fretboards, well even the nice grained one I received, the color just looks so out of place, that the instrument looks really cheap.

Would you seriously wear brown pants, or a dress for the ladies, with a pink top, or shirt? Get my point? Maybe with the right mix of browns and pinks, a good hue/contrast, of course I can see it working that way, but Martin doesn't even show this understanding with hues and contrasts, because that darker Uke looks like choclate with a pink candy fretboard, talk about bad taste. In the pictures below, where you can see part of the necks in both images, it doesn't really show up as pink, as the images in my other reply below, where you can really see the pink of the wood.

I understand companies now have to deal with the Rosewood shortage, and work with other woods, but honestly, this is the best Martin can do, give us a pink/clay color neck and fretboard? Martin truly needs to find a different type of wood to use here, and there are a lot of them out there. With their Koa wood supplier, they should even be able to make the fretboard from Koa and stick with mahogany for the neck, I don't understand why I am seeing a Sipo neck instead of mahogany...

2. Next is the Sipo head plate, notice the spotty look of the wood in the first image? That's Sipo, and the second image is the Koa head plate. Now this is just cosmetics, and maybe some people might like the Sipo look, but Martin lists on their website that it has a Koa head stock, so I would think they could get this right and not make mistakes like this. I personally like the look of the Koa and everyone who knows these woods knows Koa is the winner here in cosmetics. Look at the Koa head stock image, it is a much nicer sheen too, but it's not that noticeable in the picture.

Scroll down to the #4th reply for more images.

I sent both of these Ukes back, I do not recommend anyone buy any of the Mexico Martin Ukes unless you can see them in a store, there is just to much inconsistency with these Ukes, as well as finish issues, improperly finished Ukes.
 

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Booli said:
Nice brother!

CONGRATS :)

Now that you've revised the review, I will have to revise my comment, which at this moment requires some deep thought and consideration, for which I have little time due to an increased work schedule...

When I have more time I will come back and write something meaningful here.
 
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Big congrats!
The love for C1K is growing everyday! And I seriously mean it!:cool:
 
More pictures of the two necks and headstocks...
 

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No worries about the supposed 'taunting' and I'd not think your thread will be taken that way, as I'm sure lots of folks here really love to see a NUD or Review post.

It's always necessary for those deeply afflicted with UAS to have a steady stream of NEW (to them) items to drool over, otherwise the UAS is likely to wither and die, and we just cannot allow that to happen now, can we?
 
Great looking instrument. I have two different Martin sopranos - one from the early 30s and the other an OXK. In looking at their Koa instruments for either a tenor or maybe a concert I was hesitant because of the Mexican provenance. I wonder where they find their Koa wood? Do they import from Hawaii to Mexico?

The OXK may not be the nest comparison to my vintage instrument BUT there are some issues in the new one that I can overlook, but I wish it were better made.

I agree heartily about using the Gotoh UPT tuners - they are amazing. I use the Grovers on a couple of other instruments BUT wish they had the better ones made by Grover for Mele. I see other newer Grover's are hitting the market but they are hard to find. The Mele ones are not the same dimensions as the older classic ones so I have not made the swap. For a few $$$ more the Gotohs are a much better looking tuner and they work flawlessly.

PM sent re the bag.
 
No worries about the supposed 'taunting' and I'd not think your thread will be taken that way, as I'm sure lots of folks here really love to see a NUD or Review post.

It's always necessary for those deeply afflicted with UAS to have a steady stream of NEW (to them) items to drool over, otherwise the UAS is likely to wither and die, and we just cannot allow that to happen now, can we?
Very much agreed! No worries about envy.
I really like reviews and NUD posts. They give me happy dreams.

Congratulations on a wonderful ukulele!
 
I wrote a lengthy email to Martin, suggesting they need to create a Mid-Range line, right now, you have $400 to $2000 and nothing in between it's sad.

I agree with this. Martin's current line is confusing and worrisome to me. I can't imagine they sell very many 2K's at current street prices, and they aren't at all transparent about what you get for the extra money.

I can see how they arrived at this situation. Ironically, I imagine they got here by transparently pricing their ukes at a ratio similar to their costs. I can imagine it might cost 2 or 3 or even 4 times as much for them to manufacture the "same" instrument in the US vs Mexico. That's just the reality of manufacturing today.

But when somebody who doesn't know this arrives at the Martin website, they see one uke for $400 made out of koa, then another uke, same size, presumably same build quality, also made of koa. But it costs $2000 because it has.... "nicer" appointments? Nicer finish? I don't think they really justify the difference, and I think it leaves the current lineup sort of... uncomfortable.

I recently purchased a 2K and I love it to death, but there is no question that I paid a premium that is difficult to justify other than that I loved the way it sounded.

EDIT: Also want to add that I see no reason to assume that the uke Martin produces in Mexico will necessarily be worse (or better) than the one they produce in the US. I sincerely hope that they fully expect to maintain the same levels of quality in both factories.
 
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I know where their Koa comes from, not sure it's suppose to be known, but if it is I'll let everyone know, not sure if it's suppose to be shhh or what... LOL

@ra88it yes very odd the line up low end, high-end nothing in between.

But what is also really odd, is sometimes with these Mexico Martins you end up with one like I did that is very Mid-Range quality, actually somewhat Upper too. I've had $1500 Hawaiian Ukes in my hands before to tell you, the craftsmenship and tone on this C1K is just as good.

This makes me think, some of the Mexican Luithers down in Mexico are sneaking out a few good ones here and there, to show us what they can really do... LOL

I have seen and played quite a few Kanilea, KoAloha and Kamaka, to tell you, for their Standard Range, which is like $1000 for all of them, this C1K looks just as good, actually at times I have seen some poor looking Standard Kamaka and Kanilea, where the quality of the construction of this C1k is better, it's crazy.

Seriously, people, please PM to me, I already sent Martin an email I can send you, so you just add a little of your thoughts to send off an email to Petition Martin to offer this mid-range line, which is just some nice options to the Mexico line...
 
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To those that read the original post, sorry I really jumped and didn't really look these instruments over as well as I thought.

So the post has been done over, with my own experiences of now two purchases only one week a part, and I have run into problems with both Ukes.

The first Uke is getting shipped back to SamAsh, and when they receive that, then the second one goes back next, then I am going to get a third one, and hopefully this one will be as it should be.

If the third one is also bad, it might be time to look at another company, maybe Martin is no longer delivering the quality they once were on these Mexican made Ukes.
 
Or maybe Sam Ash are not weeding out the unacceptable models?

In my experience there can be variation in all brands of factory made models - and that includes brands like Kala and Pono even at the higher end. What I find is that specialist ukulele dealers can weed out those that should not have left the factory and either send them back or sell them as 'B Stock'.

I am in the UK so I don't know Sam Ash, but I don't think they are what I consider to be a specialist dealer (like HMS, Elderly, Uke Republic or Mims in the US). If they are shipping out to you Martins in boxes that they have not opened and checked, that may be part of the problem.
 
Or maybe Sam Ash are not weeding out the unacceptable models?

In my experience there can be variation in all brands of factory made models - and that includes brands like Kala and Pono even at the higher end. What I find is that specialist ukulele dealers can weed out those that should not have left the factory and either send them back or sell them as 'B Stock'.

I am in the UK so I don't know Sam Ash, but I don't think they are what I consider to be a specialist dealer (like HMS, Elderly, Uke Republic or Mims in the US). If they are shipping out to you Martins in boxes that they have not opened and checked, that may be part of the problem.

Bingo. :agree:
 
SamAsh is a big, box chain, I guess you could say company, according to Wikipedia 45 locations across the USA;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Ash

SamAsh says they don't open the boxes and inspect, they want it to be closed, as in not a broken seal for the customer, and I get the idea/thinking behind something like this. But I did explain that if they didn't inspect instruments, then you can run into problems like this.

I personally think the Store Inspection and setup aspects of a business are a really good selling point, and something players like, knowing that professionals, cleaned/prepped, inspected and setup their Ukes, this is a good thing, and I tried to encourage SamAsh to looking into this.

Of course these things happen with other makers, and they should not of left the factory, the thing is, Martin and companies like them, that have these issues, the truth is, this is a Quality Control issue, the company themselves not addressing these problems and allowing these out the door, which should not be happening in the first place.

Specialist dealer or not, the stores aren't to blame, the makers are, and they need to improve their Quality Control, and for Martin, it should be better. But even if things slip through, I agree, it's nice to buy from places that inspect, and if there's a problem it's dealt with before.

I won't name names, but I think, or I assume, everyone gets the idea here. I expect something like this, from the smaller Chinese makers, I didn't expect to see this, twice in a row from Martin.
 
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@AlohaKine - sorry - i very much disagree. I don't know SamAsh as I say, but as I also said I am not trying to run them down.

My point was that with ANY ukulele (any price) you can get issues that slip through. Places like SamAsh dont weed them out - I, personally, would prefer a dealer that DOES open the box - every box. I think most uke buyers do? I personally don't consdider unopened boxes of any instruments to be a selling point. Quite the opposite.

Maybe that's just me, but... if dealers DO open them though, I know that reputable uke specialists would weed them out. I'd rather they were weeded than not. Less hassle for me as a player / purchaser.

And as i said in my first comment - yes - it can happen and yes it happens a lot (more?) with the cheap stuff. But it CAN happen with ANY uke. It just can. Yes it would be nice to think that it should never happen, of course it shouldn't, but the numbers involved make that impossible - even for the factory Martins. Pono's, Islanders, Opio's, Kiwaya's, Kala's, Godin's, Blackbird's have issues too. ( I named those particular brands as I have personally heard of issues that have slipped through with ALL of those named - rarely, but it has happened - Not sure Mex Martins are any different? No, they shouldn't slip out, but they are not the only ones that have this happen.)

Choose a real ukulele dealer specialist and get it weeded out with no hassle... or don't...

I'm struggling to see the downside of an expert opening a box before they ship it to me?
 
At least the photos are useful. After reading the factual parts of the review I think that Martin has produced another classic instrument which is going to be a strong workhorse with the bonus of being very collectible. Getting one from Sam Ash that comes in an un-opened box is a great idea. Make sure you take some photos and keep the packaging and tags and stuff in the box. When you get a set up, don't let them carve all the metal off the frets and make sure you are happy with any oils or polishes they use. It is obvious that Martin has done some work and made some compromises so that the cost is kept low, this should be celebrated by those who want a good Koa uke for the lowest prices.
A lucky person is going to get hold of the 2 or 3 ukes that have been sent back at a nice bargain price.
When Collings bought out a uke all the so called experts complained about this and that and some idiots sent them back or turned them over quickly. So can you easily get a Collings uke today? How much of its original sale price can you get back?


Who are you talking about in regards to photos, packing etc.?
Lucky person getting ukes?
Who's Collings?

Can you explain a little more?





@AlohaKine - sorry - i very much disagree. I don't know SamAsh as I say, but as I also said I am not trying to run them down.

My point was that with ANY ukulele (any price) you can get issues that slip through. Places like SamAsh dont weed them out - I, personally, would prefer a dealer that DOES open the box - every box. I think most uke buyers do? I personally don't consdider unopened boxes of any instruments to be a selling point. Quite the opposite.

Maybe that's just me, but... if dealers DO open them though, I know that reputable uke specialists would weed them out. I'd rather they were weeded than not. Less hassle for me as a player / purchaser.

And as i said in my first comment - yes - it can happen and yes it happens a lot (more?) with the cheap stuff. But it CAN happen with ANY uke. It just can. Yes it would be nice to think that it should never happen, of course it shouldn't, but the numbers involved make that impossible - even for the factory Martins. Pono's, Islanders, Opio's, Kiwaya's, Kala's, Godin's, Blackbird's have issues too. ( I named those particular brands as I have personally heard of issues that have slipped through with ALL of those named - rarely, but it has happened - Not sure Mex Martins are any different? No, they shouldn't slip out, but they are not the only ones that have this happen.)

Choose a real ukulele dealer specialist and get it weeded out with no hassle... or don't...

I'm struggling to see the downside of an expert opening a box before they ship it to me?


Sorry, didn't want to be in disagreement with anyone, just that we have a problem is all that needs to be resolved, however that happens is great. I did say I wanted a shop that inspects too, I'm all for it, and I never said the not opening of boxes to be a selling point either.

Sorry for any misunderstanding, I have told SamAsh several times that if they did start to offer inspections/setups, prep and clean, this is going to be really good for business, and I hope they take my advice and do it. Oh after making this reply, I forgot to mention, that I talked with SamAsh telling them that inspecting the instrument for intonation, as a very important point, for people of little experience, to even some of greater experience, that maybe their ears might miss this a little. Telling them that a company like you has the professional Luthier on hand inspecting so people realize that they now have an instrument that was checked by a professional, ensuring it's tonal quality.

To be honest, I was a bit surprised they don't inspect the instruments, because then, from something like this, I would assume a company might end of having to deal with a lot of returns and hassles on their end, it doesn't make sense to me.

The one good thing about them is that they offer really great deals, so as long as someone doesn't mind the hassle of needing to return a uke...
 
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I am not going to comment on Martin and/or QC of their ukes. I am not qualified to do so. The few I've played in stores (local mom & pop) and the one I've owned have all been nothing but a dream. Maybe I just got lucky.

Part of the lesson that should be learned here is that the USA big-box stores like Sam Ash and Guitar Center treat the ukulele like a red-headed stepchild, and as such should be last in terms of vendor choices for ukulele, regardless if looking at a Martin or a Mahalo.

Their customer service, IN PERSON in store is like an evil satire of the "Wayne's World" movie.

In nearly 30+ yrs of going into the retail stores of either company, in over a dozen different locations in the NJ/NYC area, I have never, ever had a pleasant experience.

I have been LAUGHED in my face when I asked if they do a setup for uke and how much it cost. They told me 'ukes are toys, nobody cares if it plays well'.

RAGE? Yes, and in another life and were I 20 yrs younger I might have made a huge scene. But instead I put down the Cordoba C9 classical guitar I was about to buy, sought the manager and informed him that today he just lost both a $1200 sale and a future customer forever because of the insolence of his staff. He too laughed at me - so yea both Sam Ash and Guitar Center can eat my dust. That was more than 10 yrs ago.

-

If you want your uke set up and tweaked before it gets to you, depending solely upon a giant corp that makes millions of instruments per year (Martin), seems like a recipe for failure.

There are plenty of shops that inspect and do setups and reject the turds.

AkohaKine, you are in Hawaii no?

Are there not over 2 dozen uke-specialist shops within a stones throw of the Big Island or Oahu, etc?

What about all the K-Brands where you can go on the tours and meet the actual folks who will have built your instrument?

Is that not of value to you?

Mind you, I'm not trying to offend anyone, and maybe it's just me, but looking for ukulele perfection from a haole company (despite their 100 yrs of history with ukulele), when surrounded by so many local Hawaiian master artisan and craftsman luthiers seems like hunting narwhals with a Nerf gun, i.e. futile.

Maybe Martin's ukes being sold to Sam Ash are all duds?

Maybe the BUYER for Sam Ash made some discount deal for the big popular and high-cost dreadnought acoustic guitars (of which likely one is sold every 5 mins the world over) and was required to accept a truckload of imperfect ukuleles?

We have no way to know.

AlohaKine, I applaud your giving suggestions to Sam Ash, but unless you are speaking to someone at the executive level, I would caution you to set your expectations accordingly, since anyone involved in online sales for them is likely not going to cross the line that would jeopardize their paycheck, and speak up and push your comments up the food chain if their corporate culture discourages such activity or reprimands sales or cust. svc. folks for not just making the problem go away as quickly as possible.

So, my 2 cents here. It is what it is. Don't shoot the messenger.
 
Threads like these are pretty confusing, especially for readers who happen to stumble upon them via search engine looking for impartial reviews on what and where to buy. Wasn't the original post more like "what a great uke", and "what a great deal"? And now it's a total 180? To be honest, I was sceptical about both endorsements, so I'm not surprised about the flip-flop. Don't you wonder why most stores dedicated to the ukulele don't have Martin in their lineup?
 
Don't you wonder why most stores dedicated to the ukulele don't have Martin in their lineup?

I don't actually - over here in the UK we have lots of general big box stores (like the ones discussed above that are NOT specialists) and about 4 or 5 true ukulele specialists. Of those true specialists, about 3 of them regularly stock Martin ukuleles. That's most that DO.
 
I’d like to add some thoughts here.

1) AlohaKine, I wish that you had just posted an update in the thread, and perhaps edited your original post with a statement in bold on the top that said “MY THOUGHTS HAVE CHANGED...PLEASE SEE POST #18 IN THE THREAD.” As you re-wrote your original post, the thread doesn’t make sense any more. Or, I would have preferred that you (or the moderators) delete the thread and start over.

2) Booli—always great to see you post. I loved the statement about the Narwhal. I didn’t even know they were real until I watched Elf and then Googled (the only verb I know with a capital lettter) it later.

3) I have been trying to discern the issues with the ukuleles. The problems have been mostly cosmetic (finish issues including the headstock), with added concerns of weight and rough fret ends. My question is: beyond the frets, what was the playability of the instrument? I’m not expecting you to keep a ukulele that you don’t like, but the first concern in my mind is how they sound and play. This brings to mind Barry’s recent review where he talked about his Timms soprano, and the “flaws” in the finish are part of the character of the instrument that he loves. Fret ends are something that a quality ukulele dealer would have addressed before shipping. The Ukulele Site has mentioned that they send instruments back—even from the K Brands—on a regular basis.

I have a Martin S1 that I bought after Barry’s review and then Vic’s review. I own 4 sopranos...a Ukadelic Stars and Stripes (generally played just on the 4th of July), an Outdoor Ukulele 1st Gen that I was graciously gifted, a $29 Enya X1 special camp ukulele, and my Martin S1. It was basically new, and it is a wonderful little instrument...it was used and I got it for $250...so I jumped at the chance. I don’t know where it originated from. But it is punchy and loud as a mahogany soprano should be, and the only thing I am likely to add is an Opio soprano at some point.

In my part of the world, fret ends are something to deal with on most ukuleles, as humidity is a rare thing for 4-5 months of the year. That is true even if you keep your ukuleles in that 40%-60% range. That shouldn’t be an issue for you in Hawaii! Still...it is a standard issue (even for a new ukulele) that should be addressed by you or by your luthier in a local shop.

I was just noticing that Mim’s, the Uke Republic, and The Ukulele Site do not carry Martin. I wonder if that says something about their opinion about Martin ukuleles, or if Martin requires dealers to carry too much inventory.

I understand your desire to own a Martin. I wanted one, too. If a concert model popped up at a huge discount, I could be talked into another. But at this point, I would encourage you to look at some other models, such as a Pono or Opio in the same price range—or even something like a Mainland, solid Kala or Ohana, or something like a Bonzana. That $500 price point really gives you a lot of options for a quality instrument.

As George W. Bush once said, “There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again.”
 
I was just noticing that Mim’s, the Uke Republic, and The Ukulele Site do not carry Martin. I wonder if that says something about their opinion about Martin ukuleles, or if Martin requires dealers to carry too much inventory.
[/I]

Not entirely sure but you might be on to something there. I know for certain that small dealers (ukulele or guitar dealers, or both) can no longer carry Epiphone or Fender ukuleles because both brands insist that they carry not only significant stocks, but also a range of their instruments - for example, you can only carry Epiphone if you also stock some Gibsons. It totally prices out smaller retailers.

That said - places like SUS in the UK are NOT huge businesses - yet they regularly stock Martin.
 
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