Luna Honu Turtle Soprano - REVIEW

bazmaz

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Agree very much on the use of tribal culture to sell something pretty, makes me rather uncomfortable. A local music shop used to stock a lot of Luna ukes, I never found one I was tempted to buy. As you say, there's a lot of competition at that price point and my experience has been that a plain Ohana outdoes an engraved or painted Luna every time - more time spent on the build, less on the pretty.
 
The entry Ohanas , Kalas, Baton rouges etc all beat this hands down. All style over substance. And I don't really like the style either.
 
Thanks for another great review Baz!

I admit that when a total uke newbie, I was drawn in by both the looks and marketing of Luna. (never bought one though)

This was prior to discovering UU. Back in April 2013, I was told to look at Kala instead. I'm glad I did. I was VERY happy with the Kala KA-T that I purchased in a local mom & pop music shop for ~$129. Almost same price as Amazon, BUT and it's a BIG BUT (bug butt - ha ha) I got to PLAY it first, as well as the KA-S, KA-C and KA-B models, which was let me decide that a tenor was the better fit coming from guitar.

Surprising to me that in many shops near me that carry Gretsch, Stagg, Alvarez, Luna and Mitchell ukes, the LUNA tattoo concert and tenor ukes all SOUNDED much better to me than the others. However, similar to your review, the Luna would have always needed work on the rough fret edges and to correct the intonation.

It also seems to me that there are more female players of Luna ukes (if YouTube is a fair representation), since the parent company seems to market the Luna brand for girls and the 'Dean' brand for boys (for the teenage market).

However, like with the Epiphone LP uke, you are likely to get waves of argument as to the merits of Luna from their die-hard fans. There's nothing wrong with that, but a spade is a spade, no matter the amount of glitter on it's surface.

So yes, for ~$100, there are MANY better options, but sadly many newbies dont understand when they are looking at reviews that a fancy design makes no sound and they pay for that design instead of a well-built and good sounding/playing instrument 'out of the box'.
 
Quite...

I have another mahogany concert review coming next week. It's plain as anything, but it does have a solid top. Most of all though it sounds leagues above the Luna and the QC and setup is excellent. And here's the rub. EXACTLY the same price as the Luna Tattoo Concert.
 
All that may be true, and I've never actually seen or played a Luna uke, BUT if that cool design makes you pick it up and play it often, I'd say for the beginning (probably young) player, it's well worth the other issues.
 
Luna is VERY popular around here. The Luna reps are at all of our large events.
And on YouTube as well, I see. Grace Vanderwal played a Luna for a little while, then quickly switched to Kala.
I actually bought a Peace Luna for my daughter many moons ago, before I knew sh-- about ukes, just to see if she'd take to it. She did, and she fell in love with peace symbol soundhole.
I won a Luna in a raffle once, and soon sold it. It was heavy! And it lacked tone.
 
I was given a Luna tattoo concert uke as a gift. It was "ok" but back then I did not know any better.

Once I bought a concert Flea, I sold the Luna and never looked back nor regretted it.

Night and day difference between the Flea and the Luna.
 
To me they're gaudy and over-the-top/ trying-too-hard/ the Trucker Hat/ Ed Hardy of ukuleles. However, they do sell, so what do I know. Now I sound old/ like my dad.
I truly think we're all too old for this brand. It's clearly marketed for teenagers and once you're no longer a teenager, good luck understanding what's "in" anymore...
 
Trucker Hat ukulele.... lol!!!

I know what you mean re the teens...., however. My gripes with this are not just to do with the gaudy looks that are clearly attracting them. Underneath that it's a very very bland and poorly QC'd ukulele that you can easily beat for less money. (or greatly surpass for the same money). So irrespective of what the kids like in looks, it's a shame they are still getting an under par instrument.
 
Luna

Hawaii Music Supply link to their initial review. https://vimeo.com/15153956
Young people and Polynesians enjoy their tattoos. If that's not your demographic it's not surprising you don't get the appeal.

I have recommended Luna as a reasonable starter Uke. And yes the cuteness factor does play into trying to get one's girlfriend ( granddaughter, niece Etc) interested in playing music. The copycat companies have added etchings and photos but I believe Luna was one of the starters of that trend. It gave them a certain edge. It showed innovation. It's true that today there are cheaper alternatives.

The one friend I did recommend Luna a few years back enjoys it. It was a gift from her boyfriend. When I play it in front of our musician friends everyone says it sounds great. Because it does.

I'm used to a better quality instrument. They are easier to play . But for a starter Uke Luna is okay. I think most of the popular brands have deteriorated quality from a few years ago. There's a constant drive to find cheaper labor and cheaper resources. Quality control is a moving Target.
 
If a Polynesian person likes it and it speaks to their heritage then great. If a white British person (such as myself) picks it because it's tribal and cool (and let's not forget that it is not made by Polynesian luthiers, it's made in the far East presumably to seem tribal and cool) then it is cultural appropriation. It makes me uncomfortable, especially hailing from a country with such a rich history of invading other countries and trampling on their heritage. I think the more respect I can afford to other people's cultural identity the better.
 
Luna


Young people and Polynesians enjoy their tattoos. If that's not your demographic it's not surprising you don't get the appeal.

It's not really to do with 'demographic' in that sense. The only people that fit in the tribal demographic are those who follow those cultural symbols spritually on the polynesian islands.

Luna ukes are NOT being sold to meet the demands of polynesians - they are sold globaly in big box stores like Amazon with the sole intention of making money. That's appropriation for financial gain. No I don't get the appeal.
 
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