Nicaraguan Concert Cocobolo

nquarrie

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I am excited to present this review to my fellow UU forum ukers. After 11 days of shipping from Nicaragua, I received my concert cocobolo uke. The uke was shipped without a case but was carefully packed. The exterior of the package took quite a beating, but the insides and uke showed no evidence of mishandling.
Features: Concert sized ukulele handmade from Nicaraguan Cococbolo with a spectacular grain pattern. Solid cocobolo make up the front, back, sides, headplate, fingerboard and bridge with front pinstripe binding. Fifteen fretwires are radiused and seated smoothly against the neck. The nut and saddle are made of bone and the neck width is approx 1.5 inches. The neck is thin and perfectly smooth with abalone shell side markers. Tuners are Grover Sta-Tite, with Aquila Nylgut strings.
Action/Fit/Finish: For me, it has a perfect setup with no buzzing and strings situated close to all frets. I am not quite sure if the finish is a satin polymer or oil rubbed – all surfaces are extremely smooth and soft! There is no evidence of glue- out on the exterior and interior. The first fret has a very slight sharpness on one side, but as described earlier the rest of the fret ends are smooth and not protruding from the neck. The instrument is well balanced as the weight of Grover tuners is unnoticed.
Sound: In my humble opinion: rich, somewhat mellow and quite loud with super nice sustain.
Overall: I am super pleased with this instrument. Kevin, at cocoboloukuleles.com was great to work with. He sent me photos of the various ukes to choose from and kept me well informed about the shipping status.
The price ($399) is incredible. In my collection I have 2 ukes in the $1000 range (Martin and Koaloha) and I feel this cocobolo sits right up with them. The ease of playing is fabulous and I really like the sound. Now, I am not a uke expert reviewer as some others appear on the UU forum but I think this uke is super. The cocobolo grain pattern is stunning, the silky smoothness of the finish is hard to keep my hands off of, and the sound is wonderful (eventually I will probably switch to Worth strings). After watching the many videos of Birth of A Mya Moe which shows the skill and labor involved in a handmade ukulele it is obvious that this cocobolo is extremely well built with the labor of love!
I especially love the radiused frets. I now own a tenor and this concert with radiused frets and definitely find it easier to form chords on them. I don't believe it is very common to find instruments in this price range with radiused frets; which makes this brand of uke that much more desirable (at least for me). I strongly recommend all UU forum ukers to try out this type of fret boards- and...., I almost forgot...., check out the cocobolo color grains in this instrument - so cool!
(I have posted a quick youtube with boo boos and all!)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt-wLdSA78Y
Sorry pics are sideways.
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Beautiful uke! I am glad to hear that you love it. Thanks for sharing!

I just posted the two sound samples that you gave me on YouTube. Your playing is excellent and they both sound great.

First Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt-wLdSA78Y

Second Video:

In this video there is a little bit of distortion on the lower notes, but overall it sounds really nice. I added a bunch of pictures of cocobolo soundboards that we have recently made. Nick's is the last one at the end of the video.

Take a look:

http://youtu.be/rqeR_BaRDKk
 
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Ooooh purty! *drool*

Wishing you much fun with your new uke.
 
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Congratulations! Cocobolo is one of the prettiest woods I've ever seen. I wonder why the wood grows in 2 such contrasting colors like that? I hope it's not an endangered tree like the koa (that's what I heard or read anyway) ....I need to do some research, the uke sounds awesome!
 
After a month with this ukulele I am still incredibly impressed. Having 7 ukes of various qualities and price ranges this cocobolo is my go to uke of choice. The feel and easy ability to play and the sweet sound I love. Also I can't stop gazing at the fabulous cocobolo grain pattern! In plain words, it is perfect for my musical ability. I have been reading the UU discussion on radiused fret boards with interest. I really like it and feel the radiused frets makes my playing better.
I am itching to get another concert cocobolo in the future.
 
I know this is a very old thread but...how is the Uke holding up?

Does anyone else with a Cocobolo Uke have a long term ownership report?

They are beautiful instruments and seem to be well made.
 
The ukulele is doing fine. I really like it. I keep it and others in a humidified wooden/glass trunk in that my home is extremely dry. There is no sign of warping etc. I have kept using Aquila strings on it - and may in the future change to Martins or so. The sound is soft, but very nice and I really like the radiuses fret board. I hope to get another cocobolo in the distant future.
 
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