NUD: Compass Rose Sycamore Concert

katysax

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I've never had a Compass Rose and I've been wanting a quality concert with a side port. This came up on the HMS site and I went for it.

It arrived yesterday. Very interesting uke, not like anything else I've seen. On the negative side it comes with wierd vintage type tuning pegs that have an open slot at the top. I tried to put in Southcoast Strings but could not get them to stick. It arrived with a low G that I thought was too floppy. After much messing with strings I ended up changing only the G to a D'Addario Nyltech which seems to match the strings it came with.

The feel of the instrument is really great. It's very playable. It is also loud, of course this is heightened by the side port. The neck is almost as thick as Pono. It's ok for me in a concert size, but I'm still not 100% comfortable with the Pono necks in a tenor. I think that is because it appears to have a rod up the neck.

The sound is what makes it really interesting. It doesn't sound like any other uke I've ever played. I would describe the sound as very guitar-like. I'm not sure I'd want this for my only uke, but playing stuff I play a lot it is fun. I can hear a lot of things very differently. I could see this being a very nice uke for jazz solos.
 
I do not understand your tuner/string issues, but the rest is right on. Compass Rose is known as being "guitar-like" in many ways, including neck thickness. The build is high quality, but the tone is not Hawaiian. Some like it, some don't. I tend to think of a Compass Rose as one of a few ukes I want in my stable, I would not want it to be my only uke (but I'm sure others would disagree)..
 
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I've never had a Compass Rose and I've been wanting a quality concert with a side port. This came up on the HMS site and I went for it.

It arrived yesterday. Very interesting uke, not like anything else I've seen. On the negative side it comes with wierd vintage type tuning pegs that have an open slot at the top. I tried to put in Southcoast Strings but could not get them to stick. It arrived with a low G that I thought was too floppy. After much messing with strings I ended up changing only the G to a D'Addario Nyltech which seems to match the strings it came with.

The feel of the instrument is really great. It's very playable. It is also loud, of course this is heightened by the side port. The neck is almost as thick as Pono. It's ok for me in a concert size, but I'm still not 100% comfortable with the Pono necks in a tenor. I think that is because it appears to have a rod up the neck.

The sound is what makes it really interesting. It doesn't sound like any other uke I've ever played. I would describe the sound as very guitar-like. I'm not sure I'd want this for my only uke, but playing stuff I play a lot it is fun. I can hear a lot of things very differently. I could see this being a very nice uke for jazz solos.

I have a CR and I use SouthCoast strings without issue. The tuners are Gotohs I believe. The strings I use are the ML-SW and the ML/O-NWM.

It' looks beautiful by the way.


Welcome to the family :)
 
That's a beauty, for sure.
 
That's a gorgeous CR. Very nice patterning of the sycamore.

The tuners with the slot at the top are interesting, the same design as a bass tuning peg. Unconventional, but Rick's ukes are unconventional, from the cantilevered fretboard to the carbon fibre bracing. Mine sound different from each other (different woods and body styles), but both still have that jazzy, guitar-like CR sound that I really enjoy.

Congratulations.
 
Congrats, Katy, you sound somewhat smitten
 
Very beautiful and different uke. I've never seen the slotted tuners on anything that didn't use steel strings. I have them on my telecaster. They are considered a vintage style.
 
Beautiful uke. The slotted tubers are interesting. I've not seen them on nylon strung instruments before.
 
a quality concert with a side port. I could see this being a very nice uke for jazz solos.
You certainly got that! I can definitely see the jazzy thing too. I think my favorite parts of this uke are the sides and the headstock. Is that weird?
 
Very nice looking instrument! Sounds unique and fun to have.
 
It's nice to have an instrument with a distinct voice. I feel that way about my vintage Martin soprano compared to my two tenors and baritone. That's some psychedelic wood on the back and sides of your CR! I love it.

Two of of my four ukes have a side sound port but I can take them or leave them. The two without sound perfectly wonderful to me.
 
Awesome, Sherry. You've owned many high-end instruments and have a great sense of things...opinions respected.

Wonder if the once-prolific UUer, Rick Turner, will eventually return to the fold and share his wisdom?
 
Congratulations on your new CR! A friend just got an all Sycamore concert in the same mini-jumbo body style (from Sylvan Music in Santa Cruz) and she loves it. I'm something of a CR fanboy - I have a walnut CR tenor and two CR jumbo-body baritones, and I took Rick's Build a Uke in Four Days class a few years ago. They DO have a guitar-like sound -- in interviews Rick has said that one of his objectives was to attract guitarists to the ukulele -- and I use mine for popular music but not Hawaiian music. Yours is gorgeous!
 
Nice CR Sherry! Sycamore looks great for the back sides. Yeah, I agree, the only thing I would change on mine would be the neck profile. It could be thinner and flatter, but it's fine as is.
 
Congrats on a very nice looking uke. I agree with your assessment that it is unique and wouldn't serve as my one and only. I have an older CR walnut burl tenor and I enjoy it for it's guitar like qualities. Mine is a 12 fret to the body.......and have always wished for those extra 2 frets. By the way, I believe it was the late and very great MGM who pushed Rick to go to the 14 to the body setup.

Oh yeah, I have used Living Waters on the CR exclusively the last couple of years, and they matchup well.

Enjoy!
 
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