Blackbird Ekoa Tenor is Here

Wow, too bad I did not win the Powerball lottery!

That seems like a great idea, would love to see how it sounds...but slightly outside of my price range.
 
I'm a little disappointed in the design of the Farallon. I would think the price of the Farallon is going to be up where you can find some pretty nice mid-high end ukuleles with nice figured wood. The Farallon leaves me speechless, in not a good way. Even their BTU has more of their style.

Now if Blackbird used the Clara design for their Ekoa tenor, I would be more impressed and I was waiting to see if they were going to expand that line. There was rationale for why the sound port was placed at that location and there was access to the upper frets. I would be interested in a tenor version of the Clara.

I look to what Jerry Hoffman (Boat Paddle Ukuleles) is doing with his designs and he has a design that is easily identifiable. The Ekoa Clara had that same aura, and I think it is missing with the Farallon. I'll pass.

John
 
ZappCatt said:
Wow, too bad I did not win the Powerball lottery!

That seems like a great idea, would love to see how it sounds...but slightly outside of my price range.
Click to expand...

Ha ha - you and me both! :) If I got one of these I'd have to play it in person first and see if it supersedes my lust for a Martin solid mahogany tenor. Time to start collecting cans and bottles for the recycling deposits...hmm

hawaii 50 said:
Blackbird tour

nice tone..
https://vimeo.com/152258936
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing the video. I love seeing behind-the-scenes clips like this, and Joe seems like a great guy, very smart and innovative, but the ideas are just 'ideas' if not manifest into something you can hold, see and share with the world, and Blackbird has done this a quite a few times now, evolving the craft of making these instruments.

Yes, I WANT one. :music:
 
I loved the Clara I played in NYC a few months ago but I was looking fwd to that sound in a tenor. I guess that it was prob easier (maybe?) to tool up for a more standard ukulele shape than to go for a scaled up Clara. Of course, it sounds wonderful anyway, esp played by Corey. It still has the hollow neck with the sound port at the headstock. I look fwd to trying one.
 
70sSanO said:
I'm a little disappointed in the design of the Farallon. I would think the price of the Farallon is going to be up where you can find some pretty nice mid-high end ukuleles with nice figured wood. The Farallon leaves me speechless, in not a good way. Even their BTU has more of their style.

Now if Blackbird used the Clara design for their Ekoa tenor, I would be more impressed and I was waiting to see if they were going to expand that line. There was rationale for why the sound port was placed at that location and there was access to the upper frets. I would be interested in a tenor version of the Clara.

I look to what Jerry Hoffman (Boat Paddle Ukuleles) is doing with his designs and he has a design that is easily identifiable. The Ekoa Clara had that same aura, and I think it is missing with the Farallon. I'll pass.

John
Click to expand...

Ditto. Word for word.
 
Fantastic.... Thanks for sharing links. I want one. Been waiting for this for awhile. NAMM and pre release will have more sound samples I'm sure. Personally, not disappointed in tenor design at all. From marketing perspective, BBT was unique, Clara is unique and I think the figure 8 is likely what a lot of people have been asking for. If they produced a Clara Tenor in future, that would be cools , just as a EKOA BBT shape would be cool. I think they went traditional shape to fit in nicely with their other products and not take away from existing product.

Very nice behind the scenes clip by HMS and it figures that they are in on the ground floor. Nice job guys.

Gotta start saving............

Can't wait to see and here more. NAMM is just round the corner.
 
simple understated design, good performance, they will sell a ton of them. i'm surprised you can make laminates with eco friendly materials. i would be interested how they formulate a more natural resin binder.
 
I really want to hear more before i decide, Corey could make a washtub sound great but to me the e-koa tenor didn't quite match up to the sound of other comparably priced tenors. I have a clara and love it for how tough, packable and just worry free travel but not so sure about this one. Starting at $1500 has a lot of very very well made and wonderful sounding instruments in that range for competition.
 
I'm a big fan of what Joe and his team are doing. I do miss my Clara and intend to replace it when I can. I know some people don't care for the look of the BBT or the Clara because they prefer a more traditional appearance, so I can understand why they may have gone that route. Different strokes, different folks.

Remember, for a lot of folks there are factors beyond "just" a straight sound/aesthetics comparison to a traditional wood instrument. These include (a) sustainable resource utilization; (b) ease of care (no need to worry about humidity or reasonable temperature extremes), and (c) excellent durability for travel.
 
They have been making conventional looking guitars out of eKoa already. I suppose this tenor uke is just a natural progression. They must have their reasons. The Clara is amazingly light so I would think this new tenor would be too.

I find this very appealing from an ecological perspective tho, of course, ukes have a relatively small impact on our forests. It is really cool to use a material that also sounds good.

chuck in ny said:
simple understated design, good performance, they will sell a ton of them. i'm surprised you can make laminates with eco friendly materials. i would be interested how they formulate a more natural resin binder.
Click to expand...

For info on eKoa there is a link on the initial page linked at OP: lingrove.com
 
I'm on holidays In Mexico and while Pono AT is going well in the 58% humidity, part of my interest in the BBT, Clara and how the new EKOA Tenor is I would not have to worry about temperature and humidity issues. I think traditional shape lends itself to more standard HSC and for $1500 US$ I would definitely want to protect my investment when traveling.

Hoping to hear some high G retrant sound samples as that is what I like to play. So many tenor's get shown off with low G and that is fine but notice that HMS site for Clara does sound sample in both low and high g.

Blackbird is ground breaking and while it may not be for everyone, I for one would like to hear a sound sample of both BBT and now the new EKOA Tenor one after another. I did notice Joe said EKOA was going for more vintage wood sound and that carbon fibre in BBT is great for higher frequency and lower frequency for finger picking. Thus , it would be nice to hear both- one after another both finger picked and strummed . I'm sure I won't be anywhere near a store to play both myself and at these kind of dollars, I want to be sure. I'm sure boys at HMS will put some nice sound samples together.
 
M3Ukulele said:
Blackbird is ground breaking and while it may not be for everyone, I for one would like to hear a sound sample of both BBT and now the new EKOA Tenor one after another. I did notice Joe said EKOA was going for more vintage wood sound and that carbon fibre in BBT is great for higher frequency and lower frequency for finger picking.
Click to expand...

The shop I visited in NYC had both a Clara and a CF tenor (not sure why people here call the BBT when Blackbird calls them BTU). I played both one after the other and AFAIK there was no comparison. The BTU seemed more tubby sounding and the Clara more balanced and sweeter to my ears. I will find out whether that shop will order an eKoa tenor. I would love to try one.
 
70sSanO said:
I'm a little disappointed in the design of the Farallon. I would think the price of the Farallon is going to be up where you can find some pretty nice mid-high end ukuleles with nice figured wood. The Farallon leaves me speechless, in not a good way. Even their BTU has more of their style.

Now if Blackbird used the Clara design for their Ekoa tenor, I would be more impressed and I was waiting to see if they were going to expand that line. There was rationale for why the sound port was placed at that location and there was access to the upper frets. I would be interested in a tenor version of the Clara.

I look to what Jerry Hoffman (Boat Paddle Ukuleles) is doing with his designs and he has a design that is easily identifiable. The Ekoa Clara had that same aura, and I think it is missing with the Farallon. I'll pass.

John
Click to expand...

I agree John. I was expecting something as interesting as the Clara without just upsizing but this is visually dull. Hope it has great sound and play-ability.

2nd Thoughts After Watching The Rough Cut Doco
Still believe that it is not the most exciting new instrument on the market and at $1500 it will have a lot of competition if you see it as just another tenor, but as a targeted product it may just deliver what those who want a good sounding, easy playing, no worries travel Uke have been looking for. The point made that the traditional shape permits a hard sided instrument case that is readily available at various price points is, a most relevant point. The attribute of sustainability is also important (if you don't think so listen to what many Luthiers are saying about the difficulty of acquiring high grade wood sets). Blackbird must be congratulated for being a pioneer in this field.
 
Last edited:
I have been absent sometime from this forum, cos it all seemed so similar after a while (heresy!!).

But the Farallon has excited me again for one simple reason: the Clara I own is, hands down, the most stunning uke I have played. Only my cedar Kinnard may sound better, but it's not stunning in the same way as the Clara cos the Kinnard is a tenor and I expect it to be loud.

The Clara, on the other hand, is this little thing that stands head and shoulders above many, many tenors - in volume, tone and sustain.

So of course I was thrilled to learn about the Farallon.

AND YET I have to agree that the ekoa tenor,while sounding great, is not Wow in the same way as the Clara. I had hoped for more volume and punch (Joe Luttwak said in Andrew's video that he pulled back on the volume and I don't know why he would want to do that). I don't mind the traditional shape at all. But it is early days yet.
 
Hope he sells a million of them. Kinda hard to not feel bad for Joe, with some of the negative commentary here, after all the work that went into this. Give the people what they ask for, and then get lambasted for it haha. I'm sitting in my basement outside of Philadelphia freezing to death with a BTU (previously named BBT by the company) slung across my shoulders, space heater practically underneath my feet, while all of my koa hides away in safe keeping probably until April at this rate. By the way, the babe don't sound tubby to me- not in the least bit. It's powerful and mind-blowing, but hey, we all have our own opinions. It's nice to see Joe, Andrew, Corey, et al. so excited about this new piece. I can't remember the last The Ukulele Review Vimeo video that went on for over twenty minutes, but I enjoyed every last bit of it. Thanks to everyone involved in the video for bringing this exciting endeavor to fruition.
 
Wow, if I had the money, I'd grab one!
 
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