NUD Outdoor Ukulele Tenor "Natural"

As our camping season approaches, I wanted a ukulele to be able to bring along, and I prefer ukuleles in the Concert and Tenor size, mainly because of my men's size L hands. I own three sopranos and can play them--but spacing is just easier on a Concert or Tenor.

The closest music store to my house (I live in Wisconsin less than 1/2 mile from the St. Croix River separating Minnesota and Wisconsin) is Brickhouse Music in River Falls, Wisconsin. I had looked at their ukulele selection many times while in River Falls, and since my entry into ukulele this past January, I realized that they had Outdoor Ukuleles in stock. In April, the owner told me that they had them in boxes, including the natural color.

What is interesting is that Outdoor Ukulele doesn't show them as a vendor, and you can't buy the natural color from them any more (green, brown, and camo). The natural intrigued me with the idea of dropping a glow stick in the ukulele around a campfire.

I watched eBay and Amazon since then, and haven't seen any Outdoor Ukuleles show up, and I even posted here with a WTB in the Marketplace. I finally decided that it was time to pay full price for a ukulele (I haven't done that since my first ukulele, my Makala MK-CE)

Today I picked it up, and there isn't much I can add that other reviews haven't already said. The sound is a take-it-or-leave it issue (for me, and the intended purpose, it is fine), but where it really shines is the set-up, as noted by Ukulele Go! (http://ukulelego.com/gear/outdoor-ukulele-tenor-review/). The instrument just plays incredibly well and the action seems perfect. I like the Rye Rabbit strings, and can't seem to find them listed anywhere but Outdoor Ukulele.

What this ukulele DID do was to cause me to loosen the tension on most of my other ukueles (most Kalas or Kala brands), and work on the saddle heights to make the action similar to the Outdoor Ukulele. That included a crummy Mahalo MK1 that I bought for my kids to keep them off of my ukuleles, a Ukadelic US Flag soprano, a Kala Travel Tenor, and the Makala MK-CE, which was my first ukulele in January. I think some could still be adjusted lower!

I don't own a K model at this time, and my goal is to take my wife to Hawaii to buy one on location (honestly, I had no desire to go before playing ukulele...I taught for a year in the Dominican Republic, which was a wonderful experience but cured my need to go to a tropical climate). My nicest ukulele is my Lanikai Spruce UkeSB Tenor (the overtones just scream out of it) which is set up similar to the Outdoor Ukulele. But I do like this ukulele and the ability to have the tenor size with the peace of mind in traveling is worth it.

I also speak at music education conventions, and it will be great to be able to bring this ukulele along.

So..another NUD...and there won't be many of these for me any more. My wife told me that 10 is enough.

(P.S. If you are interested in the natural colored Outdoor Ukuele, Brickhouse music still has some in stock).

Very cool color. I have the brown one and agree with you. Sound is ok/ decent but everything else is great. Perfect for traveling/ camping/ as its namesake implies

i am currently lusting after the bottle green tenor ... good to hear that the set-up is above average. (And as I'm not much good at playing anyway, "ok/decent" sound is fine for me!)

Congrats and thanks for the review.

I got my soprano yesterday as well. Very cool for what it is. Small, and sturdy. A little heavier than I would have thought. Not near as loud as I'd like, but plays good. Even better after rubbing sa little 600 grit sand paper to the back of the neck and a few slightly rough edges.

Glad I got one too.... enjoy!~

Are these clear or 'natural' tenors from the first production run, or a later run?

IIRC, the first run had some issues, but I dont remember what they were.

Also, the 'heineken/molson green' might be translucent enough and blend nicely with those fluro-green-colored glow sticks as well, but I think the 'budweiser brown' color might be too opaque for the low lumen output of a glow stick.

I like the idea of a glow stick. A while back, someone else on UU got a clear Kala Waterman, and put some battery-powered LED X-mas lights inside. I thought that it looked pretty neat. You might be able to find the pictures here on UU, but sadly I do not have a link to the thread.

I am not sure what "run" they are from; my research showed the issues to be with the Kickstarter sopranos (since redesigned) such as the square neck, tall frets, and friction tuners. The tenor model has none of these. So they might be early instruments from last fall...but I haven't seen anything about problems with the ukulele, but just some disliking of the sound (particularly percussive noise when strumming with a nail).

Choirguy said:

I am not sure what "run" they are from; my research showed the issues to be with the Kickstarter sopranos (since redesigned) such as the square neck, tall frets, and friction tuners. The tenor model has none of these. So they might be early instruments from last fall...but I haven't seen anything about problems with the ukulele, but just some disliking of the sound (particularly percussive noise when strumming with a nail).

Click to expand...

What you've detailed here may in fact be what I thought I was remembering...tall frets and square neck in particular...

The nature of it being a plastic ukulele and having certain compromises in the sound seems a nit-picky thing for folks to worry about, that has a simple solution - buy something else - plenty of choices...

[Woodi/Vorson/Korala/Bugsgear/Kala Waterman plastic ukes not up to snuff but Fluke and Flea are overkill/beyond budget? Then I think that the ODU fits a nice niche spot right in the middle.]

Because for for OUTDOOR use - it seems to me that everybody that has bought one - is in fact using it for THAT purpose, and for THAT purpose is happy with it.

Anyway - if I forgot to say congrats on your NUD, I am now - and best of luck with it

Congrats on your new outdoor uke!