Baritone (luthier), opinions sought

I have been loosely looking for a Baritone for a while and came across a very nice looking hand made one that also sounds good (from a recording sent to me). I can't actually play it before purchase so would be taking a bit of risk.

The few things drawing me to this one:

• Spruce top. Sounds more guitar like to me, which is what I'm looking for in my Bari.
• All solid wood
• 21 inch scale and wide string spacing
• thicker neck
• seems cheap for a luthier build (450). I was looking at a similar priced Kala/Lanikai solid or solid top.

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Any questions I should be specifically asking?

here 'tis:

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-view-details.html?adId=1148395123

When buying without trying, I'd usually go with a maker who is well known and has good reviews. Mostly, we get what we pay for, so this one might not play in the same league as some of the well known luthiers who are regularly praised on this forum. However, the instrument looks neatly built, and if the recording sounds nice, why not give it a try? I'm pretty sure it will be better - and certainly more special - than a Kala or Lanikai or most other things in that price range. Plus, if I'm not mistaken, the price is in Australian Dollars, so this will be less expensive in USD.

Make sure to write a review in case you'll end up buying it. Would be interesting to know more about the builder.

Bill1 said:

You probably need to sort out stuff like postage and packaging costs and a return policy because Gumtree has very little in the way of consumer protection, if there is a problem you are almost on your own.

The choice for me would be to work out whether its worth the risk of getting an amazing instrument out of the box which is well made and sounds good, but is not what you are expecting in some way and you don't want it, or to go with a known quantity like the Chinese production ukes.

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Exactly, I just figured I would be on my own, which is the reason I am baulking even though it seems like potentially a good instrument.

Can you check it out for me brother?
I could give his name - would that be frowned upon here?

Aw c'mon, you're just round the corner - a quick 90mins away
Once through Ludwig Van and a quick debrief and you're there, right?
I think I'll take the risk - it looks good at least!

I play baritones exclusively, and totally agree that "you get what you pay for". I have no idea if they are available locally for you, but IMHO, it is tough to beat a Pono for a (relatively) inexpensive baritone.

GregT said:

I play baritones exclusively, and totally agree that "you get what you pay for". I have no idea if they are available locally for you, but IMHO, it is tough to beat a Pono for a (relatively) inexpensive baritone.

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I was really oggling over the Pono Nui but it's out of my league for now, at least.

Lower end were a Tanglewood laminate (which I'll probably grab as anyway for cheap) and maybe a Lanikai spruce top.

Well I took a chance and bought it so if anyone's interested, I'll report back when it arrives.
Bought a cheap Tanglewood too so I'll have some reference at least.

Glad to hear that you gave it a chance! Please let us know how you like it, and perhaps provide us with some more pictures or even a sound sample.

As for the Pono Nui: I have one of the very first batch, and it's beyond comparison to any other baritone. Quite a bit bigger to hold and play, but also much bigger sounding, like a true classical guitar.

Rakelele said:

Glad to hear that you gave it a chance! Please let us know how you like it, and perhaps provide us with some more pictures or even a sound sample.

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Will do

Rakelele said:

As for the Pono Nui: I have one of the very first batch, and it's beyond comparison to any other baritone. Quite a bit bigger to hold and play, but also much bigger sounding, like a true classical guitar.

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That's what I'm looking for so if you ever sell, let me know.

Well, if anyone is interested, the Bari arrived.

It looks and sounds absolutely fantastic! I really can't put it down. It has a slightly bigger and deeper body than other baris but not by much. Neck is thicker and wider too - which I like. It gets thicker towards the body and the only slight disadvantage is that the heel is quite large which makes it hard to barre on the twelve, for example. I feel like I lose maybe one fret over other ukes for those chords

It has a couple of little things I'm not totally happy with (but am prepared to deal with because of the sound of the thing). Fret ends are sharp - something I really haven't experienced on a uke before. Annoyingly so. I suppose I'll have to look into filing those down, which is maybe something I can do myself.

The intonation on the high string is not quite right - noticeably sharp but not unusable as is, just buggy. Other strings are acceptable but not perfect. I guess I'll have to attend to the bridge saddle somehow or maybe I could get a compensated saddle. Happy to take advice.

But the sound - oh my. SO different from my other ukes and what I was looking for. Like a little guitar/lute/uke cross. Love it! I definitely did the right thing even if it's not perfect. I think I might have a chat to the guy about building me a tenor guitar in the same vain!

If there's interest I'll post some photos and a recording.

PS The Tanglewood Baritone arrived too ... it's not terrible Very, very light - surprising for a laminate. Sounds much more "ukey", nice enough tone, reasonable volume, bit short on sustain but OK. Really not too bad although the action is a bit high and the intonation is kind of funky. All in all, not too bad for what I paid 2nd hand but I think I might have been a bit disappointed at full price. Might tune it up to GCEA and treat it like an overgrown tenor.

Yes, we'd love to see pics! That's proof! And we love videos! Congrats on your bari!