NUD Blackbird Farallon!

CliveyG

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I love this Uke for its great feel, playability and excellent tone. Really superb to my ears. I love the tone and clarity and although I have played almost exclusively high G, the oasis warms linear strings on this seem to suit it really well. I plan to keeping these on for the foreseeable, but I will try a high G set at some point.

Just a couple of things to note. This is a 2018 model, will flat finish fretboard, indistinguishable to ebony in look and feel to me. The back and sides are the new darker finish made to look like grain i presume. I like it and it's fairly glossy, though the grain does not flow in one direction at the heel of the neck where the neck and sides meet.

I did hear that blackbird were now using brown or black glue on the insides, but as you can see, i have some white in mine, which is the only negative I can pick up on. Most else what I can see inside seem to have neat dark brown glue.

To me it's worth the money. I'm very happy and it will get a lot of use.
 
Attachment showing where it looks like the neck is joined, although I know it's not.
 

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HI,
I love the sound and playability of mine too! Also a 2018 model...not much to look at, but is sounds as good (if not better) than by $3500 Ukes....
Ron
 
HI,
I love the sound and playability of mine too! Also a 2018 model...not much to look at, but is sounds as good (if not better) than by $3500 Ukes....
Ron

Well I don't have a custom to compare it to, but a Hive Hornet may be in my future :D. It's quite incredible though what blackbird have achieved with this composite model. The top has so much resonance, in fact with the very flat finish, I am hearing the thumb and fingers much more than other Ukes I've played. Even just a light brush with the thumb flesh or nail gets amplified. I wonder if there's a way to dampen that sound? Maybe it's something I won't notice as I play more, or I'll adjust to it. It's just something I've noticed from the mainly gloss Ukes I've played.
 
Congrats CliveyG! I'm a big fan of the Farallon. Your new model with the darker finish looks amazing, but I never minded the lighter finish either. It has it's own unique vibe which I like.
 
I've got a 2017 Tobacco Sunburst Farallon, which I adore. They seem to have used dark glue in mine, which was appreciated. Never understood the gloppy white glue lines in most of these...

You'll find that the responsiveness of the top really allows fro some delicate playing, and the finger noises become nice complements to the music. Very "alive" and natural sound...
 
I've got a 2017 Tobacco Sunburst Farallon, which I adore. They seem to have used dark glue in mine, which was appreciated. Never understood the gloppy white glue lines in most of these...

You'll find that the responsiveness of the top really allows fro some delicate playing, and the finger noises become nice complements to the music. Very "alive" and natural sound...

Thanks neo, I wouldn't have noticed the globby white glue had I not had a side port as its more on the underside of the top. I don't know why they can't use the dark glue in all models, but especially ones with a side port. Maybe there is a DIY solution to somehow reach through the port with an artists brush and gently cover the glue with some glue paint, if there is such a thing.

I agree it's very responsive, just a very light brush with a finger over the top without touching the strings is amplified noticeably more than any other Ukes I have played. I imagine partly due to the very flat finish on the top also.
I love the look of your sunburst version, really nicely done. Do you think there is a subtle difference in the tone with that finish and does yours have a side port? I did the cover and uncover the side port thing and the difference to me is only very slight.
 
Congrats CliveyG! I'm a big fan of the Farallon. Your new model with the darker finish looks amazing, but I never minded the lighter finish either. It has it's own unique vibe which I like.

Thanks etudes, I had a choice to go with the darker grain or the lighter. I chose the darker because I thought it balanced more with the top colour and it just looks really great and although it's not a finish as such, it is quite glossy.

There wasn't a sunburst version to look at and play, but in all honesty I would probably still have gone with this one for practical reasons and there is nothing I don't like about the look of this one, I think it looks classy as it is. I agree it has its own vibe, which I really like. I appreciate Blackbird giving us a different option in the materials used. It sounds great, plays wonderfully and as Blackbird likes to say, it's 'No Worries'.
 
Congrats on a great uke! I ordered one from Blackbird when they were first released, then bought a hardly used 2018 model earlier this year. Durable, and full of sweet tone!
 
Thanks to everybody for the congrats. I am going to enjoy this Uke for a long time. It's fantabulous :D
 
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