Outdoor Ukulele Banjolele

Just so everyone knows, Outdoor Ukulele is finally selling their new Banjolele. I’m going to wait a while to buy one...but I know some of you will want to order one.

Hey! I might resemble that remark! On the other hand, I already own the Magic Fluke Tenor Banjolele, and seriously, how many banjo ukes does one man need? I sure wish they'd made it smaller though. The pot is like 12 1/2" in diameter.

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I think I might be in love with it! Although, I do fall in love easily.
 
Looks like they've already sold out of one of the two models. Looks really great.
 
I'm not tempted because it looks like it's tenor scale. Looked at their site and everything's tenor or soprano. Can't believe that more places now won't bother with concert scale anymore.
 
I'm not tempted because it looks like it's tenor scale. Looked at their site and everything's tenor or soprano. Can't believe that more places now won't bother with concert scale anymore.

I tend to gravitate to Concert, too. That said, I think the most popular size, overall, is Soprano (think entry level) and the next most popular size is Tenor. I asked Outdoor Ukulele about the lack of a concert, and while they didn’t say that it would never happen, they did say that it costs quite a lot to design a new model and then create the molds for the new model—as in over $100,000.

I think we often think of these companies as huge corporations, but I don’t think Outdoor Ukulele has much staff beyond the owner’s family—and a $100,000 investment for a new model means selling 800 ukuleles at $125 before even breaking even (and that doesn’t even factor in the cost of manufacturing and assembly).

So I can wait for a concert, or forgive them if a concert never comes. While I’d buy one or two concerts, I’m certainly not going to put up 100K to have them make one, or buy 800 ukuleles to guarantee the model.
 
I tend to gravitate to Concert, too. That said, I think the most popular size, overall, is Soprano (think entry level) and the next most popular size is Tenor.

The Outdoor Carbon is still available only in the tenor size. Two recent polls here have shown that the tenor is the most popular size and KoAloha is the preferred brand.

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I tend to gravitate to Concert, too. That said, I think the most popular size, overall, is Soprano (think entry level) and the next most popular size is Tenor. I asked Outdoor Ukulele about the lack of a concert, and while they didn’t say that it would never happen, they did say that it costs quite a lot to design a new model and then create the molds for the new model—as in over $100,000.

I think we often think of these companies as huge corporations, but I don’t think Outdoor Ukulele has much staff beyond the owner’s family—and a $100,000 investment for a new model means selling 800 ukuleles at $125 before even breaking even (and that doesn’t even factor in the cost of manufacturing and assembly).

So I can wait for a concert, or forgive them if a concert never comes. While I’d buy one or two concerts, I’m certainly not going to put up 100K to have them make one, or buy 800 ukuleles to guarantee the model.

Very true, but they just offered a new model with this banjolele. It makes me wonder what would have been a better seller for them - a banjolele or a concert scale ukulele. Though they probably are using the same neck as their tenor ukulele for the banjolele. That might have saved some monies.
 
Realistically looking at what "Outdoors" is about, I think they have done enough by making a nice small compact soprano size and the larger tenor size. My experience with travelling and having adventures is that there are three states of taking a uke:
1. Don't take a uke because it will interfere with the adventure and social activities, or you wont have time to play it.
2. Take a small soprano uke because of limited packing space and its easy to carry and it will enhance social activities.
3. Take a larger instrument (small guitar or tenor uke) because there is room and it will enhance social activities and be a useful part of the adventure.
In this context there is no need for a concert size. I know those who sit at home and who rarely go anywhere get attached to a size, like tenor or concert, but if you are going out for adventure you have to compromise on a lot of things to fit them in.
Going back to the banjo uke discussed in the first post. I don't know much about them. What catches my eyes about the OUBU is the size, it is going to be hard to fit into a pack and maybe a difficult shape to carry on your shoulder strap for a few hours. The BUs I have looked at for adventures are all compact and strongly made out of wood, so they are light and easy to fit into a pack.

The majority of banjo ukes ever built would be concert scale.
 
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