Peter Frary
Well-known member
I really wanted the spruce and mahogany variant of the Romero Creations Tiny Tenor 6 but HMS sold out almost instantly. I saw it on their website in the morning but by the time I walked into TheUkuleleSite at Kaka’ako it was gone. So, instead of crying in my beer, bought a Tiny Tenor 6 Koa instead. It’s three Benjamins more than the spruce—a premium for the many fabled Hawaiian hardwood—but I suppose a man needs at least one Koa instrument. I also had a Baggs Five-O pickup installed so had to wait five days to take TT6 home (sounds shocking good through my Trace Acoustic amps).
I really like the TT6. The sound is on the subdued and silky side, sort of a cross between a Renaissance lute, mandolin and ukulele if you can imagine such a hybrid. But TT6 is capable of a good bark when you dig in, and it can take muscular plucks without flinching. One thing I really like is the evenness of the response: no wolf tones or dropouts so an ideal instrument for close mic recording.
The 430mm tenor scale is a little cramped for a guy used to a 664mm classical guitar scale. It took a couple weeks of practice to get comfy. The main challenge is holding the darned thing. The rounded lute like contour is not lap friendly and you need to either use a strap—my choice—or go the footstool route like Daniel Ho.
I’ve linked my first recording of the TT6 (fresh baked this morning): TT6 on melody and chords and backed up with bass and small percussion by yours truly. I pointed one KM-184 at the fingerboard and another at the bridge and the sound was pretty close to perfect. Hardly any editing or messing around needed. The audio file should open in another window with a Reverbnation player. Free download if you want it:
https://www.reverbnation.com/peterkunfrary/song/30616836-cant-help-falling-in-love-ukulele
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