Jerryc41
Well-known member
Alvarez is introducing an all-bamboo concert uke. I see it for sale for $200, and $240 electrified. Bamboo is becoming popular with uke builders.
Alvarez Bamboo Uke
- Thread starter Jerryc41
- Start date
Product page:
https://www.alvarezguitars.com/guitar/mu55c/
I clicked on the "hide details" thing and figured out you could see more info.. Solid wood they say. Interesting. I've never played an Alvarez uke but they look nice. Their guitars get some good reviews, but of course that doesn't translate to ukes always.
I'll just post that here:
"We are very proud to introduce our first all-solid wood construction Ukuleles in 2019. Not only do they sound amazing, but have a more “planet conscious” element to their design. Our MU55 Masterworks Ukes are made from Bamboo, all solid Bamboo, a wood that grows quickly in abundance and is in no danger of depleting.
As instrument makers and players, we must look to better source alternative woods and materials that are kinder to the world’s ecosystem but do not compromise our quality or tonal attributes. The MU55s meet these requirements beautifully. Solid Bamboo as a tone wood sounds fantastic for a Ukulele, it’s also very affordable, which allows us to deliver an all solid, stellar sounding professional Ukulele at such value. The MU55’s sustain and tone will put a smile on your face and, by knowing that it’s a better choice for our planet, will hopefully sweeten the sound even more."
https://www.alvarezguitars.com/guitar/mu55c/
I clicked on the "hide details" thing and figured out you could see more info.. Solid wood they say. Interesting. I've never played an Alvarez uke but they look nice. Their guitars get some good reviews, but of course that doesn't translate to ukes always.
I'll just post that here:
"We are very proud to introduce our first all-solid wood construction Ukuleles in 2019. Not only do they sound amazing, but have a more “planet conscious” element to their design. Our MU55 Masterworks Ukes are made from Bamboo, all solid Bamboo, a wood that grows quickly in abundance and is in no danger of depleting.
As instrument makers and players, we must look to better source alternative woods and materials that are kinder to the world’s ecosystem but do not compromise our quality or tonal attributes. The MU55s meet these requirements beautifully. Solid Bamboo as a tone wood sounds fantastic for a Ukulele, it’s also very affordable, which allows us to deliver an all solid, stellar sounding professional Ukulele at such value. The MU55’s sustain and tone will put a smile on your face and, by knowing that it’s a better choice for our planet, will hopefully sweeten the sound even more."
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My local Guitar Center (Harrisburg, PA) has a used Tony Graziano Concert Uke that appears to be made of bamboo. I tried to take a closer look at it a couple of weeks ago, but the clerk was busy shooting the breeze with some guy looking at guitars and refused to even acknowledge my presence. It was hanging out of reach so I couldn't just grab it and play. I really should go back some weekday morning when all the "guitar heroes" are still in school and see if I can get some attention.
Tony Graziano is a pretty well-respected builder but I couldn't find much info about him working with bamboo.
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/In-Store-Used/Used-Tony-Graziano-Concert-Natural-Ukulele.gc
Tony Graziano is a pretty well-respected builder but I couldn't find much info about him working with bamboo.
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/In-Store-Used/Used-Tony-Graziano-Concert-Natural-Ukulele.gc
Nickie
Well-known member
I imagine that there are a few luthiers here who would question the idea that bamboo is 'wood'.
Sustainable, yes, but no way does it ring like real wood, to my ears.
Thanks, but I don't need another uke, surely not bamboo....
what do others think?
Sustainable, yes, but no way does it ring like real wood, to my ears.
Thanks, but I don't need another uke, surely not bamboo....
what do others think?
I'm very impressed with the Aklot ALL bamboo tenor cutaway uke I got a couple of weeks ago. I like that it's bright with good projection, especially with the black D'Addario strings, which I had to cull together from 2 sets because the tenor version only came with a wound C so I used a C from a concert set.
Bamboo is specifically a grass, and being that it's laminated sideways rather than on top of each other, I wouldn't call it solid. Aklot actually said to watch the humidity because it's "solid," but bamboo is known to be very durable, so I'm not going to worry about it.
This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 6 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 41)
• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
Bamboo is specifically a grass, and being that it's laminated sideways rather than on top of each other, I wouldn't call it solid. Aklot actually said to watch the humidity because it's "solid," but bamboo is known to be very durable, so I'm not going to worry about it.
This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 6 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 41)
• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
I have bamboo kitchen utensils for years that are cut lengthwise in flat strips and glued side-by-side. They get wet all the time being washed in the sink and never change shape at all.
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Jerryc41
Well-known member
That's a big problem with shopping in stores. Either they don't see me, or the clerk and customer are shooting the breeze. I hate it when a customer decides to tell the cashier his life story. Shopping online has spoiled me.
UkeStuff
Well-known member
UkeStuff
Well-known member
I have one of the Aklot tenors (no cutaway) and really like it. I just wish it was a concert.
I know it's a renewable resource, but what I wonder about is what it takes to glue the thing together to make the material. Is there any environmental gain after you have had to glue it together? Is the glue environmentally friendly?
Ultimately, I like ukuleles, whatever they are made of (it's Dr. Seuss week...but I won't go making a full out Seuss poem about ukuleles), and the tenor I have is a pretty nice instrument. No complaints here. And it's holding up well through our midwestern winter.
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Jerryc41
Well-known member
Right. I was surprised to see them use the word "wood" in the description.
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Jerryc41
Well-known member
Nickie, you know we all need another uke...
Just one more. It's always just one more.
spookelele
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So... there are many many products made from laminated bamboo.
The thing is... they are not all laminated the same. Bamboo isn't all straight grained. But the machines that laminate them compress them to be straight. So.. some laminated bamboo things split... alot. Bamboo was pushed for cutting boards because they don't really dull knives, and they take a beating well. But the early ones... all split. then they started cross laminating the bamboo so that they didn't split as much. And now they have all parallel laminated boards that don't delaminate.
Long story short... it depends on how the bamboo blanks were made that will likely determine if they will split eventually. If you look at dried bamboo used for decoration.... you'll see even when it's whole it will split eventually as it dries and shrinks. So... YMMV, but personally, I don't see myself buying a bamboo uke.
Also... bamboo warps over time.........
The thing is... they are not all laminated the same. Bamboo isn't all straight grained. But the machines that laminate them compress them to be straight. So.. some laminated bamboo things split... alot. Bamboo was pushed for cutting boards because they don't really dull knives, and they take a beating well. But the early ones... all split. then they started cross laminating the bamboo so that they didn't split as much. And now they have all parallel laminated boards that don't delaminate.
Long story short... it depends on how the bamboo blanks were made that will likely determine if they will split eventually. If you look at dried bamboo used for decoration.... you'll see even when it's whole it will split eventually as it dries and shrinks. So... YMMV, but personally, I don't see myself buying a bamboo uke.
Also... bamboo warps over time.........
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Nickie
Well-known member
Nickie, you know we all need another uke...
See Baz's latest review. Dadgummit.
Mine is great
I just purchased the MU55TE Alvarez bamboo model. I never in a million years thought I would buy an Alvarez uke, much less bamboo, but it sounded so good I couldn't resist. I have a couple of lower end Martin sopranos, and my main gigging uke for a while has been an electrified all solid mahogany fender tenor that recently received some damage. It feels very well built; I guess time will tell
I just purchased the MU55TE Alvarez bamboo model. I never in a million years thought I would buy an Alvarez uke, much less bamboo, but it sounded so good I couldn't resist. I have a couple of lower end Martin sopranos, and my main gigging uke for a while has been an electrified all solid mahogany fender tenor that recently received some damage. It feels very well built; I guess time will tell
merlin666
Well-known member
It is silly that they call these "solid" bamboo given that they are composed of many thin strips, everyone can see that it is not a liquid or gas. My uke dealer had a Kala bamboo uke in last time I was in the store in December. I like the appearance, but found the sound quiet and non-descript and would not pay more for it than for a laminate top, even though it looks prettier.
This has been a fairly contentious topic here for some time. I don't really get the objection regarding the term 'solid' in this context. Although, that's assuming that these bamboo ukes are constructed by simply glueing pieces of bamboo together like you would glue a two piece soundboard together. If there's some further processing of the bamboo pieces like there is with laminate wood then that's another story, but I've seen no evidence of this.
merlin666
Well-known member
I guess it's the mystic quality that some people ascribe to the term "solid" which for instruments generally denotes that it is made of a single type AND piece of wood of the same kind and cut, except for some bookmatching. This is generally contrasted to "laminate" where some unattractive tonewood is covered with a pretty veneer and is described with what you see. So while bamboo is just one type of wood and not laminated it is far from a single ply or bookmatched material. So for me solid in this case just means that it's not a liquid. Marketing people need to find a different term for this as the more appropriate term "composite" is already in use for other materials.
