Bruko No 6 Soprano

It arrived, and first impressions say - I love it - have a look, and read on!


Pretty eh?


Love that headstock


Lovely grain on the solid body

Anyway - I own a Mainland concert, and a Flea Soprano alongside some cheap laminates, and decided I wanted an all solid wood soprano, but only had £100 to spend - sounds impossible?

Had a look at the Brukos - shopped around, and got this baby for £90 delivered from Thomannn in Germany. What a bargain! Cheaper than the Bruko website (sorry Bruko, but times are tough)

These are handmade ukes, from Germany - (made in Germany, not just stamped in Germany), all solid woods.

The Uke is faultlessly put together - I have been over it with a fine toothcomb and it is flawless - all solid mahogany body, maple neck that is as smooth as silk, silver frets, black markers and super distinctive veneered headstock. Neck is two piece, but joint is at the heel, not the headstock

No side markers on the neck, and the fret ends are not hidden, they are however smoothly finished.

I particularly like the fact the head is unmarked, the only makers mark is the Bruko logo that is branded onto the wood inside the soundhole ( and I mean branded). It has friction tuners of reasonable quality (certainly on a par with my Flea) with black plastic keys. Only odd touch is the white binding on the inside of the ring of the soundhole - never seen that before - dont think it totally matches the look of the instrument, but i certainly dont find it offensive.

Saddle is solid wood, and nut is wood too in a kind of sandwich of two different woods (see pic)

Inside is really tidy - surprised, not much bracing, and no kerfling (is that the right word). No glue or mess inside.

It is trad soprano shape, very very light (though the wood looks solid) and feels wonderful in the hand.

Action is perfect as it arrived, though the tuners needed tightening. Intonation is perfect all over - seriously, perfect. Great harmonic ring at the 12th, (much more than my Mainland or my Flea) and some harmonics at the 7th.

Let down sorely by the strings it arrived with - clear, nylon, slippy, no tension and a real "plinky plinky" bright sound. Gave them a chance, gave up, and took them off and replaced them with brown worth mediums.

It is still settling in to tune, but the worths are warm - and this little fella has a big personality - so so playable, the neck is a joy to hold, and those who think it is a little bright - i dont think so - not as bright as my Flea, and about the same volume.

really lovely instrument - I am struggling to find fault with it. I do prefer gloss finish I suppose, and this is a polished matt - but on the upside - this too really shows off the depth of the grain. I think it looks eccentric I suppose, but then, I play a Flea - do they get more eccentric??

I sound like I am gushing - but I suppose I am - not sure how they make these for the bargain price - it is wonderful.

Fits the gap I was looking to fill perfectly - will post more when I've let strings settle in.

Cheers!

update - a few days in, and the Worth strings have settled.

This little fella is still bright - thought it would be mellower (being wood) than my Flea, but it isnt. Not that i am complaining - it has a voice all of its own.

I remain stunned by the way it is put together - so precise (german engineering I suppose!). Intonation is spot on all the way up the neck.

Think it actually sounds much sweeter picked rather than strummed, although that is, perhaps, the worth strings. May try some aquilas on it, as i mainly strum.

Still, think it is a lovely instrument for the money - and it fills a gap all of its own.

You bought at the right time. From Thomann they are now £91 + £10 post whichis £101. Still a good deal though I expect. The Harley Benton Eleuke has gone down to £65 though!

Ian.

pauljmuk,

I have a Bruko no. 6 which I purchased at least 18 years ago, maybe longer.
It has mellowed with age, having a rich (but loud!) sound with the Worth brown stings which I recently installed.

You may be interested in knowing that my older Bruko has gold frets, not
silver. Also, the maple fingerboard and laminated headstock have a definite yellowish cast, not white (unless that's a photographic aberration--I'd like to know). The manufacturer's brand says "Bruko-made in W. Germany." The purchase price was $60 (U.S.).

Love mine!

What a thing of beauty!

If only they were available in the US...

Very nice. Congratulations.

VERY nice...I've always admired the Bruko ukes...
If i had the money to pay the extra conversions, shipping, and taxes on the shipping I would definitely buy one!!!

HERE'S to bringing Bruko to North America!!

Previously, Brukos were available in the U.S. I bought the no. 6 I have some years ago at a music store in San Diego. I believe Elderly Instruments carried them until fairly recently, at least sporadically.

Correction: In my post above I referred to a "laminated" headstock; I meant to say "veneered."

the maple neck is very very pale, but does have a slight yellowish tinge. It is super smooth and lovely looking though. yep,silver frets.

I became interested after Ken's video review, and then when I saw GUGUG playing one, it pushed my hand. I bought the slim body version of this one, had it for about six week snow, very very pleased with it. I was playing at a folk night a few days ago, and people were saying they could still hear it over a madolin and several guitars being played at the same time (during a medley to round fof the night) which chuffed me no end!

I also own one. It was my first uke to play on stage. Some weeks ago my Brüko custom longneck arrived. Flamed maple with rosewood bridge and fretboard. Very beautiful :drool:

Good choice dude!

thought it was a bit clunky in week one, but the top is opening up, and I love the sound of it