Surprised by a Riptide laminate tenor

harpdog

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Had to kill time at a Sam Ash store yesterday.
The best sounding ukulele there was a laminated mahogany Riptide tenor @ $139.
I really was surprised - a full mellow tone and a lot of volume. I played it against
some other tenors that cost more - some solid, some not.
Maybe it's the side port, but I played them all facing toward me and the Riptide still sounded best.Nice uke.

A little bit off topic: If you want a giggle, watch this video all the way to the end. Not the same uke I played, but the last 30 seconds are good for a grin...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKSIXOvtrdc&feature=player_embedded
 
I have no idea what they are saying but they compare the Riptides to the Ohana.....
 
I almost made the same uke that MGM is playing in the vid, my new uke. I was doing research trying to find out info on it, seeing whether it would be a good choice.

I was all but set on it when, after about a week of contemplating and research, I remembered that I'm lefty.:(

Usually that doesn't make a difference when it comes to ukes, but you can imagine why it would be different with a Riptide.
 
I know people get tired of me saying you can't tell what a uke sounds like (to the audience) unless you have the sound hole pointing at you. I am sure the side sound port made a difference there. At Sam Ash I always have someone hold up two in front of me side-by-side and I do my comparison.
 
I saw the title and thought maybe it had fallen off a peg and hit you on the head or something? :)

Seriously, a uke built with the right laminated material, from the right design, and with the right attention to detail should theoretically out perform anything that can be built from simple solid woods (at least anything that can be expected to last without an extraordinary amount of care and delicate handling). Unfortunately, most laminated ukes are built with an eye to saving money rather than maximizing performance and thus the comparitively bad rep that laminated ukes tend to get.
 
what do you think of the concerts? do you prefer the Tenors? When Lambchop sold his tenor spruce top on ebay I bid on it but didn't win it but there were not a lot of bidders on it. Just me and another guy it seemed.
 
I think that it is really cool that they have that large cupholder in the side, people like to have drinks handy. ;-)
 
If I'm not mistaken, Riptides are solid-tops.

So they're not really "laminates". In my eyes, Solid-tops and All-solids aren't that much different.
 
I think the spruces are but not sure about the mahoganys...
 
There was only the one Riptide tenor in the store, and no Riptide concert to try.
It was definitely laminated, top back and sides. I think the model is UT-5NS, which the website list as "mahogany".
The spruce topped ones are specified as solid spruce and the "deluxe" mahogany are listed with tops of solid mahogany.
The rest of their woods (back sides) generally just say the wood type, without the word "solid".
Anyway, it sounded good.
 
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