Ever Play a Compass Rose?

I'm thinking of continuing my sell-off of tenors and get something high-end
If you've played a Compass Rose before, please share how well it projects/loudness. After my loud cedar uke, I can't go back to quiet-er ukes regardless how good they sound otherwise.

I've played a few -- a sycamore CR and a spruce/mahogany CR at Gryphon Stringed Instruments, and Rick Turner's own cherry CR and (I think, but I could be wrong) koa CR. My exxperience was that the sprucetop projected more than the sycamore, ball all the CRs I've played reverberated and projected well, although my experience of their projection may be colored by the fact that the ukuleles had side sound ports, something none of the ukuleles I own have. I've ordered a baritone jumbo style CR with spruce top and rosewood back and sides. If you're interested in a CR with strong projection, you should tell Rick what you want and see what he suggests.

Two words: Mya Moe.

Gryphon Stringed Instruments usually has a few CR's in stock and they have sound samples on their website as well.

Rick has flat out stated that he builds to attract guitar players, so expect the deeper tones associated with that. If you are looking for something specific you should talk to the man himself instead of relying on us. He is a wealth of knowledge and will build to suit your style/inclinations.

But to answer your question, I have yet to play a CR that doesn't project very well. . . and I live in a hotbed of opportunity to play CR's (Gryphon and Sylvan are not that far from me and I stop by every chance I get).

And a bit of unsolicited cautionary advice . . . with some ukes/builders, the loudness comes from being too lightly built. In other words, they might sound great now, but 20-30+ years down the line they might become unplayable instead of getting better.

my two cents . . . hope it's somewhat helpful

The first time I played a Compass Rose was at Sylvan Music in Santa Cruz. It was an all-Sycamore model and I though it had the most profound and striking voice I had heard in a uke in a long time. It might not have been the most traditional tone, but it was loud and very pure-- a tone that stays with you. That was about two years ago, and I knew I wanted a Compass Rose.

The Compass Rose I finally got was a bit of an odd duck-- a composite Walnut and Sycamore tenor that still has the big voice that I heard in the all-Sycamore version. I think if you want loud, you'll like Compass Rose.

Cedar and Spruce-topped instruments are always likely to have a more "open" sound than those topped with harder woods, and this can often be identified as "louder," even though it often isn't.

I will try to be as objective as possible. Please realize all ukes have their fanboys, but we can all get along.

The first question is "what are you looking for?" If it is just "loud" then there are many ukes for that. Probably the loudest I have heard is the KoAloha Sceptre. Nice tone, too.

The next question is "what sound are you looking for?" If it is the traditional Hawaiian sound, Compass Rose may not be right for you.

Finally, "how important is fit and finish?"

Compass Rose has more of a guitar sound and less of a uke sound, to my ears. Because of that, I have only played a few that I liked (they sounded more uke like). However, the construction technique, fit and finish, and general quality is among the highest of all builders.

Mya Moe has a more uke like sound, but their quality is hit or miss. These are "build to order" production ukes and that can show. I have seen MMs where the binding on half of the uke wasn't even attempted to match the other half. I have seen side fret markers where the double-dot is uneven. I have seen where the sound hole was not sanded properly and it looks (and feels) odd. You will not see any of those issues with CR.

Rick Turner is a great luthier. Call him and tell him what you want and he will deliver. I have no doubt about that. The man is a legend. However, beware of "off the shelf" models, especially if you can't play it first.

I hope I offended no one, sorry if I did. I reread this and believe the above to be fact and not opinion.

My KoAloha tenor is a bit louder than my CR. But my CR still projects well and has a more smooth, polished sound.

I don't think you would regret getting a Compass Rose, (or a KoAloha ).

Loudness does not always Equate to sweet sounding...there are alot loud brash sounding ukes too... I have not played any of Rick's ukes here in the islands as they are mighty scare here...BUT
everyone I know who has them, LOVES them..... I believe Rick and Chuckie have figured out how to make bright sweet sounding tones and they are the top two to go to...Good Luck,
I see you are junping on the bandwagon of getting higher end custom ukes too....good for you man....Happy Strummings..

I've def. seen some misses w/ Mya Moe but at the same time there were a few winner's I played.

As far as CR's - I got to play two that Mim just got from NAMM last week. Sound really great. You should contact her, she has 2 different models.

mm stan said:

Loudness does not always Equate to sweet sounding...there are alot loud brash sounding ukes too... I have not played any of Rick's ukes here in the islands as they are mighty scare here...BUT
everyone I know who has them, LOVES them..... I believe Rick and Chuckie have figured out how to make bright sweet sounding tones and they are the top two to go to...Good Luck,
I see you are junping on the bandwagon of getting higher end custom ukes too....good for you man....Happy Strummings..

Click to expand...

Lenny has one in Koa and another on the way . . . and he's on Oahu now

::betting MMStan will have one on order soon::


. . .oh, and I'm definitely a fan boy. I thought I was being pretty objective, but I'm definitely a fanboy!

I think the guys nailed it, its really depends on what you like. I've played a bunch of nice Hawaiian made Ukes, but as far as the tone/sound, a Compass Rose is really unique and different. It does have a guitarish tone, compared to the Hawaiian Ukes. The one I played not only had a deep tone, it also had crazy reverb. I don't think you can go wrong with a CR. You'll enjoy working with the legend Rick.

Thanks for the comments, folks, all quite accurate.

Yes, I build the standard CR ukes that many of you have seen and some have for a more guitar-like tone and feel. The goals have been to A) please myself as a musician, and B) attract guitar players. I came out of playing guitar...which I still do, but I've found a new musical life playing chord melody jazz arrangements on uke. I'm no Lyle Ritz or Azo Bell or Sarah Maisel, but I can get around, and I like the fullness of the low end on our ukes for this kind of music. And since many of my existing clients were and are guitar players, I thought I'd find my own market niche with these.

The relatively new CR "nano jumbo" concerts sound more traditional; and the even newer "micro jumbo" tenors have a little bit less bass than our older ones. Both have 14 fret necks which changes things a bit, too. But I'm sticking with the cantilevered fingerboards which does add to a certain signature sound by opening up more top area to vibrate.

As Gary Yoshida knows, when I teach uke building (in 4 days) we build pineapples, and it's amazing how traditional the sopranos sound compared to everything else I build. The shape and the size really dictate a lot of it, and even though we're using cedar for the tops, the little soprano pineapples sound very Hawaiian.

So it's really a matter of matching the sound to the desires of the players. As any of my custom uke clients know, we spend no small amount of time talking or emailing about the desired tone...though people come to me often wanting that more guitar-like sound. For instance, I find that the California sycamore is particularly suited to re-entrant tuning. For that big classical sound with a touch of reverb, I recommend spruce, redwood, or cedar over some form of rosewood for the body. The cherry, walnut, and maple ukes are always surprising being warm, punchy, and very versatile. We can even get into it with regard to the tonal contribution of the bridge...arguably the biggest brace on the top.

Rick makes exquisite ukuleles! He is a master at what he does, and he will work with you to get the sound you are looking for. I have the honor of owning a Compass Rose and every time I pick it up, I know that I have something very special in my hands....

You might consider Hive Ukuleles as Jake Maclay used to work for Rick Turner making CRs before striking off on his own...

CR ukulele have a cantilevered fret board so the part that extends over the sound board does not touch it...that way it does not interfere with its vibrations...very different than most ukuleles, imho. It really depends on what you want and like...there are many custom luthiers out there, and each is unique...it really depends on how long you can wait for your ukulele and how much you want to spend...some luthiers have wait times exceeding 2 years or more...good luck.

Cantilevered fingerboard is one of the coolest features! I'm surprised others haven't run with it.

Aloha Gary,
I love Sarah Maisel's one...it looks great....I was thinking maybe a mahogany one for me...oohhh I can't afford it now, but I hope Rick reads this and checks his inventory ..Hee hee
Hey just thought Sarah and I got the same initials... Yup Lenny should be unpacking and getting his cable hookups....they sometimes take a few weeks...he lives on the other side of
the island from me....shoots..

gyosh said:

Lenny has one in Koa and another on the way . . . and he's on Oahu now

::betting MMStan will have one on order soon::


. . .oh, and I'm definitely a fan boy. I thought I was being pretty objective, but I'm definitely a fanboy!

Click to expand...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BycTTjwkw00

Looking forward to Paul's replies to the questions about what type of uke and sound he is searching for.

mm stan said:

Loudness does not always Equate to sweet sounding...there are alot loud brash sounding ukes too... I have not played any of Rick's ukes here in the islands as they are mighty scare here...BUT
everyone I know who has them, LOVES them..... I believe Rick and Chuckie have figured out how to make bright sweet sounding tones and they are the top two to go to...Good Luck,
I see you are junping on the bandwagon of getting higher end custom ukes too....good for you man....Happy Strummings..

Click to expand...

Agree wholeheartedly.

I was going to add this, but Rick took care of it already.

My original post was brief because I was in the middle of a break from teaching and my students were writing, but were starting to finish up so my post was a bit brief. I was going to add that I have a tenor pineapple that I built in Rick's class red cedar top and mahogany b/s. It is very bright and punchy. Much more so than my "traditional" Kamaka HF-3 strung re-entrant. My point being that Rick can build you anything you want. You dictate the tone. You might have to compromise on the wood for a certain sound, but the man is known for taking non-traditional instrument woods and making them work . . . wonderfully.
Long sustain, short sustain, . . .talk with him and give him a sense of your style and what you're looking for and he will deliver.

Yup.

Fanboy!!

Tigeralum2001 said:

I will try to be as objective as possible. Please realize all ukes have their fanboys, but we can all get along.

The first question is "what are you looking for?" If it is just "loud" then there are many ukes for that. Probably the loudest I have heard is the KoAloha Sceptre. Nice tone, too.

The next question is "what sound are you looking for?" If it is the traditional Hawaiian sound, Compass Rose may not be right for you.

Finally, "how important is fit and finish?"

Compass Rose has more of a guitar sound and less of a uke sound, to my ears. Because of that, I have only played a few that I liked (they sounded more uke like). However, the construction technique, fit and finish, and general quality is among the highest of all builders.

Mya Moe has a more uke like sound, but their quality is hit or miss. These are "build to order" production ukes and that can show. I have seen MMs where the binding on half of the uke wasn't even attempted to match the other half. I have seen side fret markers where the double-dot is uneven. I have seen where the sound hole was not sanded properly and it looks (and feels) odd. You will not see any of those issues with CR.

Rick Turner is a great luthier. Call him and tell him what you want and he will deliver. I have no doubt about that. The man is a legend. However, beware of "off the shelf" models, especially if you can't play it first.

I hope I offended no one, sorry if I did. I reread this and believe the above to be fact and not opinion.

Click to expand...

I don't think it's fair to call Mya-Moe's overall quality hit or miss based on the three very minor flaws you listed. Hit or miss implies 50/50, while their quality is probably closer to 95% great versus 5% mistakes. Also, with Mya-Moe Gordon will make it right for you if you're not happy. You just have to ask. Nobody is perfect but Mya-Moe's customer service can not be beat.