Ekoa tenor?

M3Ukulele

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For Clara owners.........wondering what concert size blackbird feels like compared to playing a tenor? Also, does anyone see a tenor Ekoa ukulele coming down the line....perhaps long neck Clara? Or standard 8 shaped tenor that won't compete with the asymmetrical carbon fibre model?
 
I like mine just fine. I'm most comfortable with a concert ukulele, though I have a couple of tenors. If volume is your issue Clara doesn't disappoint, easily louder than either my Martin and my Pono. If the scale length is your issue, then that's just a matter of practice, isn't it?

Clara comes with an endpin for a strap. Because of the rounded back shape holding Clara is a challenge. OK when sitting, but standing, a strap is a big help.

I think strings will be the biggest challenge. Oasis fluorocarbons are really bright. I want to warm it up a bit.
 
Volume, sound and tone are not the issue…. I like Tenor scale. I have heard many videos and the Clara/Ekoa sounds great. I wondered if concert scale on that pineapple type shape felt somehow bigger! <g> At any rate, seems to be a very impressive ukulele. I did a recent month in Mexico coming from 30% humidity to 80% and certainly would liked to have had the Clara with me. Still hoping for a Tenor Ekoa however. Thanks for comments
 
I read somewhere that Blackbird is working on an ekoa tenor. Seems like the next logical step.

My guess is that by late this fall or by NAMM 2015 they will have one. (This is pure speculation on my part.)
 
Tenor scale does feel different than concert. Yet especially for travel, a concert-sized ukulele is just that much easier to go with. Travel is a large part of the point of Clara. The humidity issue is pretty appealing, but I still have 5 other ukes to baby through the a/c of summer and the dry cold of winter.
 
When I started a little over a year ago, I never imagined I would play anything but tenor. I have recently found myself gravitating toward the smaller sizes. Personally, since they already have a tenor and a concert, I'd like to see Joe and his team do a soprano next.
 
Tenor scale does feel different than concert. Yet especially for travel, a concert-sized ukulele is just that much easier to go with. Travel is a large part of the point of Clara. The humidity issue is pretty appealing, but I still have 5 other ukes to baby through the a/c of summer and the dry cold of winter.

I am very much a tenor guy. I played the Clara at NAMM and was blown away, but I wanted a tenor.
At Reno I played the black tenor and the Clara, again no comparison, the Clara is unbelievable.
I too like the Clara for travel and it is a few inches shorter than a tenor so it is an easier travel ukulele.
Talking with Joe at Reno I got the impression a tenor e-koa was going to fairly far off so I opted to satisfy a bout of UAS and took home a Clara.
I am very happy with it, still using the stock strings.
 
My husband would love an ekoa tenor and I am waiting with baited breath for an ekoa concert. Maybe for my birthday, but Christmas for sure if I can swing it.
 
I have the Clara and also the Blackbird tenor on the way from HMS.

I too prefer the tenor scale, since my fingers are less cramped for some chords (eg, D). But the compactness of the concert scale and the durability of the Clara make it the perfect road-ready instrument. After a short period of adjustment, the concert scale is actually perfectly fine for most chords and is in fact a lot more comfortable for me for many barre chords.

That said, the moment a Blackbird tenor ukulele becomes available in Ekoa, I will be buying it. And yes, hopefully, it will be in the traditional figure 8 shape.

But like the others have said on this thread, the Ekoa tenor will likely not materialise for some time. Joe Luttwak has said to me that he would like to concentrate on pushing out the Clara and the Ekoa jumbo guitar (El Capitan) into serious production first.

Don't hesitate to buy the Clara: You'd be part of history among the first to own an instrument in this truly miraculous material that is so light and apparently so hardy and also incredibly resonant. EVERYONE who has played my Clara has gone, "WOW!"

I am a HUGE Blackbird fan. My first was the travel guitar Rider Steel (which I have sold to fund my uke obession). Next came the parlor guitar, the Lucky 13, which I will never part with till the day I die.

Blackbird instruments always seem to have magnificent resonance, incredibly deep tone and huge volume.
 
I have been thinking for a long time about getting a carbon fibre guitar, but thanks to this thread I am going to keep a close eye on this new "El Capitan".
 
Do give the Lucky 13 a chance. It is a wonderful parlor guitar.

I have one guitar - a parlour, 12 fret and a 24inch scale. Keeps it nice a small and my two hands are not too far away from each other as compared to when I'm playing a tenor ukulele. That lucky 13 always looks quite big, are you sure it is a parlour?
 
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Its dimensions are similar to Gibson L1. I would say it's a parlor though people have different definitions of what makes a Parlor a Parlor.
 
I'm also holding out for an Ekoa tenor. I asked Joe at Blackbird about it recently and he said
We are focusing on making Clara concert and the upcoming El Capitan of Ekoa. It is unlikely we will get to retooling for an Ekoa tenor for at least a year.

Ken
 
My concert Clara sounds as warm and full as my KoAloha and Collings tenors, and it projects as well as the KoAloha. Just sayin'
 
My concert Clara sounds as warm and full as my KoAloha and Collings tenors, and it projects as well as the KoAloha. Just sayin'

What strings are you using? Mine, strung with Oasis, (subjectively) sounds bright rather than warm.

High G or low G tuning? I'm playing High G.
 
What strings are you using? Mine, strung with Oasis, (subjectively) sounds bright rather than warm.

Still using the original strings, which I believe are Oasis Low G. At first I thought the Low G string was a bit boomy, but my playing style adjusted. Or, maybe the eKoa has opened up? (Kidding...)
 
Still using the original strings, which I believe are Oasis Low G. At first I thought the Low G string was a bit boomy, but my playing style adjusted. Or, maybe the eKoa has opened up? (Kidding...)

I've been working on a version of that joke too. I'm just not a fan of low G tuning. If I put the low G back on I'll probably cut my Clara time in half.

Next up: Fremont Blackilines
Or more drastically Ko olau Mahana strings.
 
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