Martin Iz tenor

Maiden Uke

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Wonder if anyone has gotten or played one of the Martin Iz tenors yet? Would love to have some feedback on it
 
i think the delivery date on these is sometime in december, at least the next batch. from comments i've heard from the few people that have played it at shows etc. say it sounds pretty good.
 
Hi I played one of these last month at Sus in the UK, I was impressed with the build quality and it sounded good too, I have to say I am also a big fan of IZ,
but when compared to some other tenors costing almost half the price it just didn't stack up for me, and as is often discussed on UU instruments vary such a lot even same make same model all I can say is play one as we are all different as well, I was hoping it would blow me away but it just didn't.
I am sure martin fans will love it and maybe it will become highly prized in years to come,
all the best.
 
Personally, I see it as Martin just trying to cash in on Iz's name. He's dead, can't endorse anything and might even be appalled by it.

Not saying it's not a good instrument, just that I don't put a lot of credibility in celebrity endorsements, especially when they're not alive to actually even endorse it.
 


I thought it was to have side gear tuners, but it has back geared (friction type) in this video.
 
The 1T IZ comes with pegheds. It's the first Martin uke to do so. I was at the factory back in April and while trying out several other Martin ukuleles they brought out 1T IZ #2 for me to play. It was not for sale and it was a lovely instrument. I now own a 2K Tenor in memoriam of my father who died in March.
 


I thought it was to have side gear tuners, but it has back geared (friction type) in this video.


It grinds my gears how makers sometimes miss significant details like this on celebrity endorsed instruments.
Another example is Kamaka's uberly expensive Jake Shimabukuro tenors. What was supposed to be a close clone to Jake's actual uke.. and they didn't put the slotted headstock on it. I don't know, it just burns my curiosity of why? Because only Jake can have the one version of his uke with slotted headstock? >_<

And ugh, that video... they couldn't pay enough respect to spend the time to pronounce his name properly, or name a single song other than "Somewhere over the rainbow". He was just some guy who went viral on the internet to them?
 
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I have one coming in Dec. I am happy to get a commerative that honors IZ.
 
I saw one at PuaPua in Waikiki....it looked nice.but to much noise there... I could not hear myself strumming it
they have a large selection of Martin ukes there
 
And ugh, that video... they couldn't pay enough respect to spend the time to pronounce his name properly, or name a single song other than "Somewhere over the rainbow". He was just some guy who went viral on the internet to them?

I can't pronounce his name either. Download the pdf brochure. http://www.martinguitar.com/catalogs/IZ 1T Tenor Ukulele.pdf They talk about his musical history. Everyone knows OTR/Wonderful World song because it became an international hit, and the Album "Facing Future went Platinum selling 1 million copies in 1995. This Album came out 10 years before YouTube was created. So yes it "went viral", but way after it had already "went platinum"
 
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Within Martin, it's known as the "1BEM" Model.
 
I purchased a Kamaka Tenor in July and also took the tour. We saw one of the unfinished Jake models during the tour. Later on while I was placing my order for my tenor I asked why the Jake model didn't have the slotted head stock. I was told that it was very expensive to produce.
 
I purchased a Kamaka Tenor in July and also took the tour. We saw one of the unfinished Jake models during the tour. Later on while I was placing my order for my tenor I asked why the Jake model didn't have the slotted head stock. I was told that it was very expensive to produce.

I find that kind of baffling. For one, you would expect that on a high-end custom uke that originally retailed at over $5000, and now re-sells at the $10 000 mark, simply having a slotted headstock would not be an expense to be spared. At such a high-end price range for a uke that is dedicated to be a clone of the original instrument played by the celebrity... why make such a huge compromise and get it wrong?

And the second thing that baffles me is why slotted headstock is considered such a premium in the ukulele world.
Are slotted headstocks really that expensive to produce? Yet you see slotted headstocks on the cheapest of classical guitars, and some inexpensive Lanikai and Kala instruments..
 
I find that kind of baffling. For one, you would expect that on a high-end custom uke that originally retailed at over $5000, and now re-sells at the $10 000 mark, simply having a slotted headstock would not be an expense to be spared. At such a high-end price range for a uke that is dedicated to be a clone of the original instrument played by the celebrity... why make such a huge compromise and get it wrong?

And the second thing that baffles me is why slotted headstock is considered such a premium in the ukulele world.
Are slotted headstocks really that expensive to produce? Yet you see slotted headstocks on the cheapest of classical guitars, and some inexpensive Lanikai and Kala instruments..

I agree. Slotted headstocks are cool because Jake plays a uke with one - and he is the coolest player on earth. Kamaka limiting their slotted head stock model to only their greatest players makes them more valuable to their fan base. So Kamaka probably has this pent up demand they are not meeting but if they tooled up for slotted headstocks (I'm sure easier said then done) I bet they would sell quite a lot of them.
 
I agree. Slotted headstocks are cool because Jake plays a uke with one - and he is the coolest player on earth. Kamaka limiting their slotted head stock model to only their greatest players makes them more valuable to their fan base. So Kamaka probably has this pent up demand they are not meeting but if they tooled up for slotted headstocks (I'm sure easier said then done) I bet they would sell quite a lot of them.


Kamaka's sell before they reach the stores out here....they have none left at the factory as soon as they build them every month...I am pretty sure they could do what you want...but they don't want to do it now....

they have been in business for almost 100 years and seem to be doing fine...without a slotted headstock

just my 2 cents
 
It's nice that Kamaka is still family owned and operated and they can do what they want. But they are doing just fine with a slotted-headstock for their celebrity players.
 
It's nice that Kamaka is still family owned and operated and they can do what they want. But they are doing just fine with a slotted-headstock for their celebrity players.



so what is your point...
 
It's nice that Kamaka is still family owned and operated and they can do what they want. But they are doing just fine with a slotted-headstock for their celebrity players.

It would be my guess that if they did a sales model with a slotted head stock, they would have to get equipment to do it. Jake's actual uke is 100% hand made, I'm sure, including the headstock, and I'll bet a slotted one is a huge time drain over a regular headstock (hand made), which I'll also bet the sale's Jake models are as well.

That being said, if they started making slotted headstocks for any sales model whatsoever, they would open themselves up to making other models with slotted headstocks. If they didn't, it might tick off some of the customer base because they would want those types of headstocks, even on customs or semi-customs.

They already have such a hard time keeping up with just regular customer demand, they don't need anymore drain on their resources. Some folks might say "Expand the operation to compensate". Easier said than done. There just isn't room to do that in this day and age. Land there is at such a premium, it would necessitate buying land elsewhere and building a larger factory.

And so on, and so on.....

I know I'm being a little extraneous. But my thinking lies here... the Kamaka clan are very likely satisified with what they have and don't want to expand. And believe it or not, little things like that add up to where they would have to.


BTW, NewKid, this is necessarily in response to your post, yours was just there and convenient. ;)
 
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