Rosen "carbon fiber" concert

Plastic frets will wear down. If you want a plastic ukulele, at least look for one with metal frets.
 
The Donner gig bag looks nicer. I guess there will be a rash of these for Christmas, some probably quite cheap. I hope the rational part of my brain is able to override the gimme gimme it’s orange part.
 
if I can't see the Carbon Fiber weave I'll think it's a CF/Polycarbonate mix.
Still OK, but not fully Carbon Fiber... to me.

I have a full CF Synergy Instruments Concert and a Carbonado full CF Concert as well
as a CF/eKoa Hybrid Concert (Synergy). To me, these are ukuleles constructed using
full CF fabric (and linen eKoa) and not mostly Polycarbonate.

I also have several Outdoor Ukuleles made of Polycarbonate and a Poly/CF models.

These newer "Carbon Fiber" models are probably well-made and seem to sound pretty
good to me :) I just wish they were more transparent about their actual construction
materials.

keep uke'in',
 
It is somewhat entertaining to peruse the Amazon listing for the Rosen and the Donner. It is reasonably obvious that they will be competing against each other with some very similar ukuleles (likely made at the same factory). I would personally get an Enya because they have proven themselves to be responsive to issues and provide free replacement strings (for life?). For example, they came out with the tenor with metal frets.

A few things that amused me:

The Donner lists as "One piece carbon fiber design". Then they show that the uke consists of a front half and a back half that they must glue together.
The only fret marker is one on the 12th fret of the Donner. But you get do-it-yourself stickers for the Rosen. No side markers on either.
The Rosen answers a question saying that you should not use a metal wound low G, but can use Aquila Reds instead. The Aquila Reds are specifically discouraged by Enya due to their metal content and potential fret wear.
One user says the strap the Rosen provides does not fit their strap pegs. (!o!)
The Rosen response to "the fret stickers are stupid" is "thank you for your question (another lol).
And the Rosen is different from the Enya "such as exterior, stings (sic), accessories, and so on.
(There are no questions or feedback on the Donner yet)
 
I only really like reviews by UU members and Got a Uke (Baz is also a member) The review by the internet influencersare just that…….freebee ukuleles to people to help them sell product!

I expect we will see a lot more of these hitting the market. Metal frets would be a must for me. I don’t mind the look of Enya, Donner and the other one…..but sound is king.

For my Fluke , I wished I had gotten the wooden fretboard back in the day. I know it’s wood, laminate and polycarbonate……. I wish it sounded better. I think on all these plastic ukes I’d still go a good solid top/ laminate and take my chances outdoors. To me the real solution is Blackbird or true carbon or EKOA ukes. I do like the Sacco which is even more boutique but prices really well.

I did play the outdoorsmen tenor once in a store and it was OK. but…….YMMV
 
ok, I just ordered the donner....it will likely go right back to amazon, but my curiosity got the best of me. plus, there is a 25% off coupon right now.
 
Well the donner arrived yesterday, the day after I ordered it. I must say, it might be a keeper! And it has side markers. More to come...
 
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I'm kinda curious. The listing on Amazon is amusing. In the title it's listed as a professional "ukalalee". Is that a name or something? Ukulele is spelled correctly earlier in the title.
 
I guess these are just copies of the Enya version - with slight modifications to the mold to make them look different.
Here's what looks like a copy of the Enya soprano: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QZJPKD8/?th=1

I have both the Enya soprano and concert sizes and am pretty happy with them as beater ukes. I also like that the soprano scale length is an inch longer than normal so it's a tad easier on my fat fingers. These ukes are the ones I give out when my friend's kids want to have a play. For kids they are a great buy - very robust but sound good enough. And the fret wear is a non-issue if you use polycarbonate strings. Yes, you'll get fret wear if you use metal wound strings - so don't!

They should be a lot cheaper though - I think half the cost is in the packaging, tuner, strap, case etc.
 
M3Ukulele said:
I only really like reviews by UU members and Got a Uke (Baz is also a member) The review by the internet influencersare just that…….freebee ukuleles to people to help them sell product!

I expect we will see a lot more of these hitting the market. Metal frets would be a must for me. I don’t mind the look of Enya, Donner and the other one…..but sound is king.

For my Fluke , I wished I had gotten the wooden fretboard back in the day. I know it’s wood, laminate and polycarbonate……. I wish it sounded better. I think on all these plastic ukes I’d still go a good solid top/ laminate and take my chances outdoors. To me the real solution is Blackbird or true carbon or EKOA ukes. I do like the Sacco which is even more boutique but prices really well.

I did play the outdoorsmen tenor once in a store and it was OK. but…….YMMV
Click to expand...
I have a review of the Rosen coming soon - and bought it myself - not a freebie!
 
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