GinnyT11
Well-known member
When I was recently in Germany, I went to a music store that carried ukuleles. There I found a Leho thin-bodied soprano. It seemed tiny because it was featherweight and only about an inch and a half at its thickest point, but it boomed out because of its arched back. It projected a full, rich and loud sound well beyond any thin-bodied uke I’d tried previously.
It was gorgeous, with a cedar top, spalted-maple back and sides, and nitro-finish gloss. It had nice details like b/w/b purfling and deep binding. Leho means seashell in Hawaiian, thus the shell on the rosette, heel and 10th fret marker. After confirming it had low action, good intonation, and really smooth fret ends, I bought it to be my travel uke. It came home in my suitcase, wrapped in t-shirts.
I’ve owned and sold a number of sopranos under $250, but I’ve never had one with such a feeling of quality as this Chinese-made Leho. It looks and sounds wonderful—it's an absolute charmer.
Here’s Kimo Hussey playing a Leho tenor and talking about the brand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYj0auNADCs
Specs
soundboard: solid cedar
back/sides: laminated spalted maple
neck: nato
fretboard: rosewood
nut: 1-3/8” Nubone
weight: just under 11 oz.
back-to-front depth:
at upper bout: 1-3/16"
at lower bout: 1-3/8”
at bottom join: 1-9/16"
here’s a sound sample with Southcoast soft light medium strings
https://app.box.com/s/aw9ywxy9wv8ioc6mklwpjpyh2a7gq5z4
It was gorgeous, with a cedar top, spalted-maple back and sides, and nitro-finish gloss. It had nice details like b/w/b purfling and deep binding. Leho means seashell in Hawaiian, thus the shell on the rosette, heel and 10th fret marker. After confirming it had low action, good intonation, and really smooth fret ends, I bought it to be my travel uke. It came home in my suitcase, wrapped in t-shirts.
I’ve owned and sold a number of sopranos under $250, but I’ve never had one with such a feeling of quality as this Chinese-made Leho. It looks and sounds wonderful—it's an absolute charmer.
Here’s Kimo Hussey playing a Leho tenor and talking about the brand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYj0auNADCs
Specs
soundboard: solid cedar
back/sides: laminated spalted maple
neck: nato
fretboard: rosewood
nut: 1-3/8” Nubone
weight: just under 11 oz.
back-to-front depth:
at upper bout: 1-3/16"
at lower bout: 1-3/8”
at bottom join: 1-9/16"
here’s a sound sample with Southcoast soft light medium strings
https://app.box.com/s/aw9ywxy9wv8ioc6mklwpjpyh2a7gq5z4
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