Congrats on your purchase. I now have purchased 52 Caramels, although only one is a personal instrument. I have a Sopranino of my own, which has become incredibly valuable as I create classical ukulele lead sheets and as I have started making some ukulele play-along videos in the style of Dr. Jill Reese, Dr. A, and now Kevin Way. It is handy to have a small, quiet ukulele on hand to play things through.
So...40 zebrawood concerts, 10 zebrawood tenors. And one solid top acacia that was a fundraising reward.
The Caramels are doing great in a dry school environment. If I were to buy more, I wouldn't adjust saddles until the instruments had "dried out" in our environment. Instruments set at 2.65mm at the 12th fret upon arrival have ended up drying out to have lower action than that. Some have become a little buzzy, and I have replaced a couple of the saddles with replacement saddles (thank you, eBay) to return some of the height. I also end up dealing with sharp fret ends (they don't arrive that way any more) as the fretboards dry out.
But it is important to note that these are only $37 and $40 instruments.
Of all my Caramels, I have been most surprised by the construction of the Sopranino. When you buy a Caramel, you are NOT buying a Kala, Ohana, or other well-built name-brand ukulele. You are buying a inexpensive entry level ukulele that is incredibly well-built for the price--and I would say a better investment for a first ukulele than any other brand. I don't have any problem with a person buying another beginner ukulele (a Dolphin, for example), but even a Dolphin tends to be a $50 soprano ukulele. And as we all know, if the ukulele "hooks" you, your first ukulele will only be your first!
I know Barry Maz (gotaukulele.com) has a Caramel that he is reviewing. I am interested to see what he will say. I'm expecting him to say that it is an incredible instrument for the price, as well as to comment on looks (Zebrawood is a take-it-or-leave it look for many people) inexpensive (cheap) but useable tuners, and decent sound for a laminate. But I also expect him to say something to the effect of, "It isn't a K-Brand ukulele, but it costs 3% to 4% of the cost of a K-Brand ukulele*, and doesn't play like 3% to 4% of a K-Brand, so it is a pretty interesting choice." I'm curious if he will recommend it or not.
*I am using the $40 price versus a $1200 K-Brand, which might actually be too little for a K-Brand.
