Romero Creations Tiny Tenor "Affordable" (~$269) Version - Review

would you pls check the nut width for me??

35mm???

Mine is one of the solid Mango versions, it is 35mm at the nut.

My experience with an "affordable" tiny tenor.

Please allow my to express my (strictly personal) opinion (and excuse my english) about the "affordable version".
This uked is offered in Germany for about 400€ (currently 465$), including a form case (it's size contradicts the "tiny" which inspirated the form of the uke). I think this is a lot of money for a laminated body instrument.
This one came with a (La Bella) Low G. The finish (as described in the original review below) is flawed or rather carelessly executed.
The frets are sharp-edged, this and other flaws may be caused by the circumstance that my instrument saw no final setup.
Intonation... well, is in need of improvement and (also said in the review below) this instrument has a lot of deadspots.
The sound has no special character, perhaps it's better with a high G?
Body form: You better should use this one with a strap because it's difficult to set it to knee or leg.
In short: I sold this Uke to someone who hopefully falls more in love with this uke than I was able to.

Btw: I bought (for more or less the same prize) a pono mango tenor, which has a quality that is by far above the "tiny tenor").

We are somewhat luckier in Canada. I was able to land one for about $330 plus freight with exchange. US to Canada has gotten worse lately. I bought at HMS and they did a good job on set up. Intonation is good. Fit and finish is good. I requested and got a Walnut fret board , bridge etc and it is very nice. I guess I got lucky. I did get a set of files and did some touch up. Even with a bound fret board, I knocked off some edges that were bothering me. That said, now it play and feels great. Lots of character. I would ditch the Labella string. I have used Romero strings, Martin tenor string and currently have Oasis warm on my and they all sound great with lots of character. All are fluorocarbon.

Agreed on the Pono Mango. Higher quality , all solid instrument. I have a Pono AT and Pono MTD-SP which are better but I still like my solid top TT. Early on , with my first Pono, I found it LIKED fluorocarbon strings and sounded horrible with nylon, or nylgut strings. Change your string to Flurocarbon,.

I will buy a all solid TT at some point because I like the form factor. Nice and easy to carry and play anywhere. I got my TT solid top to replace a FLUKE tenor and like it much much better. Its been on 4 trips already and I've play in on beaches, in campgrounds, in airports. Very versatile.

My .02 cents worth. YMMV

I have one, and really like it. Mine is strung with the low G, and it really is great for playing ballads.

I just bought a solid mahogany TT with gloss finish. The label says all solid wood and made in Vietnam...Comes with the deluxe case...Very impressed. Its my first Tenor and with the low G so some adjustment is required. A
I hadn’t realized there is the cheaper version available. Not sure what I have. I’ll try and post a picture

D18picker said:

I just bought a solid mahogany TT with gloss finish. The label says all solid wood and made in Vietnam...Comes with the deluxe case...Very impressed. Its my first Tenor and with the low G so some adjustment is required. A
I hadn’t realized there is the cheaper version available. Not sure what I have. I’ll try and post a picture

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Congratulations to your new acquisition. From your description (all mahogany including the top, all solid, gloss finish, made in Vietnam), it is clear that yours is from the "regular" or more costly line, as the cheaper version has a Spruce top, laminate back and sides, and is made in China.

Thanks Rakelele.

I had the solid version and it was as well made as any uke I've had, just gorgeous and sounded great, played easy. So I ordered one of the laminate sopranos. It was so awful I sent it back. I think the laminate version had quality control issues, but it was also obviously a lesser instrument, as reflected by the price. (It's rotten how much all of them cost in Europe, but your consolation is, you get to live in Europe!)

If you got a laminate version that's well made, you undoubtedly have a sweet uke. The solid version may not be for everyone, nothing is, but they are beautiful.

Rakelele said:

it is clear that yours is from the "regular" or more costly line, as the cheaper version has a Spruce top, laminate back and sides, and is made in China.

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Pretty sure all Romero’s production ukes are made in Vietnam...

neo1022 said:

Pretty sure all Romero’s production ukes are made in Vietnam...

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What makes you sure? I remember that when the affordable version was first introduced at NAMM a couple of years ago, Pepe mentioned in an interview that these were made in China (whereas the all solid gloss models were made by Ayers in Vietnam). Later I heard that they have run into some quality control issues with the ones made in China, so they may have switched production places.

A close friend of Pepe's -- and someone who is in their direct supply line -- told me this. He could be wrong, of course, but from the very beginning I've heard from Pepe (in interviews) that these were being made in Vietnam precisely because the quality in the Chinese factories was inadequate for their standards. A text to Pepe would surely answer the question definitively, if he's willing to share...