Outdoor Ukulele Soprano

Mr. Sweetie

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I recently purchased a green soprano Outdoor Ukulele from @TobyDog and I gotta say, I am surprised by how good this thing plays and sounds.

First I’d like to give thanks to TobyDog for making the sale so easy.

I am somewhat new to ukulele but I’ve been around music and instruments a while. This is my second plastic uke, the first being a Kala Waterman (the truck uke), which I will review/comment on at a later date.

In full disclosure, I had high expectations for the Outdoor Ukulele and low expectations for the Waterman having had read enough reviews to know basically what to expect. In reality the Outdoor Ukulele was better than I anticipated it would be.

The Outdoor Ukulele arrived almost in tune. That's right from the east coast to the west coast, going through some rather extreme weather conditions, the uke arrived ready to play. The design seems much more rigid and stable than the Waterman and I think this accounts for the majority of the enhanced tuning stability… I also believe that the fluorocarbon strings account for a chunk of it, too. In fact, I am ready to switch all of my uses over. This is my first fluorocarbon uke but I am very impressed with the feel, sound, and tension of these strings.

Overall I would say that the Outdoor Ukulele is everything I hoped it would be and then some. Being able to pick up a very fairly priced used example has allowed me to realize that the retail asking price from the factory is actually a very fair price for a good quality, American made instrument. I plan to purchase others, like the new BLUE units just released this week. <3 So sweet they are.

At the end of the day, if you are looking for a “plastic” uke and are on the fence as to whether you should spend the extra money on an Outdoor Ukulele, I am here to say yeah, you should. If you don’t now, you probably will later. I did.

The fit and feel of this uke is great. It feels good in hand, very comfortable and well balanced. The tone is surprisingly good. It really sings with a nice well rounded tone… this may be the fluorocarbon strings, I don’t know, but it sounds good… not plastic-ie. For me this is a major win. This ukulele has accomplished exactly what it set out to do. I’d give it an A.

I am not a huge fan of typing but I do love reviewing. If you think a video review would add value to what I have offered here, let me know. If what I have left here is missing something that would give it added value, I would love to know that, too.

I hope this helps you decide to buy an Outdoor Ukulele. I am stoked with mine. :D
 
I've got the Tenor (and have had the Soprano before) and agree with your post completely. They're great all-around and well worth the funds, and they're made in Oregon. They're a little on the quiet side, but that's to be expected with plastic ukes. I personally like their low action and chunky neck, which makes barre chords very easy. I may get a Carbon Fiber one if they ever come back in stock.
 
Hello Mr. Sweetie! I'm so glad that you're happy with it. My only complaint was with the actual soprano size - I really prefer a concert sized uke. If OU ever makes a concert, I'll be all over a blue one!
 
Thanks for the review, been thinking about a plastic Outdoor uke, spend alot of time around the water, of course looking at a Waterman also. Not in a rush but if Outdoor Uke makes a concert size I'm likely to buy one a lot faster.....
 
Thanks for the feedback, y'all. I hope to hone my reviewing chops more as we move forward.
I agree, a concert would be super nice. I understand it is not on their short list of future releases, but it is clearly something many people seem to want. It was actually the reason I hadn't gotten one before. After playing around with the Waterman and my tourist-ulele, the soprano size started to grow on me. I wasn't sure it would, but glad it has. :)
 
I have a green soprano, which I just didn't fall in love with the size and I got a brown tenor a couple of days ago. I prefer the tenor over the soprano, but a concert would be a sweet spot for me. I love these instruments for the price, sound and I can have them around the house worry-free.
 
Thanks for the review, Mr. Sweetie! I just ordered myself one in Blue a few days ago!

I did message OU asking about a possible Concert size but they told me that they do not have one in the works :( I'd love to try it in the tenor size at some point. I am very curious if the carbon version will ever come in a different color!
 
I had the same dilemma- I wanted a concert. Heard the tenor was a bit heavy so I went with the soprano, but I couldn't get past the intonation. Lower frets on the C string were very sharp. Thought about getting a replacement, but I figured the way they were made they would all be the same. ?? So I sent them an email, and they were very good about taking it back, I have to say. Didn't charge me the re-stocking fee. I've heard videos of the tenor since then and the intonation seems better on those.
Bought a used Makala shark just because I wanted to give the soprano size a try, but the intonation on that one was REALLY horrible. I didn't want to put much money into a $35 purchase, so I've loaned it to a friend and just bought a used Martin OX. Hoping I like that one!
 
I have a tenor that is a great player and very in tune. I have heard the sopranos can be a bit string particular so you may write them a note and ask recommendations.
 
I can't even take my uke outside to my deck without having to retune it, across coasts is pretty impressive. Thanks for the review
 
I second your review Mr. Sweetie. I have the soprano as well and I think it was better than expected. The OU is definitely the way to go if you're looking for a no worries uke you can take anywhere. My only real complaint is that it isn't as loud as a standard soprano, so if you're playing with others, you may get drowned out. But otherwise, it's pretty great. Enjoy!!
 
They say that the carbon model has more volume. Has anyone had the opportunity to try one? I have not heard any clips or seen any reviews of a carbon soprano. I am intrigued by these.
 
It has been mentioned in the thread that the soprano version of these has some intonation issues. Is this common among other OU soprano owners/players? I would think with the OU molded design that they would come out rather consistent - and the fact that OU did their testing that these would come out spot on every time. Perhaps it's a strings issue?
 
I have the original soprano, and a Moonshine soprano, and two tenors... All are intonating well and a joy to carry and play... The original soprano not as nice as version two...
 
It has been mentioned in the thread that the soprano version of these has some intonation issues. Is this common among other OU soprano owners/players? I would think with the OU molded design that they would come out rather consistent - and the fact that OU did their testing that these would come out spot on every time. Perhaps it's a strings issue?

This post bothers me—not because of the question, but the impact of a single post in the thread that said the intonation was so bad up the neck that they had to return it. I just sat down with my Outpor Soprano...2nd generation...and played up the neck. I am running on Martin M600 strings and just played all the frets with a tuner up the neck. I noticed two things. First, the harder I press beyond what the fret needs, the more a note goes out of tune. Second, the instrument does go sharp on the C and E strings on the 10th, 11th, and 12th frets. Not to another note, but sharp. These are also the thicker strings that likely react more in pitch as I press down—and I may not be able to press down light enough to keep tune.

I can play harmonics on the 12th, 7th, and 5th frets (it’s a little tricky on the 5th). I then tested my Martin S1, which performed about the same in intonation (not sound) as the Outdoor.

I’m not saying you have to like the sound, look, or feel of an Outdoor Ukulele...but to say that it plays out of tune is either a reflection on someone’s death grip playing style (myself included, apparently) or just a failure to understand the intonation issues on every string instrument—which is highlighted even more on a small scale ukulele.

In summary...there are plenty of reasons to not like Outdoor Ukulele. Intonation isn’t one of them.

P.S. Try my experiment with your ukulele(s) and see what happens. You’ll either find that your ukuleles act the same as my Outdoor Ukulele and Martin S1, or you will find that they are much less accurate to pitch as you thought they were! I used a D’Addario Micro clip-on for my experiments.
 
Thanks for the confirmation on the OU intonation! This is what I figured as well. I suspected that if they were that bad out of intonation that they wouldn't be selling as well as they are - or the company would be trying to correct it. Surely, just about any fretted instrument can be played out of tune based on one's playing technique - be it ukulele, guitar, dulcimer, etc... IMHO and playing experience, soprano scale takes more finesse as to play cleanly due to the tighter fret spacing. Whereas with wider fret spacing such as guitar, you have more "wiggle room". Though the best place to fret is just behind the fret, with guitar if you're a off a bit you may still get acceptable results.

Nonetheless, and to get back to the thread, I surely see a soprano OU in my very near future :)
 
Seems that I read somewhere that the "intonation issue" was primarily with the FIRST generation soprano OU which had frets that were high (tall), and therefore subject to going sharp if pressed too firmly. The new OU has had the neck, frets and headstock redesigned. All reviews i has seen on the new OU have been very positive.
 
Just wanted to let you know this thread pushed me over the edge, I ordered a moonshine soprano yesterday. Hoping it arrives before I head to North Country Fair at the end of the month :D
 
Just wanted to let you know this thread pushed me over the edge, I ordered a moonshine soprano yesterday. Hoping it arrives before I head to North Country Fair at the end of the month :D

Nice, hope you love it. I bet you'll be popular at the Fair, as the clear Outdoor ukes are very unique, and you'll probably get a lot of questions about it.

I had a black Outdoor v1 soprano. The intonation was fine, unless you pressed too hard. Later had a green tenor, intonation on that one was fine, and gorilla grip was not an issue, as they had redesigned the fret height by then. I wanna try the new carbon series, but am torn between soprano or tenor.
 
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