Tiny Tenor

I own a spruce/mahogany laminate myself and I do think it is an outstanding instrument. It struck me as a real canon the moment I tried it. I mainly did so out of curiosity and because I wanted to know what all the fuzz about the TTs is all about. In fact, it struck me in a way, I couldn‘t leave it in the shop. And I could try it in comparison to a number of different insitruments, although admittedly, those were mostly low to lower mid-price instruments. But even back home, when I could compare it to my other tenors (Kala, Fluke) and at different meetings, I noticed many times, how outstanding it actually sounds.

However, I do indeed remember, that the TT Mahogany in the same shop didn‘t struck me as much as the spruce/Mahogany laminate model. I did and still do blame this on the huge price difference, though. This difference (about 350€) kept me from playing it as much as the laminate model, because I knew very well that 750 bucks was way beyond my budget. I mostly played the laminate along with a range of other ukes, and I kept coming back to this one, and I still do until today. That was about a year back

Changing the strings, however, did indeed feel strange in the beginning. However, the Pepe Romero strings didn‘t give me any trouble so far. No need for beads so far, but it‘s good to have this solution at hand in case of any future troubles.

Oh, and of course, I feel the Romero instruments absolutely require a low g string, for sure. Basically, because they were designed for that purpose. And I feel, they show their strength the most with a low g string. And I should add, that mostly I am not a big fan of the low g thing. But with this uke, I certainly am. And that also hails for the XS Soprano, which I bought in the laminate version a few months back. Same thing here. Great instruments, works best with low g.

I have the all-mahogany TT that Jerry sold. (Thanks again, Jerry!) I bought it mainly because it was the size of a concert uke while still being a tenor, thinking with future traveling in mind. But I think it's a fine little instrument in its own right. Very resonant, responsive and sensitive. Intonation is spot-on. I don't think Jerry had it for all that long, because it was, and still is, in mint condition.

The strings that were installed on it had little metal balls tied onto them, rather like those you find on ball-end guitar strings. I noticed this when I changed the strings to others for fifths tuning. Even though its lowest string is now down to a C, like my viola, the deceptively small body is still big enough for it to sound in right balance with the others. I like the idea and the clean look of through-the-body stringing. Putting the ball on is an extra step, but I don't change strings that often.

The only thing I'd change about this uke would be to make the neck a little narrower. It's the widest necked uke I have, and I need to really flatten my fingers excessively just to be able to cover two strings. Oh, and I also wish it had just one more fret, as there are a couple pieces I play that require 17. But all in all, I love the Tiny Tenor.

bratsche

Another thing about the TT. Whether it is a laminate top or solid top, all the TTs are built with Pepe's unique fan bracing. And that I believe is what gives his ukes such great resonance and sensitivity.

I got my (solid mahogany, spruce top) TT mainly because I wanted a tenor for low g, and hadn't been comfortable with the larger size body of a tenor. Although I now am OK with a regular tenor body, I've played only two that I thought sounded somewhat better--a Kanilea and a solid koa Kiwaya. I tried the laminate soprano version and it was almost as if it was from a different builder. The neck was a V shape, and--it had issues.

I love the neck on the TT, and the build is superb. Meticulous, light, easy to play. In my desire to try new ukes, I've occasionally thought of selling this one, but I will always want a low g tenor around, and I don't think I'd be able to afford anything I like more. Even if I could afford that Kanilea, I think after I owned it, I might still like the TT more, if only for how comfortable it is to play. So it's probably staying with me for the long haul.

Ziret said:

[…] I tried the laminate soprano version and it was almost as if it was from a different builder. The neck was a V shape, and--it had issues.

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From what I understand, the laminate models (with a solid Spruce top) are in fact from a different factory altogether. The all solid models are made in Vietnam (by Ayers, as far as I know), whereas the laminate models are produced in China. I read that Pepe had some issues with the Chinese factory and has been working on fixing them. He just announced on his Instagram channel that he has received a new batch right in time for Christmas, so it looks like he's got it figured out, and I guess we are going to see them available in stores soon.

You're observation about the V shaped neck is also very interesting to me. I have the all solid XS model, and the only thing that I'd criticize about it is the V shaped neck. People who have owned the Tiny Tenor never mentioned this peculiar neck shape or called it round so I'm assuming the V neck might be specific to the XS model (rather than to the laminate line).

Rakelele said:

From what I understand, the laminate models (with a solid Spruce top) are in fact from a different factory altogether. The all solid models are made in Vietnam (by Ayers, as far as I know), whereas the laminate models are produced in China. I read that Pepe had some issues with the Chinese factory and has been working on fixing them. He just announced on his Instagram channel that he has received a new batch right in time for Christmas, so it looks like he's got it figured out, and I guess we are going to see them available in stores soon.

You're observation about the V shaped neck is also very interesting to me. I have the all solid XS model, and the only thing that I'd criticize about it is the V shaped neck. People who have owned the Tiny Tenor never mentioned this peculiar neck shape or called it round so I'm assuming the V neck might be specific to the XS model (rather than to the laminate line).

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That's good to know about the sopranos. My tenor has a thin neck, I guess it's C shaped, or D, I'm not clear what the difference between those is. Sad I won't ever be able to own the soprano, i dislike the V.