Blackbird Factory Visit

ghostrdr

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I'm up in SF for some training and dropped by Blackbird Guitars and met the legendary Joe Luttwak.

What a great guy. Super salt of the earth type of guy. It's pretty rainy in SF, and they had some inventory on hand. They let me play a bunch of Farallon and Clara ukes. Joe hooked me up with Ross who answered all my questions and was really cool.

My conclusions for me, the radius fretboard is nice, but I think I'm good radius or non-radius. The sunburst is really nice. Looks gorgeous. The tone is a little different than the non-sunburst. I want to say the tone is a little more rich, or you could think of it as the non-sunburst is a little more punchy. The sunburst is a little thicker finish and Joe said that it is probably a little more what I'm used to hearing as most ukes have a thicker finish on them.

The side port does make the bass tones louder for the player. It's pretty cool! It's not a huge difference, but it is different. I feel like Blackbird has got it dialed in on what works for them and their instruments. Ross does the setups and it was really comfortable to play and the action was great.

I guess now, I have to go buy one... Fortunately, it looks like they have some inventory now, so hopefully, I'll be able to find one... Time to start saving...

(I know, if there are no pictures, it didn't happen).

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Very cool!

Thanks for sharing your experience on your visit :)
 
Wow, so cool that you got to check in on the Blackbird Factory, thanks for telling us about it.
 
I really wanted to check out the difference between the side sound port and regular and ask some questions about the finish. Apparently the back and sides are crazy strong. The side sound port is pretty neat. I feel like when you are shopping for a new TV, when they are all lined up next to each other, you can tell small differences, but you only take one home and the one you take home becomes the only one you see.

Same here, I think these differences, side sound port, radius, non-radius, etc. are different, but they are not huge life-changing differences, in case anyone else was wondering.
 
Thanks for sharing that it was an enjoyable, informative read. I am really interested in your comment about the tone difference between sunburst and natural finish. If someone would have made that statement without playing them I would be very doubtful. But you played them and Joe suggested the finish thickness as having influence on the tone so that is good enough for me.

I owned a natural finish with radius and sound port. It never sounded rich enough (using your word) for me when strummed. Finger picked it was brilliant but strummed it always sounded a bit, harsh brash or sterile compared to wood. Can you expand upon the tonal differences, is the sunburst more wood like when strummed. Thanks........this could end up costing me money, :p
 
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the difference is not enormous. only if you play them side by side would you probably notice. Tone is such a personal thing. Joe said that since we are used to playing instruments that have a finish on the soundboard, the sunburst finish probably has a more familiar wood like sound. The non sunburst top does not have another finish layer on it. Also, I think they have now dialed in the strings that they suggest. I think the bigger difference on the sound was the side port. When strummed, the side port vs. non side port was a bigger difference maker than the sunburst vs. natural finish. Finger picked the side port was fantastic and really loud - it was weird having that "monitor" like effect. Strummed, I preferred the non side-port, because it sounded a bit more balanced to me but that could be because all of my ukuleles do not have a side port and that sound is more familiar.

I have to say, in any of the versions, to my ear the strummed sounded great. I hope this helps. Good luck!

I do think it is like comparing TVs in the store. When they are side by side, you can tell one is slightly brighter, or clearer, but when you take the one home, you probably won't notice too much of a difference. I'm not sure if you had the natural finish one, the difference would be so great that you would like the sunburst one if you didn't like the natural finish one.

Oh, one last point. Ross was sitting across from me hearing me playing the different instruments, and to him, side port or non-side port he couldn't really hear a difference, so it I think the side port only changes the tone for the player. Weird, right?

Thanks for sharing that it was an enjoyable, informative read. I am really interested in your comment about the tone difference between sunburst and natural finish. If someone would have made that statement without playing them I would be very doubtful. But you played them and Joe suggested the finish thickness as having influence on the tone so that is good enough for me.

I owned a natural finish with radius and sound port. It never sounded rich enough (using your word) for me when strummed. Finger picked it was brilliant but strummed it always sounded a bit, harsh brash or sterile compared to wood. Can you expand upon the tonal differences, is the sunburst more wood like when strummed. Thanks........this could end up costing me money, :p
 
I tried the sunburst Farallon from HMS about a year ago and returned it. And I regret that in some ways. It sounded amazing, made even my playing sound better. Someone actually gasped when I strummed it for the first time in a group setting. The sunburst was beautiful compared to my non sunburst Clara. But at the time I could not justify the cost and I was concerned about the thick D neck. Now that I’ve been playing baritone I think the neck thickness will not be a problem for me. And I am kind of glad I can repurchase one with a sound port—the one I tried didn’t have one. And the head stock is now finished to match the sunburst so it doesn’t stand out aesthetically. Regarding the soundport, there does seem to be a difference in what you hear as a player vs the listener and I am curious about the soundport experience.

Meanwhile, I plan on buying a Sunburst Farallon in 2020 for my 60th. The only thing I have to decide is radius or not. It seems I prefer a slight radius like the one on a Pono Baritone. Would love to visit Blackbird and compare for that reason.
 
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I recently stopped by Blackbird myself, and I thought I'd give my comments from a beginner uke player.

First off, the "natural" finish looked a lot better in real life than I had seen it in pictures.

The differences to me (as a beginner) between regular and radiused fretboard or between no side sound port and sound port or between regular and gloss finish are subtle. That means that I think that a basic farallon without any options is a good instrument. If you are on a tight budget, then choosing to skip options won't leave you feeling like you were getting a lesser instrument.

Since I play mostly for myself, the additional sound directed at me from the side sound port enhanced my experience of playing, so it's likely an option I would get.

The radiused fretboard just felt nice. The regular one didn't feel bad, the radius just felt a bit better. Again, it's an option I'd likely get (especially since I've had wrist issues in the past).

The hard decision for me is whether to spring for the gloss finish. It is a lot more expensive as an option than either the radius fretboard or the side sound port, but it seems like you really get three different things with the gloss finish:

* the tone is supposedly a bit warmer and a bit more like wood. My beginner ear wasn't good enough to really notice a difference.

* the gloss finish is beautiful and I smiled when looking at it. A beautiful instrument doesn't play/sound better, but having beautiful things around me makes me happy.

* the gloss finish makes the Farallon look more like a "normal" ukulele. If you don't want people mentioning the kind of weird wood your ukulele is made of, then gloss finish would have some advantage. If you don't want people to start with a negative impression of your playing when they first see the ukulele (because it looks different than what they expect), then the gloss finish definitely has an advantage. If you want to make a statement that you are playing something different than the norm, then the "natural" finish would be a better choice.

I honestly don't know whether I would choose the gloss or natural finish. I love the look (although the "natural" finish looks good, too, just different). Part of me likes the notion of really making it clear that there are different choices for a ukulele than the standard Koa/Spruce/Mahogany. It might come down to just saving a few buck.

Since I just started playing the ukulele, I need to stick with my beginner uke for a few more months to make sure that this is really a hobby I'm going to want to do for years before I spring for a good ukulele. So, I've got a little time before I have to make my decision.
 
Agree that Joe Luttwak is a salt of the earth kind of guy. I visited the factory in 2016 which was the first time I met Joe. I was a nobody but yet he still remembered my name when I bumped into him the following year. This impressed most about him.
 
I own all three Blackbird models except the sunburst.
I like them all. They are maintenance free and great for finger pickings. Clara is my favourite only because that's my only concert size uke.
I hope they don't come up with new model any time soon. I probably can't resist the temptation :D
Thank you for the story. Next time I go to San Francisco, I must pay Joe a visit. He is a great guy.
 
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