AustinHing
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2018
- Messages
- 589
- Reaction score
- 7
I got this rare Baby T-Rex Hands Syndrome (BTRHS), so said the doc. My hands are not even the size of 12 years old’s. Wifey got the long slendery pianist fingers and sometimes do that T-Rex clawing gesture in jest. I accepted it and it is a fact.
In uke term, it means I’m legally binded to soprano ukulele for the rest of my life. I even struggled with concert. I barely made it to stretch across 5 frets between my index to pinky for a concert scale. It’s a PITA.
Recently, I started playing up to the neck, with my S1 and C1K ukes, soprano and concert scale length respectively. Alas! My BTRHS act up again, fingers are too fat and stubby to do a clean note when squeezed together. It’s like wearing some tight jeans and not all of your belly fats can go in nicely. You gotta breath in real hard.
Realising that all I need is a wider pair of jeans, or a bigger size uke, I immediately started my hunt for a tenor. It’s no easy feat. Given my condition of BTRHS, the doc said it’s impossible for me to find that tenor. A tenor that a BTRHS person can play.
Disregarding all advices from the doc, the wifey, even the neighbour next door, I went to many music stores for 2 weeks in a row, to seek for that one tenor. I tried every single tenor that was hanging on the wall. Kala, Ibanez, Fender, ANueNue, KoAloha, Kanile’a and even Kamaka. It was a lost cause.
When I was about to concede to my Baby T-Rex Hands Syndrome, the store assistant handed me something I didn’t had in mind. An odd-looking laminated tenor uke from Enya. EUT-X1C to be specified. Just to be clear, I also wanted a solid uke hence it wasn’t in my radar.
I tried it and found hope. Although it had that laminated kind of voice, but I could do my fretting nice and clean, up to the neck at the 12th! It has a radiused fretboard! My barred chords, all clean and smooth. It just worked. Great but it wasn’t the exactly uke I’m looking for. I know, I’m getting greedy now.
The good store assistant sensed it and immediately pointed out a shipment will be coming in 2 days later. And it has that uke I was looking for.
2 days later, I have in my possession, the Enya EUT-M6E tenor ukulele. It has the same radiused fretboard, nut width at 39mm (at least mine is!). A nice cutaway where my T-Rex hand can be safely put away when fretting beyond the 14th
The uke is all perfect except just 1 thing.. the sustain and projection are not quite at the expected tenor level. It could be the strings (D’Addario Titanium), I don’t know. I intend to change to the Martin fluorocarbon. Will update again once I done so.
Overall, I’m rather pleased with it. Having paid only 385 usd for:
1. very well made fit and finish
2. Radiused fretboard
3. Wide nut width at 39mm
4. Setup done out of box
5. all solid mahogany
6. glossy body with satin neck
7. Inlay everywhere
8. Florentine cutaway
9. Active pickup (not the ugly cut a hole at the side)
10. Strap button at both ends
11. Funky head stock
12. Truss rod in a uke?? That’s crazy.
13. Super thick padded gig bag
Lastly, this uke is totally detachable at the neck. See the pic below for inter swapping with your friends’ Enya ukes headstocks just for fun. Exactly like a Swatch watch!
Thanks for reading this unnecessarily long post.
In uke term, it means I’m legally binded to soprano ukulele for the rest of my life. I even struggled with concert. I barely made it to stretch across 5 frets between my index to pinky for a concert scale. It’s a PITA.
Recently, I started playing up to the neck, with my S1 and C1K ukes, soprano and concert scale length respectively. Alas! My BTRHS act up again, fingers are too fat and stubby to do a clean note when squeezed together. It’s like wearing some tight jeans and not all of your belly fats can go in nicely. You gotta breath in real hard.
Realising that all I need is a wider pair of jeans, or a bigger size uke, I immediately started my hunt for a tenor. It’s no easy feat. Given my condition of BTRHS, the doc said it’s impossible for me to find that tenor. A tenor that a BTRHS person can play.
Disregarding all advices from the doc, the wifey, even the neighbour next door, I went to many music stores for 2 weeks in a row, to seek for that one tenor. I tried every single tenor that was hanging on the wall. Kala, Ibanez, Fender, ANueNue, KoAloha, Kanile’a and even Kamaka. It was a lost cause.
When I was about to concede to my Baby T-Rex Hands Syndrome, the store assistant handed me something I didn’t had in mind. An odd-looking laminated tenor uke from Enya. EUT-X1C to be specified. Just to be clear, I also wanted a solid uke hence it wasn’t in my radar.
I tried it and found hope. Although it had that laminated kind of voice, but I could do my fretting nice and clean, up to the neck at the 12th! It has a radiused fretboard! My barred chords, all clean and smooth. It just worked. Great but it wasn’t the exactly uke I’m looking for. I know, I’m getting greedy now.
The good store assistant sensed it and immediately pointed out a shipment will be coming in 2 days later. And it has that uke I was looking for.
2 days later, I have in my possession, the Enya EUT-M6E tenor ukulele. It has the same radiused fretboard, nut width at 39mm (at least mine is!). A nice cutaway where my T-Rex hand can be safely put away when fretting beyond the 14th
The uke is all perfect except just 1 thing.. the sustain and projection are not quite at the expected tenor level. It could be the strings (D’Addario Titanium), I don’t know. I intend to change to the Martin fluorocarbon. Will update again once I done so.
Overall, I’m rather pleased with it. Having paid only 385 usd for:
1. very well made fit and finish
2. Radiused fretboard
3. Wide nut width at 39mm
4. Setup done out of box
5. all solid mahogany
6. glossy body with satin neck
7. Inlay everywhere
8. Florentine cutaway
9. Active pickup (not the ugly cut a hole at the side)
10. Strap button at both ends
11. Funky head stock
12. Truss rod in a uke?? That’s crazy.
13. Super thick padded gig bag
Lastly, this uke is totally detachable at the neck. See the pic below for inter swapping with your friends’ Enya ukes headstocks just for fun. Exactly like a Swatch watch!
Thanks for reading this unnecessarily long post.