Romero Creations ST Concert laminate (Solid Spruce top /Mahogany laminate body)

neo1022

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 7, 2016
Messages
89
Reaction score
0
Location
Sydney, Australia and Los Angeles, CA
Finally got ahold of a Romero Creations ST Concert ukulele, aka the STC. This is the “budget” model with sitka spruce top, and mahogany laminate sides and back). As someone who loves the Tiny Tenor, I was excited to try out this new, smaller version.

A few words about the uke, for those who don’t know. The ST Concert is a really interesting hybrid instrument. It melds a tenor bout "paddle" body and a full 15”concert scale, but the overall size of the instrument is a soprano. Basically, it’s a concert uke with the overall size of a soprano, but with a full tenor body. Perfect for travel.

As for the sound, as far as I can tell, it’s identical to that of the Tiny Tenor. So if you’re a concert scale player who’s been holding off on the TT because of the scale size, this is your instrument. Since the body is the same size and material as the TT, it sounds the same, but in a significantly shorter overall package. Of course, the concert scale reduces the string tension a bit, which some players appreciate.

As with the Tiny Tenor, the sound is superb--well balanced, with perfect intonation across the entire fretboard (I was told that Pepe Romero—or someone in his shop—inspects and set sup each of these instruments when they arrive from Vietnam). The C and E strings are nice and full with no “boominess” or “thuddiness",” and the G and A strings are chimey and very clear and bright. Strung with low G, the instrument transforms. The low G is full and clear, and sets the entire body vibrating under your arm. The uke comes set up with Low G, so the nut is already prepped to take the thicker string. Switching to high G is effortless, and there is no issue with vibration at the nut. The bridge features a compensated bone saddle, which accounts for the spot-on intonation.

Fit and finish is superb for a production instrument. My example had no cosmetic flaws. Although the fret ends are files to an angle, they could use a bit of polishing to smooth out the edges. The fretboard is lovely, as is the neck (a nice shallow C shape, finished in a satin polyurethane). 12 frets to the body (15.5 frets total), and really great black 16:1 closed geared tuners.

I was surprised to see that they have widened the neck a bit since the first gen tiny tenors (which I found to be a bit narrow at the nut). Now it feels perfect and is sublime for fingerstyle or clawhammer.

The spruce top is lovely and thin, providing clear, bright high notes. As with the TT, the soundhole is oversize compared to other ukes, which allows for a very open sound. It’s surrounded by a lovely and simple mother of pearl ring that looks great.

The finish is a very thin and very hard satin polysomething – it hold up superbly over time, and you won’t have to worry about dings or scratches (since I play clawhammer, this is a real benefit, as fingernail strikes do nothing to this finish!). It’s also thin enough for easy phantom hammer-ons and pull-offs that can actually be heard (often a problem on ukes with heavier builds, or thick gloss tops). The body of the laminate production models is also deeper than the solid wood models, which seems to produce greater volume and tonal complexity. I really like this feature, and for this reason alone prefer the “cheaper” solid/laminate over the solid models. The solid wood models are tonally sublime, but for my style of playing I find them to be either too quiet or too warm – the spruce top on this model, combined with the deeper body, solves all these problems.

On a few models I looks at, the bridge was canted at a bit of an angle (presumably so improve intonation on the C string). This varies a bit by instrument – I selected one with almost no angle to the bridge, but the intonation was perfect.

So, although I was skeptical at first (and hadn’t really considered buying the ST Concert), I’m really happy with the purchase. It’s largely displaced the Tiny Tenor in my stable, and seems to sound identical (but with the advantage of the concert scale, which I prefer).

Unfortunately, I’ve heard Pepe Romero has stopped production on all the “economy” Spruce/Laminate models. Apparently, the production time on these was too unpredictable, so they decided to cut them from the product lineup, going with all solid wood for now. If you’ve been thinking about buying a laminate Tiny Tenor or ST Concert, now is the time. Once the current models are gone, there will be no more.

They’re already tough to find (sold out at most vendors), but U-Space Ukuleles in Los Angeles still has a few for $289 with custom hard foam “flight” case. Jason Arimoto is a great guy, and does a superb job setting these up. The action on mine was a tad high for my tastes, but after 10 minutes of setup work, Jason had dialed it right in! Give them a call if interested.

Tone: 9.5
Fit & Finish: 8.5
Intonation: 10
Volume: 10
Price: 7
Playability: 10
 
Nice, sounds like a wonderful little instrument. And, yes, any of the Tiny Tenor body styles are hard to come by. I always seem to be a day late in ordering. The spruce and mahogany versions I've tried have more volume and dynamic range than the all mahogany or koa versions, albeit I wouldn't mind owning any of them. This week I briefly had a Tiny Tenor 6 in spruce and mahogany and it was a screamer with a fat beautiful tone. I had to return it because there was a 3.5" crack in the side and a 2.5" crack in the top. USPS squeezed the box like an accordion...
 
Congratulations. I have a TT solid top. Too bad they are stopping production. Great value, great sound. I do want a all solid TT now because I just love the shape and sound. Hopefully, more
all solid TT will show up at dealers. It would also, be nice to see more wood combinations. I will keep mine TT solid top/laminate. Great take anywhere Uke and I do take if. I want to try the all solid. I like wha TC are doing. I really like the string thru bridge.
 
I was ready to fork out for a beautifully spalted solid mango TT, but after playing it for a while, I found I liked the sound on the laminate more. Mango was beautiful, but too soft for the clawhammer stuff I play. Plus, the shallower body reduces the volume, and I wanted something that was bright and punchy.
 
Unfortunately, I’ve heard Pepe Romero has stopped production on all the “economy” Spruce/Laminate models. Apparently, the production time on these was too unpredictable, so they decided to cut them from the product lineup, going with all solid wood for now. If you’ve been thinking about buying a laminate Tiny Tenor or ST Concert, now is the time. Once the current models are gone, there will be no more.

The QC appears to be the same on the all solid and laminate models so I suspect the building costs in terms of labor are exactly the same with only a tiny savings in cheaper heads and laminate. Probably more cost effective and profitable to build and sell only all solid models since they command a higher price.

After playing the koa, mahogany, mango and the spruce/mahogany TT variants in the HMS shop, I thought the spruce/mahogany version sounded the best and was noticeably louder than the other woods as well.
 
Last edited:
Interesting comments on all solid.. I like spruce tops for clarity. I think cedar would be nice also.
I’ve seen mango and spruce on HMS a few times. It would be cool to see spruce and cedar matched with more solid back and sides woods. I’ve read the laminate version body is deeper than the all solid bodies. I assumed that had to do with projection.
 
Interesting comments on all solid.. I like spruce tops for clarity. I think cedar would be nice also.
I’ve seen mango and spruce on HMS a few times. It would be cool to see spruce and cedar matched with more solid back and sides woods. I’ve read the laminate version body is deeper than the all solid bodies. I assumed that had to do with projection.

A cedar topped TT or STC would be Dubliner!
 
Thanks for your great review. I would love to see some pictures, as I haven't seen this model in the solid/laminate version before.

How sure are you about this budget line not being produced any longer? I heard that Pepe had some issues with quality control he was trying to solve. By the way, from what I know, unlike the all solid models, this budget line from Romero Creations is not made in Vietnam, but China. This may explain some of the differences.
 
Uke Republic still has them available on their website. Mike announced awhile ago that they were discontinuing production of the solid/laminate TT, I hadn't heard that about the Concert model, but it doesn't surprise me. I have both laminate models, and the sound is nearly identical. I switched the tenor to re-entrant and it still sounded great, but switched it back because none of my tenors could match its sound with low g. I have a solid body mahogany ST concert on order, and will debate whether to keep the laminate as a beater (goodbye Flea). My cheapest ukes sound and play the best and get played the most.
 
I just received an Instagram post from Pepe Last night and in it he said the solid top/laminate versions of TT, GRAND, ST Concert are being discontinued. I have a TT solid top/ laminate and I love it. I'd like to try the ST Concert for travel - sold/laminate or all solid. I think the size would be perfect and if it sound like you say above... WOW.

I hope now that they have only gone to solid wood, that they start to mix up things with a few new wood combinations. I want to try the Spruce/Mahogany solid to see if its much different to my TT solid/laminate. Otherwise, I'd love to get a spruce/Koa or spruce/acacia or cedar/something to tryin in all solid.

I get that they make more on solid instruments. I bought my TT/Laminate as a take anywhere travel, not worry about uke. Kinda like my Fluke but nicer plays. Now Flukes have solid top but price is high. These were a really good price point. Anyways, I will watch and see what comes down the pike...…….. I like what RC is doing so anytime I can play one... I will.

Now watching for ST Concern to try. Thanks
 
I hope now that they have only gone to solid wood, that they start to mix up things with a few new wood combinations.

I heard a rumour, still to be substantiated, that they are actually launching an *all laminate" Daniel Ho budget line to be sold as a package (uke, strap, tuner, booklet, case, etc.) for new uke learners. Danile posted images of the boxed uke on FB, but there were no details on materials.

If true, it looks like they're going for two lines -- real entry level uke (that probably sounds better than most), and the solid wook "serious" ukes... I for one love the Solid/Laminate combo as a cheapish but great-sounding everyday traveller.

I'll post again if I get additional details or clarification on this...
 
Uke Republic showed them on Friday Facebook post--299 for all mahogany laminate. I'm curious about quality control. For the same price, I'd much rather have the solid top model without the other stuff.
 
RC site shows the RC-ST-L laminate. Yes, $299 with the box with Daniel on it and all the goodies. Probably a great starter pack. I d rather have solid top and less stuff as I have a ton of straps, tuners, cord charts etc. But I get what they are doing. Listen to the videos on RC site. I was surprised how sweet the all laminate RC-ST-L laminate concert sounded. RC biggest issue IMHO has been supply. I have to buy on line. It’s a crap shoot I’d love to walk into a Uke shop with a bunch of TT and ST concerts and try the different models and wood. For my TT solid top, HMS did a great set up. I later bought some files to smooth and po,ish the fret ends. Now, the Uke I pick up the most out of a custom tenor that sounds better, two Pono’s with nicer wood and a laminate Fluke. All get plat but love the TT shape. Now, super curious to okay the ST.
 
The lower priced line is made in a different factory and there are a few wrinkles to smooth out. I played a "budget" RC at HMS this weekend and it missed the mark with setup problems and funky tone. On the other hand, the made in Vietnam mahogany and tenor Replica tenors sounded and played great (and should for the additional Benjamins).
 
Good to know. My TT solid top is excellent. Maybe I got lucky but set up was excellent as is tone. I do like all solid wood so will have to play one and see. I won’t write off the all laminate ST concert but am advised. For me the ST in any form has just got to feel and sound good when played. Otherwise I’m good with TT. I’d like to play all the TT wood combos so perhaps that’s my mission. I do really like the shape and feel.
 
Indeed, that is a perilous mission. I took it on and ended up with four Romero Creations instruments within 6 months. One thing I noticed with the Vietnam nut setup is the string grooves are often too deep and snug. Once you grind off the excess nut height so the string protrudes 1/3 to 1/3 from the groove and widen the groove, the tone really opens up.
 
Can you tell me the nut width of the Romero Creations ST Concert Uke? Thanks.
 
Romero Creations ST package

I heard a rumour, still to be substantiated, that they are actually launching an *all laminate" Daniel Ho budget line to be sold as a package (uke, strap, tuner, booklet, case, etc.) for new uke learners. Danile posted images of the boxed uke on FB, but there were no details on materials.

If true, it looks like they're going for two lines -- real entry level uke (that probably sounds better than most), and the solid wook "serious" ukes... I for one love the Solid/Laminate combo as a cheapish but great-sounding everyday traveller.

I'll post again if I get additional details or clarification on this...

I realise that its some months since the original post, but I have just had an email with a link to purchase .....

https://store.ukelikethepros.com/products/st-concert-daniel-ho-signature-ukulele-pack
 
Ended up with the ST concert with solid spruce, open box, like new....but saddle is not compensated. Older model? Need to change?
 
Top Bottom