NUD pt 2 - Romero ST concert - solid spruce top/laminate mahogany body

On the scheduled delivery day for my Romero ST concert I had plans to be home all day except for a 2 hour window right away in the morning. Guess when they decided to try and deliver it? (signature required) I then spent a half hour signing up on the FedEx website and figuring out how to have it delivered to a FedEx store and get text notifications. I got that all sorted out and was able to pick it up the next day.

This was my first purchase from Uke Republic and it was a pleasant experience from beginning to end. It came very well packaged and since it came with a hard foam case included in the price, I had no fear of the chance that it would be damaged in transit. The case is a very sturdy, zippered, canvas covered foam hard case. It is custom fitted for this particular model of uke. It looks to be very protective and will handle much more than any incidental knocks or blows that I would ever anticipate experiencing with it.

This stubby looking uke is a little beauty! It has a tenor sized body, a concert scale and is the total length of a soprano. The top is solid spruce and the body is an all-laminate mahogany. It has a satin finish and I love the look and feel of it. The craftsmanship and construction are beautiful, I could find no faults. It came strung with a low G (stock, not by my request) which was different for me because all of my other ukes are strung with a high G. It took some getting used to but I soon grew to really like that alternative sound. It was interesting to play the various songs I'm used to playing. For the most part, the low G worked great. On some songs the low G didn't really work or I thought they sounded better with a high G. On others, the low G worked a little better giving a fuller sound. The sound of this uke is wonderful!! The higher strings are bright and chime-y and the low G affords some offsetting balance so that this uke sounds warm and bright at the same time. It has incredible sustain and it is very resonant. I can feel the resonance in my left hand all the way up on the first fret! This uke almost begs to be finger-picked and really sings when you do.

At first I thought the price on this uke was a little high ($315 delivered) for a solid top laminate. Were the price any higher I probably wouldn't have bought it. When I considered that it came with an excellent custom-fitted case and then heard the beautiful sound that this uke made it changed my mind. I don't like playing a tenor scale but I'm getting a tenor sound out of a concert scale (my favorite scale) instrument. This uke has to have some very skilled engineering to provide the sound that it does and the craftsmanship is excellent. It sounds as good if not better than my all solid ukes. Had I passed up on this opportunity and then heard/played this at a later date I would have been very disappointed in myself for missing the opportunity. (This uke is no longer being produced so once it's gone from stores, that's it!) There was also a very nice surprise bonus of a 28 min Daniel Ho compilation CD. Good stuff!!

The pics below show some size comparisons with a long-neck soprano and two concert sized ukes. (The Kala concert is a bit bigger than the Ohana concert.)

Original NUD thread here.

https://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?140248-NUD-Ooops-I-did-it-again!

If this is me, I will be kicking myself and thinking whole day why I had to leave the house. These delivery often shown up in the most unexpected way. But I’m glad it is all good now.

Congrats! Looking awesome. How do you find the holding of the uke, given the odd shape?

AustinHing said:

Congrats! Looking awesome. How do you find the holding of the uke, given the odd shape?

Click to expand...

I'm still adapting to it because I find I do have to hold it a little bit differently. The right arm/body side is no different. The body is a bit deeper than regular bodies but it's not noticeable. On the neck side, I sometimes found my thumb hitting the bottom of the G string tuner when moving to a Bb which requires my thumb to press directly on the back of the neck. The space between the nut and the tuner is a bit shorter than on my other ukes. There's also kind of a bump on the back of the neck below the nut where it flares out slightly before receding to the back of the headstock. It feels kind of weird when my thumb would press on that bump. When I would fret a Bb, my thumb was in a 9-3 or a 10-4 position/angle. When playing this uke I have to move my thumb into a 12-6 or a 11-5 position/angle and I hold the neck up higher than parallel to the floor. That way my thumb avoids hitting the tuner when I move to a Bb and I avoid the bump as well. I suppose it's kind of molding me to hold it in a more "proper" position kind of like a classical guitarist.

I think you are right that it may require a classical guitarist posture. See how Daniel Ho played it in the tvideo.


He had his knee high to support the sloppy body and his fretting hand is always bend outward to the front. I guess you most probably won’t hit the tuner that way. I really like the compactness of this uke but it may require more awareness to the posture.