Romero Creations ST Concert - all laminate / solid top laminate / all solid

I'm looking at getting a Romero ST concert and I can currently find all three options. Has anyone heard or played one version versus another and give some insight whether the upgrades outweigh the additional costs?

I've played the all-laminate and the solid koa (and just ordered the koa model). Wonderful instruments. Excellent fit & finish.

The laminate version sounds like a much more expensive instrument. Small, inexpensive, makes a great uke for traveling.

Is the upgrade to koa worth the price difference? The sound is richer, the wood is beautiful. To me the upgrade was worth the cost.

There are 2 solid ST-Cs on Reverb at great prices:
https://reverb.com/shop/ukulele-station

scarver said:

I'm looking at getting a Romero ST concert and I can currently find all three options. Has anyone heard or played one version versus another and give some insight whether the upgrades outweigh the additional costs?

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[EDIT !! ] I've eventually sold the ST to a UU member. Thanks for all the replies... it found a really good home.

I have a "mint" ST Concert Solid Top that I'm considering selling. Once you've decided which one you want, send me a PM and we can work out a price. It's strung with Worth Browns and in a Romero canvas/solid foam case. I've owned it for about 6 months, and, although I love the sound and playability, I've found that I'm not playing it anymore. (I've received two new ukes since and they are getting all the attention.)

FWIW, I highly encourage you to -somehow- get any one of them to play. Not so much for the tonal questions, but how it feels to you. I've noticed that my left hand bumps the "A" tuner when playing cords around the first/upper frets (e.g. cord D on the A string). The distance from the tuner to the nut and first fret is much closer than on my other concerts and tenors. You'll only know if it bothers YOU if you can hold and play one. For me it was a minor annoyance for what is otherwise a fabulous uke.

I considered changing out the stock tuners (which are pretty good) with Ratios or GOTOHs, but given that I'm not playing it, didn't make sense!

I have a question about koa on anyone's creation regardless of price. ...Since Hawaii is more humid than many places in continenal USA, does one need to keep a humidifier in the case with it? Are there indigenous woods with the same tonal qualities? Of course there are different trees in different locations.....Oregon Myrtle only grows in a very restricted part of Northern California and Southern Oregon.....

Web_Parrot said:

I have a "mint" ST Concert Solid Top that I'm considering selling. Once you've decided which one you want, send me a PM and we can work out a price. It's strung with Worth Browns and in a Romero canvas/solid foam case. I've owned it for about 6 months, and, although I love the sound and playability, I've found that I'm not playing it anymore. (I've received two new ukes since and they are getting all the attention.)

FWIW, I highly encourage you to -somehow- get any one of them to play. Not so much for the tonal questions, but how it feels to you. I've noticed that my left hand bumps the "A" tuner when playing cords around the first/upper frets. The distance from the tuner to the nut and first fret is much closer than on my other concerts and tenors. You'll only know if it bothers YOU if you can hold and play one. For me it was a minor annoyance for what is otherwise a fabulous uke.

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I have a solid mahogany Tiny Tenor and love the sound. The neck does not bother me