American made affordable Martins

Are all the lower end Martin ukes now made in Mexico?

I'd love to get a Martin, maybe a CK1, but am not keen on the Mexican made ones having read quite a lot of negative feedback.

My Mexico-made S1 and C1K look and sound great for the price to me. They don't have real fancy finishes like the US-made Martins, but that is the tradeoff at that price level. My local music store does have some US-made Martins and they do sound noticeably better, but they also cost 3 times as much (or more).

I can understand the dislike for the plainer looking Martin concerts and Tenors (although I don't mind myself) but all the S1s I've seen have looked decent, some even great. I don't really see the point about where the uke was made if it's otherwise good quality, as I think the Martins are. In any case, if you specifically want a uke made in the US around that $500 price range or lower you need to look at other brands.

The Mexican-made Martins are top-quality instruments, but as others have said, the koa used isn’t as consistent, color-wise. One alternative would be to buy from Mim’s Reverb store, because you get to see the actual uke you would buy. Or contact her directly and let her know you want a darker wood.

photos

I recently spent a bit of time looking for a mid-priced concert or tenor ukulele, with an emphasis on the concert size. I already have higher end ukuleles from Mya-Moe, Beansprout, Kamaka, Kala Elite and Martin. And, while I didn’t want to spend a great deal on this uke (about $500), I wanted a very good sounding solid wood Koa uke that will take the wear and tear of jams, camping and traveling. After quite a bit of looking, I decided the Martin 1 series concert (C1K) and tenor (T1K) ukes are exceptional values. I ended up buying a Martin C1K and have played it a great deal. It has become my favorite ukulele. Simply put, I would buy it all over again. Great uke! It is a big step up from an entry level uke and one you can play very nicely for the rest of your uke career. I also purchased a Martin mahogany soprano S1. The S1 sells for about $425. Tremendous ukulele! The mid-priced Mexican made Martin ukuleles are an excellent buy and definite keepers with every bit of the quality found in the Nazareth, Pennsylvania Martins.


C1K

S1

I have yet to come across a C1K that didn’t impress the heck out of me.

Scooter

Great looking ukes. Glad to hear that the quality and sound are so good, especially knowing you have other high end ukes to compare them to. Enjoy!