New Martin ukes

And the OXK concert must weigh a ton! I thought the soprano LOUD and played well, but oh so heavy!

I have one of the soprano OX Bamboo models and it weights about 15 oz. Looking at various charts I have seen standard wood sopranos range from about 10-14, so while a little heavier it does not seem wildly excessive.
 
Interesting news. Martin uke time or Miller time! no idea what to think.
 
I foresee the Streetmaster tenor and HPL concert selling well at these price points. As of late 2019 Mim@mims ukes became a Martin uke dealer. Always a plus for a great setup, as well as the ability to see pictures of the exact uke you are buying. Martin does tend to vary their wood patterns a bit from uke to uke, thus the ability to choose is definitely a plus! One doesn't have this option purchasing online from big box sellers. You get whatever they send you...no setup included.
 
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I find it curious that they are introducing a concert HPL model after cancelling the soprano line last year.

As for all the suggestions of different prints, I'd guess that decisions are made based on research--which prints of the OXK sold the best. It's all nice and good to suggest/ask a company to make different variants of prints and so on...but there's a cost involved there not only of purchasing the original materials, but the cost on the local dealer to carry the instruments.

I thought Martin was one of the vendors that was really particular about how many of each model a dealer had to carry to be a Martin dealer. Maybe they have loosed up on that front? I do know that Mim was not allowed to be a dealer for years because she didn't sell guitars, and Martin eventually saw the light.
 
Glad to see you post here! You are one of the main reasons why I became a Martin uke lover from all your youtube videos.

Thanks. I've been posting here since 2011 on and off. I'm still around and have survived so far Covid. I need to do more vids though and I will very soon. I still love Martin ukes. I always await NAMM news for new Martin ukes. I had bought almost every new Martin uke except the 5K, 3K and the IZ tenor. I bought all others.

@Choirguy: I was surprised they stopped the OX soprano models. I luv my Bamboo soprano for travel. I still prefereed it to the OXK soprano. I figure the concert size is more popular than the soprano size so they made a OXK concert size. I gave uke lessons to some women a while back and they all had Kala concert size ukes. None were playing a soprano. I have piano playing hands but I love the soprano uke size. Some complain that their mitts are too big so they stick to bigger sizes like concert and tenor. I'm glad Mim got to be a Martin uke dealer. She respects the uke and lives the uke lifestyle. People should order from her. I live in Canada so I order from my local shop.

All the best for 2021 to everyone here!

Petey
 
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MIM is great, I recently bought a Martin IZ from her.
 
This video is from the Martin YouTube channel. First 5 minutes of the video is a history of the company. Second 5 minutes is photos and sound samples from their new ukuleles.

 
The Konter ukulele went to the North Pole with Byrd and survived much more exciting and dangerous conditions than I, or most of us, ever will, and is still intact and playable--although now living the lazy life--in Nazareth, PA. Meanwhile we (I include myself) are buying carbon fiber and other plastic and laminate ukuleles to be sure our ukes will live through a trip in an overhead bin in a climate-controlled aircraft cabin or a long hike. I know it's exactly one data point, but amusing all the same.
 
This video is from the Martin YouTube channel. First 5 minutes of the video is a history of the company. Second 5 minutes is photos and sound samples from their new ukuleles.



On the video, I like how they showed the process of painting the new ukes black, a black grain filler I assume, which makes the grain pop and fills the pores. Then they buffed off the black prior to clearcoat.

The OXK Concert looks nice, but the sound was underwhelming. Is is just me, or was that uke out of tune?

Next up, the mahogany FSC, was a surprise, as I hadn't heard of it previously, a solid mahogany concert. I waited for the price to pop up, expecting more than the OXK, but less than a grand, but $2300.00? Yikes! For that much dough, I'd go vintage, which would still be much less.

The Streetmaster sounded good to my ears. Nice to have a reasonably priced mahogany tenor in the lineup. However, IMO the nut width should be at least 36mm, like the concert, not 34mm...just sayin' :confused:
 
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On the video, I like how they showed the process of painting the new ukes black, a black grain filler I assume, which makes the grain pop and fills the pores. Then they buffed off the black prior to clearcoat.

The OXK Concert looks nice, but the sound was underwhelming. Is is just me, or was that uke out of tune?

Next up, the mahogany FSC, was a surprise, as I hadn't heard of it previously, a solid mahogany concert. I waited for the price to pop up, expecting more than the OXK, but less than a grand, but $2300.00? Yikes! For that much dough, I'd go vintage, which would still be much less.

The Streetmaster sounded good to my ears. Nice to have a reasonably priced mahogany tenor in the lineup. However, IMO the nut width should be at least 36mm, like the concert, not 34mm...just sayin' :confused:

I liked that grain fill video too! The concert sound did not impress me either--maybe it is out of tune. I think the Streetmaster is attractive and it sounds good, and the price is excellent, but I'd be so tempted to stain that fretboard and bridge a darker color. It really seems like a great value.
 
The OXK Concert looks nice, but the sound was underwhelming. Is is just me, or was that uke out of tune?

Yeah, as I was listening I kept wondering why it was not tuned
 
On the video, I like how they showed the process of painting the new ukes black, a black grain filler I assume, which makes the grain pop and fills the pores. Then they buffed off the black prior to clearcoat.

The OXK Concert looks nice, but the sound was underwhelming. Is is just me, or was that uke out of tune?

Next up, the mahogany FSC, was a surprise, as I hadn't heard of it previously, a solid mahogany concert. I waited for the price to pop up, expecting more than the OXK, but less than a grand, but $2300.00? Yikes! For that much dough, I'd go vintage, which would still be much less.

The Streetmaster sounded good to my ears. Nice to have a reasonably priced mahogany tenor in the lineup. However, IMO the nut width should be at least 36mm, like the concert, not 34mm...just sayin' :confused:

I'm sure $2300 gets you a hand crafted in Pennsylvania ukulele while the others are all factory made in Mexico. In my experience the Mexico Martins are good for their prices, but noticeably weaker sound quality than the Pennsylvania Martins. There are some Pennsylvania Martins that cost less than $2000 and sound really good.
 
The Konter ukulele went to the North Pole with Byrd and survived much more exciting and dangerous conditions than I, or most of us, ever will, and is still intact and playable--although now living the lazy life--in Nazareth, PA. Meanwhile we (I include myself) are buying carbon fiber and other plastic and laminate ukuleles to be sure our ukes will live through a trip in an overhead bin in a climate-controlled aircraft cabin or a long hike. I know it's exactly one data point, but amusing all the same.

I bought a Konter uke. I will do a review. It sounds great.

Petey
 
Petey, I hope you’re planning a video review. I love your videos! Even though I doubt I’ll ever get a Konter myself I think they are really cool and there really isn’t that much out there about them.
 
Petey, I hope you’re planning a video review. I love your videos! Even though I doubt I’ll ever get a Konter myself I think they are really cool and there really isn’t that much out there about them.

Thanks, Blank. I see you are from Detroit. My hometown is Sarnia, Canada. Not far from there. I went to that flea market in Gibraltar and there was a guitar signed by Ted Nugent. Covid has sent us all back and doing a review requires some major effect but I will do one soon. I have the book too and that is important to read first (which I did). The Konter uke was in a flight over the North Pole. It wasn't smuggled in a dogsled like I had first thought. You're right that there is not much out about it. I understand it pretty well. It plays nice.

@ukecaster: I agree it is cool to see they paint those ukes in black first! Yes... the OXK concert was slightly out of tune. That is probably because it's a new uke with new strings and not allowed to settle and was tuned and played out of the box. I found a uke will settle after about a month of playing. Though, my other Martin ukes are great right out of the box with tuning. I dunno. It was a bit off.

Petey
 
I had to look up Sarnia, and you’re not kidding it’s right on the border! I actually live right outside Detroit in the suburbs but it’s just easier to say Detroit since I live in the metro area. I haven’t been to Canada in years but I hope to make it back eventually, always enjoyed going to Windsor. I definitely plan on getting a copy of the Martin uke history book, I’ve heard nothing but good things.
 
I'm sure $2300 gets you a hand crafted in Pennsylvania ukulele while the others are all factory made in Mexico. In my experience the Mexico Martins are good for their prices, but noticeably weaker sound quality than the Pennsylvania Martins. There are some Pennsylvania Martins that cost less than $2000 and sound really good.

I can't for the life of me figure out what makes the FSC worth $500 more than the IZ tenor.
 
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