Are Martin OXK ukuleles neck heavy?

Bernstein

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Since Martin launched OXK concert this year, I'm planning to buy one

But I've never had a chance to hold OXK ukes

So I did some research on the forum and found that many people say they are neck-heavy

I was aware that OXK ukes' bodies are supposed to be heavier than normal wooden ukes' since they are made of HPL

And now I'm confused because

If people feel they are neck heavy with the even heavier bodies, doesn't that mean the necks of OXK are super heavy?

I'm confused if poeple are saying
1. OXK ukes are heavy in general, so the neck feels heavier (the uke is body-neck balanced)
2. or they are literally neck-heavy (the uke is out of balance)

I don't use straps and prefer 12 fret joint concerts to 14 fret joint concerts just because of the balance issue, so it matters to me

Could you please share your experiences with Martin OXK ukes about this issue?
 
Martin’s HPL instruments (ukes and guitars) do have heavy necks because the necks are “stratabond” laminate affairs with lots of wood layers compressed together. However, the HPL bodies are also heavy, which helps to balance the weight, though not completely. I also eschew straps but haven’t found the 0X soprano to be problematic to hold and play. The uke is heavy, and the balance isn’t the greatest, but it wasn’t enough to bother me. However, the balance issue does seem more pronounced with larger instruments. In their HPL guitars, the neck is much more noticeably heavier than the already heavy body. So the weight/balance becomes more of an issue with size increase. I don’t know what this means for the concert uke since I haven’t held one, but I would imagine if the balance on their soprano bothered someone, the concert would be worse. Again, I personally didn’t find the weight of the neck to be an issue on the soprano, but I can’t speak for others.
 
I have one of the OX bamboo ukes and don't find it to be neck heavy. While there is a lot of talk that these instruments are heavy overall, I can't say that it would have ever come to mind. Some of the vintage Martin instruments weigh around 10 oz. Various Martin Style modern instruments often weigh in a bit more at 12-13 oz. The OX at 14-15 oz is heavier, but not at all uncomfortable.
 
I didn't find them neck heavy at all.
 
Being new at ukuleles when I had my OXK, I didn't notice it being "neck heavy" until I read that some people thought it was.
 
The 0XK soprano is one of the few ukuleles I have kept that is a modern Martin. Great playing uke. To me it feels good in my hands and have never used a strap.
 
I just watched your review of OXK soprano

Thank you for the great review

Could I assume OXK concert is balanced as well?
 
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It IS a photo type finish. Perhaps they photographed the finest koa....It doesn't say anything about cutting. The text is a bit misleading.
You'll also notice in the specs "no finish" on the top. You don't need it with HPL. It's very resistant.
You'll even notice the same grain pattern on multiple HPL instruments if you see enough of them. They're not all alike, but there are certainly repeats of the pattern. I've noticed this with the guitars.
 
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