Summer NAMM 2012 Pics

Lil_uker said:

I've never officially reviewed a product before, so please bare with me as I attempt to be as articulate and descriptive as I can be!
I was at the NAMM show on July 14th and was able to check out the LuLu Ukes. They were actually nice enough to allow me to go in a remote corner to play their concert Mahogany and Koa tenors. Both instruments were all solid (top, back and sides). I agree with "Steedy" that the attention to detail was really great, but the sound actually impressed me the most. OKay.....I'll back up!

The detail work was super cool. Well above that of most anything I saw at the show or have seen in all my travels. (For sure in this price range!)
The headstock matches the back, the heel has a nicely contoured cap that also mimicks the back. The bindings were done really nicely and the tonehole has an inlay (somehow attached to the inner most area) of Rosewood. Super handsome and a very cool (extra mile) detail....really ties the whole thing together for me!

The mahogany instrument used what appeared to be a good quality mahogany with pretty grain. The headstock has a super nice edge that also keyed me in to the fact that these were not your "run of the mill, cheap ukuleles!" They use Grover open geared tuners, a Graphtech nut and compensating saddle, D'addario "Nyltech" strings and comes with an absolutely beautiful hard case complete with hygrometer and planet waves small instrument humidifer. (very cool)

Finding a quiet spot on the show floor was difficult, but the sales rep "product specialist" was super friendly and for a nobody (me) went way beyond the neccessary. We found a quiet hallway nearby and I spent the next 15 minutes comparing the Mahogany and Koa tenor models.
I must say that I was super impressed. The sound was terrific....seemingly exploding from the instrument (especially the Mahogany) Super even and easy to play.....difficult to put down. I went back and offered to buy it later in the day, but was told they were waiting for a bunch of containers to arrive and couldn't part with them.

In a nutshell....(in my humble opinion) For under $500 retail the LuLu Mahogany tenor rivals that of almost any tenor I've ever played. (And I own and/or have played them all. The Koa model was very nice too, but had the D'addario Titanium strings on it (not my preference) and I think they may have thinned-out what otherwise was a great playing / looking instrument too!

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Lil_uker said:

I've never officially reviewed a product before, so please bare with me as I attempt to be as articulate and descriptive as I can be! [truncated post]

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hoosierhiver said:

and you're not associated with them in any way?

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mds725 said:

For what it's worth, I kept my clothes on while reading this post.

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hoosierhiver said:

and you're not associated with them in any way?

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Mim said:

Normally I only review the ukuleles I have a high regard for, but since it came up I will talk a little about my observations of the LuLu. I was a little concerned about the LuLu ukuleles. The first one I picked up has some finish issues with glue that had come out the side of the neck that was just glossed over, cloudy finish, glossed over imperfections along the fretboard up against the body and just an overall heaviness in construction. Granted I looked at another and it was just fine. But it was a Koa at a high price point, but the wood properties looked more like Mahogany than Koa. Not saying it is not Koa, it probably is, just not very "koa-ish" looking, but if it is going to be Koa at that price point, it needs to look it. I would be interested to see what happens with their next batch, it is a start, but I think the price point is pretty high for what they are. They do come with a case, but I still am not sure if that justifies the higher price point. So I am passing on them, but who knows, they may make a better showing in Winter.

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molamola said:

Hi all,

I actually am an employee of sorts of Lulu Ukulele so I'm hoping to address your concerns if I may.

I don't know who lil_uker is but I checked with our owner and it is definitely not one of us (not hard to check - there are only 4 of us at the moment. "Did YOU write that?" "no, did he?" No". Pretty funny.). I can assure you that we want our ukuleles to be a huge hit with all of you and spamming or ghosting (or whatever the term is) the UU forum would be a great way to get off to a horrible start.

Mim, I was the one who helped you in the booth. Your 'eagle eye' and your very informed notes to me were extremely helpful to all of us and were discussed instantly. The 9 instruments you saw in our booth were the first 9 on the planet and we had to press the factory like crazy to get them there in time for the show, our first. That rush factor is the sole reason why you saw an instrument that had any imperfections whatsoever. Had we not been in such a hurry to set up the booth and get ready for traffic we probably would have caught that and not put it on display.

Our koa is definitely koa. We have recently sourced some other more' koa looking' koa, but I assure you that what you saw is definitely koa and not some 'close relative' or cheaper substitute.

Regarding our price point, we spent a lot of time on R&D and wanted high quality instruments that were beautiful to see, built to last and sounded and played great. That led to a lot of thought about where that would put us in the booming ukulele landscape. The result is that we make instruments that are affordable for the player ready to upgrade from a lower priced instrument but not priced in the stratosphere like many of the great instruments out there that are out of reach to most of us.

I took the mahogany tenor you saw to a session while in Nashville and was extremely happy with the sound, the intonation up and down the neck, and the playability of it. I was proud that we had done what we set out to do.

We are a brand new company and we want to make great relationships with the ukulele world. I thought the concerns brought up here warranted my writing. I hope this helps answer any remaining questions w/o seeming like just another sales pitch.

Thanks,

Jim Mola

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Uke Republic said:

Thanks for clearing the air, I think I met you as well. I couldn't hear the instruments with all the noise at the show but they did look good. Nice brochure too

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