Showing posts with label noah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label noah. Show all posts
15 Jun 2025
15 Dec 2024
15 Dec 2024T14:15
Read More »
Noah Baritone Ukulele - REVIEW
My last ukulele review of 2024, and I was delighted to arrange it so a brand i've always liked made a return. This the the Noah Baritone Ukulele.
15 Sept 2024
15 Sept 2024T14:48
Read More »
Noah Delta Concert Ukulele - REVIEW
It's always fun to see a brand new Noah Ukulele, so I was delighted recently when Matt Cohen got in touch to tell me about his latest. This is the Noah Delta Concert.
28 Jan 2024
28 Jan 2024T14:38
Read More »
Noah Mahogany Soprano Ukulele - 2024 edition - REVIEW
A welcome return for a ukulele brand that i've looked at regularly and going back to 2013. This is the 2024 re-booted Noah Mahogany Soprano Ukulele.
8 May 2023
8 May 2023T14:18
Read More »
Noah Tenor X Ukulele - REVIEW
It's always a happy ukulele time here when I get to look at a new Noah Ukulele. This is the brand new Noah Tenor X Ukulele.
12 Jun 2022
12 Jun 2022T16:02
Read More »
Noah Super Concert Ukulele - REVIEW
Back again this week with a ukulele brand that has featured many times on Got A Ukulele and always done rather well. This is the brand new Noah Super Concert.
30 Oct 2021
30 Oct 2021T16:40
Read More »
Noah Super Tenor Ukulele - REVIEW
A return with for a brand much featured on Got A Ukulele and a brand new model for them. This is the Noah Super Tenor.
21 Feb 2021
21 Feb 2021T12:13
Read More »
Noah 8 String Concert Ukulele - REVIEW
It's always an enjoyable ukulele review day when a model from Noah ukuleles comes my way. And this is a first for me in this flavour. This is the Noah 8 string Concert Ukulele.
29 Nov 2020
29 Nov 2020T14:14
Read More »
Noah Rosewood Spruce Concert Ukulele - 2020 model - REVIEW
A welcome return for a homegrown brand that I've always enjoyed looking at. This is the brand new, revamped Rosewood Spruce Concert from Noah Ukuleles.
15 Mar 2020
15 Mar 2020T13:20
Read More »
Noah Pineapple Soprano Ukulele - REVIEW
The ukulele reviews return to Got A Ukulele, and it's a brand I've always enjoyed featuring. This is the Noah Ukuleles Pineapple Soprano.
13 Apr 2019
13 Apr 2019T16:04
Read More »
Noah Classic Sunburst Tenor Ukulele - REVIEW
It's been quite some time since I featured a model from this brand and it's long overdue. This week I am looking at the brand new Classic Sunburst Tenor from Noah Ukuleles.
18 Aug 2017
18 Aug 2017T16:00
Read More »
Noah Mahogany Soprano Ukulele - REVIEW
A welcome return to Noah Ukuleles on these pages, a brand I like for a variety of reasons. This time it's one of their soprano models in the Mahogany Soprano.
17 Jun 2017
17 Jun 2017T13:31
Read More »
Noah Guitalele - REVIEW
It's been a while since I featured an instrument from the Noah brand, and I'm therefore delighted now to welcome them back to Got A Ukulele, this time with something quite different. The Noah Guitalele
21 Oct 2014
21 Oct 2014T14:10
I was at the recent Grand Northern Ukulele Festival in Huddersfield, UK and spotted Matt Cohen of Noah in the marketplace where he was running a Noah stall. Nice chap that he is, he passed a couple of ukes over on loan for me to take a look at on the site. The one in this review is a model I have seen online for some months now, but had never seen in the flesh before.
What I like about the evolution of this one is that Matt developed it in conjunction with a ukulele player (Tim Morrisson) to take ideas on board as to what a player would like to see. Matts ukes are made in Vietnam (and that is not a fact he tries to hide, unlike some big brands) - you see, Matt used to live there and built up a friendship with a Vietnamese luthier over there who he trusts to bring all his ideas to life. I like that about Noah.
The Campanella appears to be built as a uke for finger style players (hence the name) and consists of a concert sized uke body fitted with a tenor scale neck to give more space and frets on the fingerboard. I do like hybrid uke.
The Campanella is an all solid wood instrument, with a body made of straight grained matched solid spruce on the top, and an orangey matched mahogany back and sides. I think the colour contrast looks great myself.
The top is nicely finished and joined to the sides (as is the back) with the addition of some chunky cream coloured edge binding with black stripe details.
The sides are in two pieces and match at the butt evenly, and the back has a very slight arch to it.
I'm sure the first thing that strikes you about the looks is the inclusion of a pin bridge at the saddle mount - not something you see on a lot of ukuleles. I think it looks great and is made from a very nicely finished and shaped rosewood mount and what feels like a bone saddle. The knotted strings are held in place by plastic bridge pins complete withe abalone looking details on their tops. It is striking and different, and scaled to compliment the size of the instrument top very nicely.
The top is elsewhere complimented by a nicely applied sound hole rosette inlay which completes the look nicely I think.
Taking a look inside we see the hand written makers label with the serial number and signature of the builder (me like!) and the uke is otherwise tidy in construction with notched kerfing aroudn the side joints and tidy bracing. A glance at the edge of the sound hole though shows me that the top wood is rather on the thick side for a solid wood uke. More on that later.
The whole of the body is finished in a satin coat which gives it a very tactile feel in the hands.
The hardwood neck ( mahogany I think) is, as I say, tenor scale and has a nice relatively chunky profile and a very smooth finish. Also nice to see is a wider than average nut width which I really do prefer when playing uke.
The neck appears to be made of two pieces with a joint at the heel and it topped in an evenly coloured rosewood fingerboard. It is fitted with 18 nickel silver frets which are quite chunky, with 14 in total to the start of the body. The edges of the fret board are not rounded, but equally they are not sharp and nor are the fret ends which are dressed nicely.
We have mother of pearl inlays for the fretboard markers at frets 3, 5, 7, 10 and 12 and thankfully these are repeated on the side of the neck too. I think the fretboard markers themselves are a little on the large side, perhaps more suited to a guitar neck, but that is personal preference - I prefer small dots.
Pass the nut and we have the Noah shaped headstock with the inlaid Noah logo in pearloid. The headstock appears to be faced with Mahogany to give a straighter grain look on the face and looks good. Tuning is provided by unbranded silver geared tuners which work just fine.
Looking closer at the neck and headstock I do notice some finish flaws that it is only right I mention. They do not affect the play at all, and I have seen much worse on other uke of this price (RRP is £229) but it would be wrong for me not to mention them. The body seems unaffected by them, and there are not flaws on the outward edges of the uke that an audience would see.
The package is finished by what look like Aquila Nylguts and a good quality zippered padded bag. Not a bad deal all in for a solid wood uke I think.
Overall, I think the Campanella looks terrific, particularly the body looks and the combination of the larger neck with concert body. How does it play though?
Well it arrived really well setup - I would drop the saddle a very slight touch, but that is just me. The nut is cut perfectly and intonation all down the neck is very good indeed. One thing that did strike me on first play was the instrument does seem a little heavy for what is a concert body. This takes me back to that thick top and I wonder whether the body is a little on the over built side? How does that translate to play?
First up, the tone of the instrument is really rather nice. Very sweet and good separation between strings. Fingerpicked it is very nice to play, but the volume seems a little low to me. I do like a bit of punch to a picked ukulele, and one that will stand up to play in that way without amplification and I don't think the Campanella really has that. All seems a little subdued to my ears. That comes through a good deal more when strummed as I kind of expected it to have more punch than it does. Even when giving it some powerful strums it doesn't seem to keep up with the power. The tone remains decent as does the clarity across notes, but it just kind of left me wanting a little more from it. Perhaps a string change would help, but actually I do think it comes back to the tone wood thicknesses. Perhaps more arch on the back would help too, or even a change in string brand. But.. I have to tell it like I see it.
An important word here though - volume is NOT everything, and I would advise to choose tone every time when selecting a uke. That said for a uke that I think looks so good, it left me in a bit of a dilemma for this review. You see, it ticks many boxes for me on design and looks, but I just wish it had a bit more punch.
I would still recommend you take a look at this and other Noah uke as your mileage may vary. For me though, as a tenor lover, perhaps I'd like this with a tenor body too! Check out the video below for some sounds (though forgive my shonky playing and failing voice - am down with a bad cold at the moment!)
http://www.noahukuleles.com/noah-campanella/
PROS
Looks
That bridge
Contrasting wood colours
Nice neck and nut width
CONS
Low volume
Some finish flaws
A little heavy
SCORES
Looks - 9
Fit and Finish - 8.5
Sound - 7
Value for money - 8
OVERALL - 8.1 out of 10
VIDEO REVIEW
Read More »
Noah Campanella Ukulele - REVIEW
Always nice to go back and review a ukulele brand I've looked at before - in this case a new model for me from Noah called the Campanella.
I was at the recent Grand Northern Ukulele Festival in Huddersfield, UK and spotted Matt Cohen of Noah in the marketplace where he was running a Noah stall. Nice chap that he is, he passed a couple of ukes over on loan for me to take a look at on the site. The one in this review is a model I have seen online for some months now, but had never seen in the flesh before.
What I like about the evolution of this one is that Matt developed it in conjunction with a ukulele player (Tim Morrisson) to take ideas on board as to what a player would like to see. Matts ukes are made in Vietnam (and that is not a fact he tries to hide, unlike some big brands) - you see, Matt used to live there and built up a friendship with a Vietnamese luthier over there who he trusts to bring all his ideas to life. I like that about Noah.
The Campanella appears to be built as a uke for finger style players (hence the name) and consists of a concert sized uke body fitted with a tenor scale neck to give more space and frets on the fingerboard. I do like hybrid uke.
The Campanella is an all solid wood instrument, with a body made of straight grained matched solid spruce on the top, and an orangey matched mahogany back and sides. I think the colour contrast looks great myself.
The top is nicely finished and joined to the sides (as is the back) with the addition of some chunky cream coloured edge binding with black stripe details.
The sides are in two pieces and match at the butt evenly, and the back has a very slight arch to it.
I'm sure the first thing that strikes you about the looks is the inclusion of a pin bridge at the saddle mount - not something you see on a lot of ukuleles. I think it looks great and is made from a very nicely finished and shaped rosewood mount and what feels like a bone saddle. The knotted strings are held in place by plastic bridge pins complete withe abalone looking details on their tops. It is striking and different, and scaled to compliment the size of the instrument top very nicely.
The top is elsewhere complimented by a nicely applied sound hole rosette inlay which completes the look nicely I think.
Taking a look inside we see the hand written makers label with the serial number and signature of the builder (me like!) and the uke is otherwise tidy in construction with notched kerfing aroudn the side joints and tidy bracing. A glance at the edge of the sound hole though shows me that the top wood is rather on the thick side for a solid wood uke. More on that later.
The whole of the body is finished in a satin coat which gives it a very tactile feel in the hands.
The hardwood neck ( mahogany I think) is, as I say, tenor scale and has a nice relatively chunky profile and a very smooth finish. Also nice to see is a wider than average nut width which I really do prefer when playing uke.
The neck appears to be made of two pieces with a joint at the heel and it topped in an evenly coloured rosewood fingerboard. It is fitted with 18 nickel silver frets which are quite chunky, with 14 in total to the start of the body. The edges of the fret board are not rounded, but equally they are not sharp and nor are the fret ends which are dressed nicely.
We have mother of pearl inlays for the fretboard markers at frets 3, 5, 7, 10 and 12 and thankfully these are repeated on the side of the neck too. I think the fretboard markers themselves are a little on the large side, perhaps more suited to a guitar neck, but that is personal preference - I prefer small dots.
Pass the nut and we have the Noah shaped headstock with the inlaid Noah logo in pearloid. The headstock appears to be faced with Mahogany to give a straighter grain look on the face and looks good. Tuning is provided by unbranded silver geared tuners which work just fine.
Looking closer at the neck and headstock I do notice some finish flaws that it is only right I mention. They do not affect the play at all, and I have seen much worse on other uke of this price (RRP is £229) but it would be wrong for me not to mention them. The body seems unaffected by them, and there are not flaws on the outward edges of the uke that an audience would see.
The package is finished by what look like Aquila Nylguts and a good quality zippered padded bag. Not a bad deal all in for a solid wood uke I think.
Overall, I think the Campanella looks terrific, particularly the body looks and the combination of the larger neck with concert body. How does it play though?
Well it arrived really well setup - I would drop the saddle a very slight touch, but that is just me. The nut is cut perfectly and intonation all down the neck is very good indeed. One thing that did strike me on first play was the instrument does seem a little heavy for what is a concert body. This takes me back to that thick top and I wonder whether the body is a little on the over built side? How does that translate to play?
First up, the tone of the instrument is really rather nice. Very sweet and good separation between strings. Fingerpicked it is very nice to play, but the volume seems a little low to me. I do like a bit of punch to a picked ukulele, and one that will stand up to play in that way without amplification and I don't think the Campanella really has that. All seems a little subdued to my ears. That comes through a good deal more when strummed as I kind of expected it to have more punch than it does. Even when giving it some powerful strums it doesn't seem to keep up with the power. The tone remains decent as does the clarity across notes, but it just kind of left me wanting a little more from it. Perhaps a string change would help, but actually I do think it comes back to the tone wood thicknesses. Perhaps more arch on the back would help too, or even a change in string brand. But.. I have to tell it like I see it.
An important word here though - volume is NOT everything, and I would advise to choose tone every time when selecting a uke. That said for a uke that I think looks so good, it left me in a bit of a dilemma for this review. You see, it ticks many boxes for me on design and looks, but I just wish it had a bit more punch.
I would still recommend you take a look at this and other Noah uke as your mileage may vary. For me though, as a tenor lover, perhaps I'd like this with a tenor body too! Check out the video below for some sounds (though forgive my shonky playing and failing voice - am down with a bad cold at the moment!)
http://www.noahukuleles.com/noah-campanella/
PROS
Looks
That bridge
Contrasting wood colours
Nice neck and nut width
CONS
Low volume
Some finish flaws
A little heavy
SCORES
Looks - 9
Fit and Finish - 8.5
Sound - 7
Value for money - 8
OVERALL - 8.1 out of 10
To understand my review scoring and see this result in context - visit my review page at
VIDEO REVIEW
4 Feb 2014
4 Feb 2014T14:47
Noah offer something a little different in the uke world - a range of ukes from the far east (Vietnam in this case) but not instruments that are turned out in bulk in factories - rather they are made by a luthier who Matt from Saigon hooked up with to develop his own range. The other thing I have liked about the Noahs I have seen is that they are priced extremely keenly and offer little build details that you would normally only see on instruments of at a far higher end. Read on, and be sure to visit the video review at the end also!
The Mahogany Concert is completely solid in construction, and for £150 that is already quite a surprise, particularly when you note some of the other features. The body shape is fairly standard in layout with a double bout and waist, but you will note the upper bout is actually a fair bit smaller than the lower - I like that. The whole body is finished in gloss which, on the whole, is nicely applied (more on that later), and does allow the mahogany grain to shine through. The top grain is rather pretty with a bit of curl at the top and a nice darker wood stripe down the middle. That gloss does allow it to shimmer in the light too!
The side grains are nice and straight in line with the body, and are matched where they meet at the base perfectly - I regularly see solid wood concerts at this price where that level of detail is just not present.
The back also has a lovely book matched grain with a strip of lighter sap wood showing towards the bottom which I think works to great effect.
Finishing the body off is top and back binding which is applied neatly and looks great. On closer inspection you will note that this isn't cheap plastic binding, but used real wood (maple in this case) for the material - again, this is not something one may expect at this price point.
We have more usage of wood on the top in the sound hole rosette which is inlaid in the top in wooden marquetry and looks great and natural.
The bridge mounting is made of rosewood and is a traditional style tie bar design. Like the Noah Tenor though, the whole bridge mounting is finished in gloss like the body. That is unusual and I would much prefer unfinished wood on this part of the uke. I have no idea why I say that, apart from purely aesthetic reasons as I can see no reason for the gloss to affect the play of the instrument. I am just not a fan. The gloss application has also lead to some gloss pooling around the edges of the bridge which I think are noticeable. That said, the rest of the gloss on the body is nicely applied and the gloss seems a nice quality (i.e. not thick or sticky). The bridge is trimmed with white edging and the nut material is bone and is nicely shaped and set. Action here is just right for me.
Looking inside and all is neat and tidy with notched kerfling, clear indicators that the back is solid, and the hand finished Noah label which includes a unique serial number and the manufacturers signature. Nice!
Moving on to the neck, this is also made of mahogany, and is in only two pieces that I can see with the jointing being at the heel. Another nice touch is the maple end cap on the heel which gives it another hint of a professional finish. The back of the neck is finished in gloss with one or two bubbles and dull spots, but nothing that I noticed while playing, nor that can be seen by an audience. It also has a nice (for me) chunky profile that fits my hand well.
Topping the neck is a rosewood fingerboard which is nicely coloured and finished. There are some tooling marks on the fingerboard, but remember this is not made on a fast production line by a machine. I like that they remind me that it is made by a person! You can see them, but I certainly could not feel them. The frets are nickel and we have 16 of them with 12 to the top of the body. They are neat, low key and finished well with no sharp edges.
Fingerboard markers are inlaid at the 5th, 7th, 10th and 12th in mother of pearl and look great, especially the double marker at the 12th. Sadly there are no player facing markers facing the player.
Past the bone nut (which is cut well and set right) we are at the headstock and full marks again to Noah for not going with a generic Martin clone crown shape. The shape is plain, but I like it and it sets it apart. The Noah logo is inlaid under the gloss and the whole of the faceplate is a mahogany veneer. Tuning is provided by unbranded sealed chrome gears, and they work just fine with no slop or grinding and they hold well.
The whole package is finished with a zippered and padded gig bag and (of course) Aquila strings.
Overall I am impressed. I think the uke looks great and contains enough details to set it apart from the generic factory models, particularly that edge binding and the grain pattern. There are some finish details, but nothing that is particularly noticeable.
To play, the uke is comfortable enough, and a little on the heavy side (though not uncomfortably so, and is nicely balanced). The setup is also just fine, and even if it wasn't, it is clearly built properly and could be set to play easily. A look at the top shows a wood that seems a little on the thick side to me and I wondered how it would affect volume tone (you may recall that I thought the Tenor Monkeypod Noah was a little on the quiet side, albeit with a very nice tone). Thankfully with this one I think it is just fine - there is bags of volume when strummed or picked (no doubt also helped by the Aquila strings and slightly arched back), but it comes with a good tone and voice too. There is no bark when it is overpowered, and strummed it has a kind of 6 or 8 string jangle which I quite like, whilst still providing clarity across the strings. There is a bit of an echo to harder strumming, but that is something I notice more with Aquila strings and as such will not level that observation at the instrument.
Compared to, say, a Mainland mahogany concert, I think it has more character. The Mainland may have a little more chime when picked (although I suspect a string change on this to fluorocarbons would help here), but the Mainland can, I find, get a little lost in the mix when strummed, whereas this one likes to make its presence known!
It isn't a high end tone, but nor would you expect it to be for £150, but it is perfectly enjoyable and acceptable and will fit in with your club or band nights just fine. And that really sums up why I will recommend these ukes. At £150, there are a fair few choices of all solid concert ukes and I find many are quite generic and plain. This one delivers more looks and finish that you would expect for the money, yet doesn't totally let itself down on the sound either.
All in all, I think they are a bit of a bargain!
PROS
Value for money
Finishing details
Volume
CONS
Some finish question marks
SCORES
Looks - 9
Fit and Finish - 8
Sound - 8.5
Value For Money - 9
OVERALL - 8.6 out of 10
http://saigonguitars.com
VIDEO REVIEW
Read More »
Noah Mahogany Concert Ukulele REVIEW
Time for another review on Got A Ukulele and another from the Noah series of ukes that are put out by Saigon Guitars. You may have read my earlier review on the Noah Monkeypod Tenor instrument, but for this one we go down to the concert scale and with a different wood, in the Mahogany Concert.
Noah offer something a little different in the uke world - a range of ukes from the far east (Vietnam in this case) but not instruments that are turned out in bulk in factories - rather they are made by a luthier who Matt from Saigon hooked up with to develop his own range. The other thing I have liked about the Noahs I have seen is that they are priced extremely keenly and offer little build details that you would normally only see on instruments of at a far higher end. Read on, and be sure to visit the video review at the end also!
The Mahogany Concert is completely solid in construction, and for £150 that is already quite a surprise, particularly when you note some of the other features. The body shape is fairly standard in layout with a double bout and waist, but you will note the upper bout is actually a fair bit smaller than the lower - I like that. The whole body is finished in gloss which, on the whole, is nicely applied (more on that later), and does allow the mahogany grain to shine through. The top grain is rather pretty with a bit of curl at the top and a nice darker wood stripe down the middle. That gloss does allow it to shimmer in the light too!
The side grains are nice and straight in line with the body, and are matched where they meet at the base perfectly - I regularly see solid wood concerts at this price where that level of detail is just not present.
The back also has a lovely book matched grain with a strip of lighter sap wood showing towards the bottom which I think works to great effect.
Finishing the body off is top and back binding which is applied neatly and looks great. On closer inspection you will note that this isn't cheap plastic binding, but used real wood (maple in this case) for the material - again, this is not something one may expect at this price point.
We have more usage of wood on the top in the sound hole rosette which is inlaid in the top in wooden marquetry and looks great and natural.
The bridge mounting is made of rosewood and is a traditional style tie bar design. Like the Noah Tenor though, the whole bridge mounting is finished in gloss like the body. That is unusual and I would much prefer unfinished wood on this part of the uke. I have no idea why I say that, apart from purely aesthetic reasons as I can see no reason for the gloss to affect the play of the instrument. I am just not a fan. The gloss application has also lead to some gloss pooling around the edges of the bridge which I think are noticeable. That said, the rest of the gloss on the body is nicely applied and the gloss seems a nice quality (i.e. not thick or sticky). The bridge is trimmed with white edging and the nut material is bone and is nicely shaped and set. Action here is just right for me.
Looking inside and all is neat and tidy with notched kerfling, clear indicators that the back is solid, and the hand finished Noah label which includes a unique serial number and the manufacturers signature. Nice!
Moving on to the neck, this is also made of mahogany, and is in only two pieces that I can see with the jointing being at the heel. Another nice touch is the maple end cap on the heel which gives it another hint of a professional finish. The back of the neck is finished in gloss with one or two bubbles and dull spots, but nothing that I noticed while playing, nor that can be seen by an audience. It also has a nice (for me) chunky profile that fits my hand well.
Topping the neck is a rosewood fingerboard which is nicely coloured and finished. There are some tooling marks on the fingerboard, but remember this is not made on a fast production line by a machine. I like that they remind me that it is made by a person! You can see them, but I certainly could not feel them. The frets are nickel and we have 16 of them with 12 to the top of the body. They are neat, low key and finished well with no sharp edges.
Fingerboard markers are inlaid at the 5th, 7th, 10th and 12th in mother of pearl and look great, especially the double marker at the 12th. Sadly there are no player facing markers facing the player.
Past the bone nut (which is cut well and set right) we are at the headstock and full marks again to Noah for not going with a generic Martin clone crown shape. The shape is plain, but I like it and it sets it apart. The Noah logo is inlaid under the gloss and the whole of the faceplate is a mahogany veneer. Tuning is provided by unbranded sealed chrome gears, and they work just fine with no slop or grinding and they hold well.
The whole package is finished with a zippered and padded gig bag and (of course) Aquila strings.
Overall I am impressed. I think the uke looks great and contains enough details to set it apart from the generic factory models, particularly that edge binding and the grain pattern. There are some finish details, but nothing that is particularly noticeable.
To play, the uke is comfortable enough, and a little on the heavy side (though not uncomfortably so, and is nicely balanced). The setup is also just fine, and even if it wasn't, it is clearly built properly and could be set to play easily. A look at the top shows a wood that seems a little on the thick side to me and I wondered how it would affect volume tone (you may recall that I thought the Tenor Monkeypod Noah was a little on the quiet side, albeit with a very nice tone). Thankfully with this one I think it is just fine - there is bags of volume when strummed or picked (no doubt also helped by the Aquila strings and slightly arched back), but it comes with a good tone and voice too. There is no bark when it is overpowered, and strummed it has a kind of 6 or 8 string jangle which I quite like, whilst still providing clarity across the strings. There is a bit of an echo to harder strumming, but that is something I notice more with Aquila strings and as such will not level that observation at the instrument.
Compared to, say, a Mainland mahogany concert, I think it has more character. The Mainland may have a little more chime when picked (although I suspect a string change on this to fluorocarbons would help here), but the Mainland can, I find, get a little lost in the mix when strummed, whereas this one likes to make its presence known!
It isn't a high end tone, but nor would you expect it to be for £150, but it is perfectly enjoyable and acceptable and will fit in with your club or band nights just fine. And that really sums up why I will recommend these ukes. At £150, there are a fair few choices of all solid concert ukes and I find many are quite generic and plain. This one delivers more looks and finish that you would expect for the money, yet doesn't totally let itself down on the sound either.
All in all, I think they are a bit of a bargain!
PROS
Value for money
Finishing details
Volume
CONS
Some finish question marks
SCORES
Looks - 9
Fit and Finish - 8
Sound - 8.5
Value For Money - 9
OVERALL - 8.6 out of 10
To understand my review scoring and see this result in context - visit my review page at
http://saigonguitars.com
VIDEO REVIEW
2 Dec 2013
2 Dec 2013T15:05
I mention that delay for good reason though. Matt was living out in Vietnam with a business called Saigon Guitars and had the aim of launching the 'Noah' brand of ukes. In our discussions though it became clear that this was not a case of a fly by night brand wanting to jump on the bandwagon - the delay happened because Matt was just not happy with the prototypes he was getting. So he went back to the drawing board until he was satisfied. I admire that. These are not made in huge far eastern factories, but in a small workshop - and knowing that Matt used to live there, you know that he actually spent time with these builders.
I believe his first outing was at the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival at which I picked up a couple of instruments to take a look at. I've been having a good play and am here now to tell you about the Monkeypod Tenor.
Monkeypod is a new wood for me, and comes from a plant that is related to the bean. This Noah Tenor uses all solid monkeypod and comes in with an RRP of £180 in the UK - a pretty competitive price for a solid wood tenor uke.
The body is standard shaped and is finished in satin, although a gloss version is also available and it is nice to have that choice. Looks wise, that monkeypod is certainly something to behold. It has a really interesting curly grain pattern, with plenty of dark stripe amidst the otherwise quite pale wood. It is very nicely book matched on the top and back, and the stripe in the sides follows the line of the body which is also nice to see. Often, at the cheaper end of solid wood instruments, this is where they can let you down on the looks front, with odd angles in the grain patterns, or tops that do not match. Full marks here.
That satin finish is nicely applied. Some satin ukes at this price point, such as those by Kala can have a satin finish that almost makes the uke feel artificial. This is ultra smooth also but has enough grain in it to avoid that feeling.
The top and back are joined to the sides with cream coloured body binding with a trace of black white black stripe in the top and back to set it off nicely. The binding is also made of pale maple which is a really nice touch and something you normally see on higher end instruments (most makers plump for good old plastic). It gives the uke a kind of vintage look that I particularly like.
Looking at the bridge, we have a standard designed tie bar bridge with a bone saddle. You can actually see the shaping marks on the saddle which hints at the fact that this is not totally mass produced. The bridge mounting looks a little chunky for me (I have certainly seen more subtle bridges) and it also looks like it has too been given a satin coat like the body. I have not seen that before, as usually they are in fairly unfinished wood. I don't think that is anything to complain about, but it is new to me.
Around the soundhole is a very pretty rosette which appears to be inlaid rather than being a transfer, another nice touch.
Where the sides meet at the butt of the uke we have some more maple binding which I like and turning the thing over we have more nicely book matched monkeypod wood on the back. The back also has a slight arch to it to help with sound projection which is nice to see.
Looking inside the uke, things are very neat and tidy. No glue seepage and the kerfling holding the sides to the top and back is notched and neatly applied. I like ukes where you can see the grain of the back when looking inside - a test to check if a uke is really solid wood, and we have that here. I also rarely talk about the smell from sound holes, but this oozes a woodshop smell! What I particularly like here is the Noah label - Which comes with the model number, serial number and date of manufacture hand written on to it. It says 'handcrafted in the workshop of Ton That Anh' and he has also signed it - a nice touch which gives it a more personal feel than a laser printed standard label.
Looking inside allows you to see the edge of the sound hole and the top wood to me looks ever so slightly on the thick side - nothing like a cheap laminate, and I have seen far more expensive ukes with similar tops, but I would have expected a slightly thinner wood.
On to the neck, this too is made of maple and is nicely finished. It has a chunky profile which I personally like and sits quite snug in the crook of your thumb and forefinger. It also has a wider than average tenor nut width which I always prefer so feels great for me. The neck is in two pieces, with the only join being at the heel. Incidentally, that heel is capped with a maple finish which is also nice to see.
The fingerboard is in Indian Rosewood, and is evenly coloured. On first glance it appears to be bound on the edges, but I think that is actually a layer of finish that hides the fret edges. We have 18 nickel silver frets, and 14 to the body. They are not overly chunky and are finished well. Forward facing fret markers are at the fifth, seventh and tenth frets in mother of pearl, but really disappointing that there are no player facing markers on the side. The edges of the fingerboard are a little sharp or angular for my liking. That is not the fret edges, rather the edge of the rosewood. I think it is exacerbated by the fact it is a wider than average neck, but expecting rolled fingerboard edges at this price point would be too much to ask.
Past the nut (which too is bone, and set nicely) the headstock is made of the same neck maple and faced with a veneer of monkeypod. It is refreshing to see it has it's own shape, and not a Martin three pointed crown copy and looks good and balanced. The Noah logo appears to be inlaid in mother of pearl and is applied neatly. Incidentally, whilst the company behind these is called Saigon, Matt chose to call his ukuleles 'Noah' after the name of his son - a nice touch!
Tuning is provided by unbranded sealed geared tuners. I would have preferred the buttons to be a little smaller, and my G tuner needed tightening a touch, but otherwise they work just fine and I have seen far far worse.
The whole package is rounded off with Aquila brand strings (what else) and a padded and zippered gig bag of decent quality. Quite a package I think for this sort of money, and putting the Noah brand head to head with tenors from the likes of Ohana, Eddy Finn, Mainland and the like. So how does it stand up?
To hold, it is nice and balanced. Not overly heavy and comfortable (like a lot of tenors!). I do notice that edge on the fingerboard though. That isn't to say it is uncomfortable, and perhaps I am just pampered as my tenors have rolled edges, so don't let that put you off.
Setup wise - out of the box this was perfectly acceptable. I would probably raise the action at the saddle a touch (which is unusual!), but the nut is perfect meaning no tuning issues at the lower frets. Intontation all over the uke is acceptable and as such we have an accurate instrument here.
Playing it, the first thing I noticed is that it is not the loudest tenor I have come across. That is not necessarily a bad thing though. Many people choose volume over tone, and that is wrong in my view. At this price though, perhaps not surprising, and if you want top dollar projection and tone then you have to pay, top dollar!. It may be down to the strings, but I don't think that top wood thickness helps. Fingerpicked it really sings and there are some lovely harmonics up the neck when strings are played together and that is where I think this really shines. It is a clear sounding uke with quite a bright voice, whether strummed or picked with nice separation between the strings. Straight up strumming is where I think it is actually quietest (or, more accurately, where I would expect it to be louder!). I would love to change these Aquila strings (which may be partly to blame - I am not a fan of them) and experiment with some others to see what the uke can do. Do not get me wrong - this uke will easily be heard and outperforms many ukes sound wise but it is, lets say 'subtle'.
Overall though it has a pleasant sound which I rather like. I don't usually recommend ukuleles based on looks, but this certainly has them in spades, with some build features that you would expect at a far higher price point. I think for the money this uke is a real contender against the Kala, Ohana, Mainland and Eddy Finn ukes that sit at the same sort of price and well worth checking out. Check out the video review below for more
FOR
Looks, finish and detailing
Wide chunky neck
Price
Fingerpicked sound
AGAINST
Volume when strummed
Fingerboard edging finish
No side fret markers
SCORES
Looks - 9
Fit and Finish - 8
Sound - 8
Value For Money - 9
OVERALL - 8.5
Noah Ukes are available at an increasing number of UK dealers and you can contact Matt at Saigon guitars for more details if you want to get hold of them matt@saigonguitars.com
Read More »
Noah Monkeypod Tenor Ukulele REVIEW
Quite some time ago now I hooked up with a chap called Matt Cohen regarding his plans to bring a new line of ukuleles to the UK. We discussed and talked about an instrument review, but things went on hold. But here we are again with the Noah Monkeypod Tenor ukulele.
I mention that delay for good reason though. Matt was living out in Vietnam with a business called Saigon Guitars and had the aim of launching the 'Noah' brand of ukes. In our discussions though it became clear that this was not a case of a fly by night brand wanting to jump on the bandwagon - the delay happened because Matt was just not happy with the prototypes he was getting. So he went back to the drawing board until he was satisfied. I admire that. These are not made in huge far eastern factories, but in a small workshop - and knowing that Matt used to live there, you know that he actually spent time with these builders.
I believe his first outing was at the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival at which I picked up a couple of instruments to take a look at. I've been having a good play and am here now to tell you about the Monkeypod Tenor.
Monkeypod is a new wood for me, and comes from a plant that is related to the bean. This Noah Tenor uses all solid monkeypod and comes in with an RRP of £180 in the UK - a pretty competitive price for a solid wood tenor uke.
The body is standard shaped and is finished in satin, although a gloss version is also available and it is nice to have that choice. Looks wise, that monkeypod is certainly something to behold. It has a really interesting curly grain pattern, with plenty of dark stripe amidst the otherwise quite pale wood. It is very nicely book matched on the top and back, and the stripe in the sides follows the line of the body which is also nice to see. Often, at the cheaper end of solid wood instruments, this is where they can let you down on the looks front, with odd angles in the grain patterns, or tops that do not match. Full marks here.
That satin finish is nicely applied. Some satin ukes at this price point, such as those by Kala can have a satin finish that almost makes the uke feel artificial. This is ultra smooth also but has enough grain in it to avoid that feeling.
The top and back are joined to the sides with cream coloured body binding with a trace of black white black stripe in the top and back to set it off nicely. The binding is also made of pale maple which is a really nice touch and something you normally see on higher end instruments (most makers plump for good old plastic). It gives the uke a kind of vintage look that I particularly like.
Looking at the bridge, we have a standard designed tie bar bridge with a bone saddle. You can actually see the shaping marks on the saddle which hints at the fact that this is not totally mass produced. The bridge mounting looks a little chunky for me (I have certainly seen more subtle bridges) and it also looks like it has too been given a satin coat like the body. I have not seen that before, as usually they are in fairly unfinished wood. I don't think that is anything to complain about, but it is new to me.
Around the soundhole is a very pretty rosette which appears to be inlaid rather than being a transfer, another nice touch.
Where the sides meet at the butt of the uke we have some more maple binding which I like and turning the thing over we have more nicely book matched monkeypod wood on the back. The back also has a slight arch to it to help with sound projection which is nice to see.
Looking inside the uke, things are very neat and tidy. No glue seepage and the kerfling holding the sides to the top and back is notched and neatly applied. I like ukes where you can see the grain of the back when looking inside - a test to check if a uke is really solid wood, and we have that here. I also rarely talk about the smell from sound holes, but this oozes a woodshop smell! What I particularly like here is the Noah label - Which comes with the model number, serial number and date of manufacture hand written on to it. It says 'handcrafted in the workshop of Ton That Anh' and he has also signed it - a nice touch which gives it a more personal feel than a laser printed standard label.
Looking inside allows you to see the edge of the sound hole and the top wood to me looks ever so slightly on the thick side - nothing like a cheap laminate, and I have seen far more expensive ukes with similar tops, but I would have expected a slightly thinner wood.
On to the neck, this too is made of maple and is nicely finished. It has a chunky profile which I personally like and sits quite snug in the crook of your thumb and forefinger. It also has a wider than average tenor nut width which I always prefer so feels great for me. The neck is in two pieces, with the only join being at the heel. Incidentally, that heel is capped with a maple finish which is also nice to see.
The fingerboard is in Indian Rosewood, and is evenly coloured. On first glance it appears to be bound on the edges, but I think that is actually a layer of finish that hides the fret edges. We have 18 nickel silver frets, and 14 to the body. They are not overly chunky and are finished well. Forward facing fret markers are at the fifth, seventh and tenth frets in mother of pearl, but really disappointing that there are no player facing markers on the side. The edges of the fingerboard are a little sharp or angular for my liking. That is not the fret edges, rather the edge of the rosewood. I think it is exacerbated by the fact it is a wider than average neck, but expecting rolled fingerboard edges at this price point would be too much to ask.
Past the nut (which too is bone, and set nicely) the headstock is made of the same neck maple and faced with a veneer of monkeypod. It is refreshing to see it has it's own shape, and not a Martin three pointed crown copy and looks good and balanced. The Noah logo appears to be inlaid in mother of pearl and is applied neatly. Incidentally, whilst the company behind these is called Saigon, Matt chose to call his ukuleles 'Noah' after the name of his son - a nice touch!
Tuning is provided by unbranded sealed geared tuners. I would have preferred the buttons to be a little smaller, and my G tuner needed tightening a touch, but otherwise they work just fine and I have seen far far worse.
The whole package is rounded off with Aquila brand strings (what else) and a padded and zippered gig bag of decent quality. Quite a package I think for this sort of money, and putting the Noah brand head to head with tenors from the likes of Ohana, Eddy Finn, Mainland and the like. So how does it stand up?
To hold, it is nice and balanced. Not overly heavy and comfortable (like a lot of tenors!). I do notice that edge on the fingerboard though. That isn't to say it is uncomfortable, and perhaps I am just pampered as my tenors have rolled edges, so don't let that put you off.
Setup wise - out of the box this was perfectly acceptable. I would probably raise the action at the saddle a touch (which is unusual!), but the nut is perfect meaning no tuning issues at the lower frets. Intontation all over the uke is acceptable and as such we have an accurate instrument here.
Playing it, the first thing I noticed is that it is not the loudest tenor I have come across. That is not necessarily a bad thing though. Many people choose volume over tone, and that is wrong in my view. At this price though, perhaps not surprising, and if you want top dollar projection and tone then you have to pay, top dollar!. It may be down to the strings, but I don't think that top wood thickness helps. Fingerpicked it really sings and there are some lovely harmonics up the neck when strings are played together and that is where I think this really shines. It is a clear sounding uke with quite a bright voice, whether strummed or picked with nice separation between the strings. Straight up strumming is where I think it is actually quietest (or, more accurately, where I would expect it to be louder!). I would love to change these Aquila strings (which may be partly to blame - I am not a fan of them) and experiment with some others to see what the uke can do. Do not get me wrong - this uke will easily be heard and outperforms many ukes sound wise but it is, lets say 'subtle'.
Overall though it has a pleasant sound which I rather like. I don't usually recommend ukuleles based on looks, but this certainly has them in spades, with some build features that you would expect at a far higher price point. I think for the money this uke is a real contender against the Kala, Ohana, Mainland and Eddy Finn ukes that sit at the same sort of price and well worth checking out. Check out the video review below for more
FOR
Looks, finish and detailing
Wide chunky neck
Price
Fingerpicked sound
AGAINST
Volume when strummed
Fingerboard edging finish
No side fret markers
SCORES
Looks - 9
Fit and Finish - 8
Sound - 8
Value For Money - 9
OVERALL - 8.5
To understand my review scoring and see this result in context - visit my review page at
Noah Ukes are available at an increasing number of UK dealers and you can contact Matt at Saigon guitars for more details if you want to get hold of them matt@saigonguitars.com
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)