The Rebel Limited Edition Neri Concert Ukulele - REVIEW

It's been a little while since I saw something from this ukulele brand, but what i've seen before was delicious. This is the limited edition 'Neri' Concert from The Rebel.

The couple of ukes i've reviewed from The Rebel have done very well indeed. They are a small team of luthiers, originally trained by KoAloha, who got together in Thailand in 2011 and have been putting out some quite beautiful instruments, all very different, all very unique for some time now. If you needed more credentials they are also the team that was behind the Opio series of instruments. The Neri forms part of a set of very limited run instruments in their 'Q Series', again each one being unique. I believe there are only a dozen or so of these around, so lets dive in.

SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW

Naturally, these are higher end instruments and as such we are looking at all solid tonewoods here with a classic pairing of solid spruce for the top and solid mahogany for the back and sides. It's 'just' a double bout shape with an intriguing outline that SUS call a 'bell shape' which I can see, but also it's kind of a skinny dreadnought to me. That is to say, with either descriptor, that the waist is not as pronounced as usual which should have the effect of boosting the mid frequencies in a way that pineapples do more greatly. I personally love the shape, but expect that it may have people who don't share that view. More importantly than shape, the quality of the woods here looks great.  More on the obvious design elements that are jumping out of this review further on.

The bridge is a tie bar style made of ebony in an interesting asymmetrical shape that is also in wonderful condition. That holds a Tusq saddle that is straight topped. String spacing here is 41mm.

With all The Rebel instruments, the design elements are a big part of what they are about, and this one in particular is a real masteclass in unique design touches. Thankfully, based on my earlier reviews of Rebel ukes they are not a case of style over substance as they sound terrific too, but this one has lots of very interesting design features over and above what I have seen before. Around the top are rosewood bindings, nicely chamferred and 'rolled' on the edges for comfort. Around the top this is paired with black and white purfling. Then the soundholes.. and we get more eccentric. On the top right bout we have a trio of soundholes which I really like. Running through the middle of them is a thin strip of the top which I presume is partly design, but partly to add some strength to an area that looks very delicate. Interesting. Bear in mind if you are a fingerpicker who 'plants their pinky' you may need to adapt here for obvious reasons! On the top left bout is a curved cutaway into just the top. Alongside that is a side sound port in a kind of 'sunrise' design. So lots of holes and a very unique look. The body is then glossed which is impeccable in every area. What a looker. The details are kind of organic, particularly that top left sound port.

Inside is extremely tidy, which is a good job as you can see in there so easily for obvious reasons! The braces are thin and the kerfing notched and neat.  It's almost as pretty inside as outside!

The neck is made from flamed Marrango wood (a new one to me) and looks divine. It looks like a single piece and the flamed stripes down the neck are quite wonderful. The heel area is quite pointy and whilst it may look uncomfortable is really not. More on what happens as it transitions into the headstock further below, but the nut profile is rounded but not overly so and the width of 37mm (28mm G to A) is not the widest, but not the skinniest either. It's comfortable. Elsewhere there is rosewood heel cap and a gloss finish. I'd prefer that to be satin to be honest.

The fingerboard is made from ebony which is uniformly dark and well conditioned. There is some very clever looking carving going on at the body end which I can't take my eyes off. The sides are bound with ebony hiding the ends of the 19 frets with a 14th body joint. Looking at them closely they are some of the tidiest dressed frets I've seen. Pale maple wood position dots face out at the 5th, double 7th, 10th, double 12th and 15th and they are paired down the side. 

Beyond the Tusq nut is yet more clever design for the headstock. We have an interesting asymmetrical shape head with ebony facings to the front AND back. On the front the ebony pieces are kind of raised from the marrango neck wood and are split in two by an attractive wave gap down the middle. It gives it a 3D applique look which I really like and is quite different. On the back the ebony melds into the shape of the neck and nut area veloute stopper and looks wonderful in a different way. It's on the back that you get The Rebel bird logo inlaid in wooded pieces. I adore this part of the uke.

Tuners have zero complaints from me as these are Gotoh UPT planetary tuners in gold with white buttons. Enough said.

Finishing it off are a clear fluoro string set and what is always divisive with The Rebel ukes - the gig bag... With earlier models you were given a kind of modern art designed bag made of a PVC type material that I said reminded me of the pencil cases I had in school in the 1970's. For these limited run ukes you get the same design pattern, but this time in a material that reminds me of something else I had in the 1970's... a dressing gown.. These will be a love hate thing, but honestly, this is not for me at all, not least because it provides little crushing protection for an expensive instrument. Add to that the fact that material like this will look ragged over time. Nope. 

Anyway, for all that you are looking at a UK price of £1,049. Serious money but hardly the most expensive uke I have seen and when you consider all that design and the materials I can see exactly where the value is and in fact more so than with other Rebel ukes as there is so much going on.

So quite the instrument. A wonderful build and finish with some seriously attractive and interesting design elements that I adore looking at. And no, I'm not going to trash the whole instrument for the sake of the weird gig bag either - you'll buy a hard case anyway considering the price. What a beauty. There are though, well.... a lot of holes. A very good luthier once told me that sound holes can be small as they are really only for allowing air transfer and most of the volume comes from the vibrating top not the hole.. so if you are going with loads of holes, are you losing some projection in other ways. Saying that, remember this has a much fatter waist then usual so there may be some counter balance there. There's also an issue with fragility I guess or at least that was an initial thought of mine when I saw the photographs of these. Lets get into it.

Firstly this is a very light and comfortable instrument to hold. It clocks in at only 520g and balances very nicely. I saw some early comments on this about whether it was fragile in view of all those cutouts. I suppose it is in the sense that you wouldn't want to lean on it with much pressure, but why would you. It actually feels quite reassuring to hold. Saying all that, that does focus me back to the soft fluffy bag and I think at this cost and build type they really should provide it in a hard shell case.

Basics first of volume and sustain and the construction style here is not hampering anything to my ears. The volume is great and the sustain, particularly for a concert is very decent indeed. Punchy!

With the tone things then start to get very interesting. Spruce and mahogany is a classic combination of course which draws on the brightness of the top wood and pares it back with the woodier tones of the mahogany. And there certainly is some brightness here, but I think the body style is really giving it some meat in the middle of the tone that warms it very nicely. But there is more than that, because the instrument is clearly harmonising with itself. When strummed that creates a fizzy jangle that would have you wonder if there are more than four strings on it. This is a great thing as I want a concert to sound more rhythmical and bouncy and this has that in spades when played that way.  

That is not to say it is a one trick pony as fingerpicking is delightfully clear and sweet sounding all over the neck. And when you then throw in some strums to your melody line, well... heavenly. And like when played with strums, it's a very responsive instrument meaning you can create all sorts of changes to the sound depending on your attack. Putting these together makes for what I think is a wonderfully rounded concert sound with bags of interesting character that make you really listen to it. A joy.

Once again, style AND substance from The Rebel. This is a real head turner of an instrument that I am so pleased has a voice that more than lives up to the looks.  My gripes are minor. Remarkable and highly recommended!

https://www.therebelukulele.com

https://www.southernukulelestore.co.uk

UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP

Model: The Rebel Neri

Scale: Concert

Body: Solid spruce top, solid mahogany back and sides

Bridge: Ebony tie bar

Saddle: Tusq

Spacing at saddle: 41mm

Finish: Gloss

Neck: Marrango

Fingerboard: Ebony

Frets: 19, 14 to body

Nut: Tusq

Nut width: 37mm, 28 G to A

Tuners: Gotoh UPT

Strings: Clear fluorocarbon

Extras: Gig bag

Weight: 520g

Country of origin: Thailand

Price: £1,049

UKULELE PROS

Drop dead gorgeous looks and design features

Great build and finish

Superb tuners

Excellent volume and sustain

Bright yet balanced core tone

Wonderful self harmonisation and meaty mids

UKULELE CONS

Would prefer a satin neck

Drop the gig bag and include a hard shell

UKULELE SCORES

Looks - 9.5 out of 10

Fit and finish - 9.5 out of 10

Sound - 9.5 out of 10

Value for money - 9 out of 10

OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9.4 out of 10

UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW

© Barry Maz

GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - YOUR KIND DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!

SAY THANKS WITH A BEER!

BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON

OR THRU PAYPAL

THANKS!