aNueNue UT10 (UCT10) Color Series Tenor Ukulele

In what I think is a first independent ukulele review for this brand new model - this week I am looking at the aNueNue UT10 Color Tenor.

In the last couple of years I have raved about the aNueNue Color Concert Ukulele (probably more than is healthy) - but it was a ukulele that genuinely made me sit up and get excited more than most others do. For me it was a bit of a sea-change ukulele at a time things were pretty grim and the uke market was feeling a bit stale. It wasn't just the looks though, they were a great price and sounded good too. I absolutely loved it and personally bought two with my own money (can't think of a better endorsement). But of course scale choices are very personal and I recall comments came in on that model along the lines of 'I wish they'd make a tenor'.. Well.. They did. Let's have a look.

First up, some confusion with the name. The aNueNue name has this as the UCT10 which is how Southern Ukulele Store list it. However, World of Ukes (who kindly loaned me this one) noted that the label actually says UT10 so listed it that way. Either way, it's a tenor version of the concert I have talked about, only with one or two small changes in the range.

This is constructed in the same way, which is to say a solid spruce top and laminate mahogany back and sides. The tops are painted in largely the same Pantone shades as the concert model, but with some new additions including a 'Black Beauty' (which I 'think' replaces the Quiet Shade) and this one, a deep green called 'Black Forest'. I'll go early here and say that as much as I like the other colours, when I saw this one in the flesh it has immediately become my total favourite. It's lovely! It's a thin coat too and in the right light you can see the wood grain beneath it which bodes well insofar as they didn't just lump the paint on.

The bridge here is rosewood, as is the bridge on the black model, but others in the series stay as maple. More on that difference when we get to the price, but like the concert it's an extremely tidy tie bar fitted with a straight topped synthetic bone saddle. String spacing here is just over 39mm.

Decoration is the same as the concerts with maple wood edge binding to the top and back and the curious pickguard with a fabric 'look' on the top shoulder mimicking the cutaway shape of the MoonBird. These pick guards really do divide opinion, but I am told they are easily removed. I grew to like them to be honest and whilst I mentioned with the concert it was lifting on one corner, despite a LOT of play it's not got any worse. Incidentally, the guard is NOT fabric, rather a soft vinyl imprinted to look like the gig bag. Like others in the series the top colour is flat and the whole thing has a smooth satin finish.

Inside is extremely tidy with thin carved braces, notched linings and no mess to speak of.  The top is vertically braced from the soundhole down.

The neck is made of mahogany in three pieces with joints in the usual places. It tapers down to a slightly flattened nut profile and an average 36mm at the nut, 29mm G to A. That's exactly the same as the concert which is a disappointment as I would have liked them to go wider. Still the profile makes it comfortable enough.

This colour is topped with more rosewood for the fingerboard, but again, some other colours get maple. It's edge bound hiding the ends of the 18 frets with 14 to the body of which none of them are sharp. With this colour  and the black version you get star shaped inlaid position markers facing out at the 5th, 7th, 10th and 12th and these are paired with dots on the side. On other colours you get regular dots. I like these.

Beyond the synthetic bone nut is the same headstock shape as the others but with this colour and the black you get a colour facing to match the body. I really like that change rather than the more stark maple on the concert models and think it looks great. The aNueNue logo is a silver screen print on the upper face.

Tuners are the same as the concert - unbranded open gears with small cream buttons that work very well. No complaints.

Finishing the package are a set of aNueNue Clear Water fluorocarbon string and the same style fabric padded gig bag which I liked so much. As for the price, this is where I have a bit of confusion. The coloured versions with maple boards and bridges come in at £169, and whilst that's a touch more than the RRP on the concert was I can understand the uplift for both a bigger instrument and also a rise in prices generally. This one and the black though are £185, a price uplift I am told reflects the use of rosewood, the star markers and the headstock facing. However.... the Blue Arona tenor model of this, still has a rosewood board, so it's only the rosewood bridge doing the uplift. It's still a good overall price I think but you can make your own minds up whether £16 is worth it for star markers, a painted headstock and a rosewood bridge. Personally, I think they should all be the same price as the concerts were.

It's light for a tenor at 555g and balances nicely in the hands yet still feels solidly put together. Like the concert the volume, projection and sustain here are all very nice indeed. It's a lively instrument for sure!

With the concert I pointed out that whilst I loved the crispness of the tone I would have liked it a little more rounder or with more breadth if I was being really picky. I'm hopeful here that a bigger body may deliver some of that. I'm pleased to report that the crystal clarity and punch of the concert is repeated here delivering a tone that is anything BUT muddy or confused. Sparkling clarity. The brightness is still there and the difference between this and the concert is only very slight, but to my ears the tone does have a touch more breadth. That's to be expected of course with a bigger body, but bear in mind that means MORE spruce too! The strumming remains peppy, bouncy and jangly and fingerpicked notes still cut like glass, but it's like the concert with a very slight dose of warmth added to the mix. It really is close though. Still, the tone pleases me in exactly the same sort of way and whilst other brands have tried this coloured top concept, i've not yet found one that sounds as sure footed as the aNueNue's.  There's something just a bit joyous about these instruments I think and whilst I would never class them as having 'top table' tone, their playability and sound far exceeds their price in my book.

I think people knew that I would like this one and sure enough, I do - it's a cracking instrument for not a lot of money. You'll see that I gave this the same overall score as the concert, but I bumped up the 'looks' score here (as I love the green and the headstock), but scaled down the value for money a touch as I think they should be all the same price. But honestly - they are as good as each other. Your choice will purely be down to which scale you like to play more - neither would be a mistake in my book. Very highly recommended! And thanks so much to Matt at World of Ukes for letting me test drive this one!

Oh... and they now make a soprano too!

https://worldofukes.co.uk/

UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP

Model: aNueNue UT10

Scale: Tenor

Body: Solid spruce, laminate back and sides

Bridge: Rosewood - tie bar

Saddle: Synthetic bone

Spacing at saddle: 39mm

Finish: Satin, painted top

Neck: Mahogany

Fingerboard: Rosewood

Frets: 18, 14 to body

Nut: Synthetic bone

Nut width: 36mm, 29mm G to A

Tuners: Unbranded open gears

Strings: aNueNue Clear Water fluorocarbon

Extras: Gig bag

Weight: 555g

Country of origin: China

Price: £169 - £185

UKULELE PROS

Same great build and finish

Love this colour

Headstock facing is a nice addition

Light weight

Great volume and sustain

Same crisp sound with touch more resonance

Nice bag

Fair overall price

UKULELE CONS

Think they should all be the same price really.

UKULELE SCORES

Looks - 9 out of 10

Fit and finish 9.5 out of 10

Sound - 9 out of 10

Value for money - 9.5 out of 10

OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9.3 out of 10

UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW

© Barry Maz

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