Clearwater UCW5T Willow Tenor Ukulele - REVIEW

Back again with a ukulele brand who have probably aced the 'value for money' part of these reviews more than any other. This is the Clearwater UCW5T Willow Tenor Ukulele.

And once again with Clearwater it's an instrument where you say 'hang on, i've seen that before somewhere'. And you would not be wrong, because this is another line that Clearwater have taken on that was, or maybe still is put out under the very well known Ohana name.... only with one very big difference - a drastic price reduction.

SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW

It's a clever thing really that is not a case of 'copying' that some brands go in for, but rather Clearwater doing a deal with the production line that made the instruments for Ohana and working out their own pricing on their own branded versions which are usually pretty much identical). They did it with the ABS bowl back ukes that are so incredibly popular and they did it with the spruce and maple tenor ukulele I looked at recently. This one is  largely identical to the 15WG series range of Ohana ukuleles that I have not seen available recently but I remember being very well liked. This line are made of all laminate woods but with an outer veneer type you rarely if ever see on ukuleles being made from willow. This uses two pieces on each of the top back and sides which each have a very strong light and dark grain pattern which will differ from uke to uke. It's an extremely striking look which certainly is quite different. I have to state my own subjective opinion though that it doesn't do it for me personally and comes across as a bit 'leopard print' to my eyes and too orangey yellow for my tastes, but that is just me as I know many people love the look. More on the finish though further below.

The bridge is identical in look to the Ohana and a tie bar with an nice shape made from an unspecified, probably dyed hardwood. It's very tidy and holds a bone saddle with a string spacing of 40mm.

Where this does differ from the Ohana is in the final finish. It has minimal other decoration like the Ohana but does have an inlaid sound hole ring which is similar but not quite the same. But the main difference is that this comes with a satin finish whereas the Ohana was gloss. That's not to say this is 'unfinished' (it's still coated) but in looks it actually does make it appear more so. The gloss on the Ohana really made the grain patterns shine and almost stand out whereas here it is looks a lot more muted and basic. It's very neatly done to be fair with no over pooling, but just looks a bit too basic for me - and I like satin finishes more!! The Ohana version wins here I think.

Inside is fairly standard fayre with a regular bracing pattern and notched linings. It's very tidy in there and the laminate top is pleasingly thin!

The neck is unspecified and in the usual three pieces with well hidden joints at the heel and headstock (the headstock joint being next to impossible to see). That's finished in satin too which is unlike the Ohana which has a gloss neck. Here the satin becomes a positive as this is much nicer to play.  That tapers to a generic though not overly rounded profile very much like most far eastern made Ohana ukes and 36mm nut width and 28mm string spacing. 

The neck is topped with more unspecified hard wood for the fingerboard which is paler than the bridge wood and stands out to me as a mis-match. Still, it's in good condition though. It's not edge bound, but the end grooves for the tangs of the frets appear to be filled and stained a little darker so you are not looking at metal ends. The frets are pretty tidy and not sharp, though one or two come close! You get 19 of those joined at the 14th. Position dots are simple outward facing pearl markers at the 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th and 15th though like other Clearwater ukes there are (sadly) no side dots at all.

Beyond the bone nut is the usual Clearwater headstock shape which is, unsurprisingly, the same as the Ohana shape. This is a more simple affair without the purfling decor seen on some other Clearwater ukes, but it is faced in more willow wood. The clearwater logo is a silver screen print.

And finally, somewhat surprisingly, this comes with the very same Grover brand open geared tuners as come on the Ohana. Usually with Clearwater I have seen that in this department they take a step down but these are great tuners. And particularly great when I come on to the price!

Finishing things off for the standard price is simply a set of Aquila strings. Gig bags and pod cases are available for ( a small) additional cost, but the RRP for these is a simply remarkable £71.99. That's more than half the price of the Ohana version.. for an instrument that is totally identical bar the satin finish. Suddenly the lack of gloss doesn't worry me so much!

So all pretty decent so far for a frankly remarkable price. No, the grain isn't to my taste and I think gloss would bring it out better, but this is still pretty much the same as an Ohana offering for more than half the price. It feels (and looks) well made and finished and is clearly not your usual 'Amazon special' kind of deal. It's not heavy at 620g and balances nicely too.

When the Ohana versions were available people said they liked the crisp clear tone they had and it should be no different here bar the impact of a finish difference can make to sound.  And sure enough this does indeed have a very clear crisp tone to it. Basics first though and the volume and sustain are both just in the 'ok good' category rather than either being stellar. They are both perfectly passable, but I've played louder and longer sustaining instruments... though perhaps not for seventy two quid...

When strummed that crispness of tone makes for a very peppy jangly tone that is a lot of fun to listen to. It doesn't get muddy or lost though you do have to give it a bit of 'ooomph' to get it to project (and being laminate the wood is not going to open up with time). Still, it sounds like a half decent ukulele played this way and does the job.

Fingerpicking is rather pretty to listen to also and again very clear and direct. I think I prefer it played that way as it's a rather melodic sounding instrument with a nice voice. I am not going overboard here and this is a far cry from a higher end instrument, but remember that price. I see a lot of generic cheap laminate ukes that throw the kitchen sink at you and more often than not they leave me a bit flat on the tone for being very one dimensional. Whilst this doesn't have huge amounts of character, the tone it has sounds nice enough for my ears and certainly very nice indeed considering the asking price. It's a no-brainer.

If you are buying for yourself on a budget or a friend / loved one I'd personally urge you to check out the Clearwater range as it just seems such good sense to take advantage of their pricing. Quite simply, you are getting an Ohana quality instrument for half the asking price - what's not to love with that?

Another Clearwater recommendation!

https://www.rumc-ltd.co.uk/

UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP

Model: Clearwater UCW5T 

Scale: Tenor

Body: Laminate willow

Bridge: Unspecified tie bar

Saddle: Bone

Spacing at saddle: 40mm

Finish: Satin

Neck: Unspecified

Fingerboard: Unspecified

Frets: 19, 14 to body

Nut: Bone

Nut width: 36mm, 28mm G to A

Tuners: Grover open gears

Strings: Aquila

Weight: 620g

Country of origin: China

Price: £71.99

UKULELE PROS

Good overall build

Crisp clear tone

Great tuners

Amazing price

UKULELE CONS

Look not to my taste

Fingerboard colour mis match

Gloss sets off the grain pattern better

No side markers

UKULELE SCORES

Looks - 8 out of 10

Fit and finish - 8.5 out of 10

Sound - 8.5 out of 10

Value for money - 10 out of 10

OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 8.8 out of 10

UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW

© Barry Maz

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