Bonanza Ukuleles Renegade Baritone - REVIEW

It's always a pleasure to look at this handmade in the USA ukulele brand, mainly because he keeps changing things up and moving forwards. This is the brand new Renegade series baritone ukulele from Bonanza.

Regular readers will know Bonanza by now, a USA brand run by Pete and Shelley Mai in Minnesota and using Pete's skills as a cabinet maker to create a range of ukuleles that always re-write the rules on how a uke should be built. And it's not just for effect, because no matter what I look at and think 'that won't work', they always do - and rather brilliantly.

SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW

The Renegade is a brand new model that joins another new line in the form of the Maverick which both take the 'through neck' concept he employed on his recent Millennium series to a couple of existing ukes of his to create a couple of new models with the focus being on good value for money. That's interesting to see as when I reviewed the Millennium I received some backlash for my comment on the price. People (wrongly) assumed I was saying it was too expensive, but I wasn't at all, I was merely pointing out that it was the most expensive Bonanza i'd seen. I even pointed out that I could see why because it was a much more convoluted build.  But Pete likes a challenge so with this one he revisited his previous 'entry level' model, the 'Homestead' that I looked at in 2020 and made it even better value. In fact when you look at this you'd think it WAS the Homestead, but there are some key differences.

The Renegade follows the standard build style of many Bonanza ukes insofar as it is made of a clamshell of two blocks of mahogany that are routed out to create a cavity with integral bracing that is sandwiched together to create the sound box. Where this differs from the Homestead is the inclusion of the through neck concept which sees the top section being integral to the whole of the rest of the neck. Those blocks appear to be jointed from two pieces themselves as you can see in the grain and leaving attractive patterning. In fact the two halves of the top section are evident right along the back of the neck. Intriguing! And like some of his other models this creates a very shallow ukulele front to back which is always a joy to hold. It's a double bout shape with an attractive sloped cutaway on the upper bout. And like most things with Bonanza you get a lot of choice so this is available in other scales and also other woods too such as walnut, cherry and oak.

The bridge follows the style of other Bonanza ukes being a through bridge style made of walnut with star motifs surrounding the holes through which you feed the strings. The saddle is straight topped and made of Corian sitting in its own dedicated slot. It's a very tidy nicely finished bridge and the spacing here is 43mm.

The finish here is in a hand rubbed satin which feels great and, being the value instrument in the lineup, comes with no other decor as standard, but Pete does offer etching of whatever you like! Still, like the Homestead, this is a very simple looking uke, but I do like it for that.

Inside is, understandably, very different to a regular uke as this needs no kerfing linings and the braces are integral to the body and what is left behind when the cavity is routed. Where this differs again from the Homestead is that Pete has employed his new 'Falcate' bracing which are kind of curved sections. Take a look at that Millennium review for a picture of what they look like.

The neck extends naturally out of the top section as I say and this means it has an extremely shallow heel section as it's not needed for strength in the same way. Like on the Millennium this makes access to frets down here a joy. You can see the joint I mention above running along the length and there appears to be another joint in the headstock that I cannot, for the life of me, work out what he did as it's like an optical illusion it's so well hidden. That's a cabinet maker for you! The profile is similar to other Bonanza ukuleles so very comfortable and has a roomy 38mm nut with 30mm D to E.

The fingerboard is made of walnut and is fitted with 19 frets and 14 to the top of the body. I think these are fitted like on other Bonanza ukes into their own dedicated slots so they don't reach the ends. This means none of them are sharp and you don't see any tangs on the sides. The edges feel slightly 'rolled' too so the wood itself is not sharp but soft on the hands. It's also in great condition. Being the value instrument the markings are simple pale dots at the 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th and 15th and these are repeated down the side.

Beyond the Corian nut is the usual very simple square topped Bonanza headstock with the logo etched in the facing veneer.

The tuners on this example are an optional upgrade over the standard sealed gears he tends to use. These are planetary gears made by Der Jung, a tuner I have on some of my own instruments and just as good as Gotoh UPT tuners. A joy to use and i'm so pleased to see them on a baritone which is pretty rare!

Finishing this off are a set of fluorocarbon strings with a low D and a couple of pre-fitted strap buttons. And as for that pricing point, in this spec with baritone scale and these tuners it clocks in at $449 with an introductory offer of $349. Without these tuners you can save a little more but either way it now beats the Homestead which in baritone starts at $469. A very fair deal!

I love the feel of this instrument as I did with the Homestead and it's lovely to play. The instrument is incredibly smooth and tactile and the shallow body is fun to lay back with. It balances just fine and is very light for a baritone at only 685g. If I have one complaint it's the string gauge and unwound low D which are too low in tension for my own tastes, but as I always say, I never adjust a uke score based on strings as they are so easily swapped for what you want. I'd do so here - in fact I did have to double check with him whether the strings were for C tuning! (He said not). Still, the instrument still has a volume and long sustain that hits you as a total surprise when you consider how thin it is and how it is constructed. It's great.

Strings will be contributing to the tone, but it's a laid back porch picker sound which is much mellower than the Homestead, but still very pleasing to listen to. Strummed it has a rich warm comforting tone that is not muddy, but not in your face and strident. As I say, very laid back. You can sense a shimmer played this way as it harmonises with itself and sounds MUCH bigger than the instrument actually is. 

Fingerpicking is warm yet somewhat more chimey up the neck and again, very laid back and pleasing to listen to. I can't tell you how comfortable it is to play this way (despite my shonky fretting hand in the video!).

I knew this would be a decent one based on my time with the Homestead and it's nice to see Bonanza keep developing and changing up their range to take on his new ideas. OK, it's not a huge twist on the already very popular Homestead, but it's certainly not a change for the worse. Another one that 'shouldn't work, but it does' which, if you are a Bonanza owner you will know exactly what I mean. And if you are not - with that introductory price offer, now is a good time!

Highly recommended! Now excuse me, it's a sunny day so I'm going to lie in the garden and play it - it's that kinda uke!

https://www.bonanzaukuleles.com/default.asp

UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP

Model: Bonanza Renegade

Scale: Baritone

Body: Solid routed mahogany

Bridge: Walnut, through bridge

Saddle: Corian

Spacing at saddle: 43mm

Finish: Satin

Neck: Mahogany, integral to top section

Fingerboard: Walnut

Frets: 19, 14 to body
Nut: Corian

Nut width: 38mm, 30mm D to E

Tuners: Der Jung Planetary

Strings: Fluorocarbon

Country of origin: USA

Weight: 685g

Price: $449 in this spec, intro price $349

UKULELE PROS

Very clean build and finish

Light and comfortable
Great neck comfort

Superb tuners

Great volume and sustain
Rich warm tone
Great price

UKULELE CONS

Nothing much! String change (easily done)?

UKULELE SCORES

Looks - 9 out of 10

Fit and finish - 9.5 out of 10

Sound - 9.5 out of 10
Value for money - 9.5 out of 10

OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9.4 out of 10

UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW

© Barry Maz
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