A third outing for this hand made French ukulele brand on Got A Ukulele. The others have really impressed me so was keen to look at this Monoxyl Mango Elite Concert from Caravelle Kitchen.
The brand are instruments made by hobby builder Matthieu Theuret from Saint Georges-de-Didonne on the western French Coast. 'Hobby builder' is always a term I dislike using when I've seen the quality of someone like Matthieu's work because he is making some VERY nice stuff. This is another 'monoxyl' style ukulele (read back on the first one of those I reviewed here for more back story about the brand and the name), which comes from a Greek word for 'dug out canoe'. And that is to say this is another cut out chamber ukulele with a drop top. It's actually been quite the year for those with two new Bonanza ukes (who have been building this way for some time now) and the two new Kala Revelators, but it's worth noting that Matthieu was making these before Kala! Antica Ukuleleria have done it too. (Maybe there's nothing new under the sun!).
SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW
To make these Matthieu starts with a block of wood that includes the length of the neck and headstock and routs out a sound chamber to create a bowl for the integral back and sides. In this case the wood is Khaya (more commonly called 'African Mahogany' despite not actually being the same species). On to the top of this one is a single solid sheet of Mango. These come together in a very attractive modern double bout shape with a fatter lower and sloping cutaway on the top shoulder. It's skinny front to back and I can't quite explain how wonderful it is to feel in the hands. There are absolutely no sharp edges here with the front and back 'joins' to the sides wonderfully rounded. In fact, so nicely done if it wasn't for the change in wood type for the top I swear you would never see the join. The other delight here is the wonderful grain in the woods. They are not 'paired' pieces so the grain pattern is asymmetric and great to look at. The body has a kind of vintage look to it, but with a lot of style. I know I often say I like book-matching, but with grain as pronounces as this it really works. I love it.
The bridge is a rosewood tie bar which is extremely tidy and with nicely sloping side wings. Sitting in that is a bone saddle and a string spacing of 41mm
Decoration is limited to an engraved sound hole ring with the caravel boat logo (which is part of the name) but with wood grains like this, why would you want more bling? The body is then finished in a hand rubbed Rubio oil finish, which is a totally eco friendly, solvent free alternative to synthetic oils. Nice. That really adds to the nice feel on the hands.
There isn't a great deal to see inside but it's tidy. The back is horizontally braced and the top vertically on the lower bout with a box of strengthening braces around the sound hole.
As I say above, the single piece neck is integral to the back of the ukulele so flows out naturally with a very skinny heel. That tapers down to a flattened profile and whilst only an average nut of about 36mm, (27mm G to A) it's very comfortable in my hands. It's finished in the same way as the body so it's not grippy or glossy but smooth on the hands.
That's topped with a rosewood fingerboard with some great colour variation which gives it a marbled effect right down the board. It's fitted with 19 frets with 13 to the top of the body. These are in self contained slots so there will be no fret sprout and are individually hand dressed with semi-hemi ends for a smooth feel. Excellent touch that. You also get a zero fret to help dial the intonation in well. Like another Caravelle Kitchen uke i've looked at the outward inlaid dots are placed at the 5th, 7th and 12th, missing out the 10th. That's not a crime, but I did find myself getting a little lost without it as I tend to orientate myself with that one a lot. It's something you'd get used to though. Sadly, no side dots again which is something he could (and should) easily add.
Beyond the resin nut is a simple shaped headstock which is undecorated. I think it would be nice to see a logo up there considering the space, but we can't have everything. I do think it makes it look a little big though.
The ukulele is fitted with black buttoned friction pegs which I have seen Matthieu use before. They are not branded Grover, but are similar in their multi washer construction and are the sort I have bought and used myself. They are very smooth and suit the ukulele well.
Other than that you get a set of Martin fluoro strings and it comes with an asking price of €500. That's reasonable in my book for a hand made instrument (certainly when you turn that into man hours).
I can't stress enough how nice this ukulele is to hold. The curved edges and ultra smooth oiled finish are a delight. It's also light as a feather at only 485g and balances nicely too.
So it's a diminutive little thing, but as I regularly find with these clamshell type ukuleles their construction defies the odds when it comes to sound. And sure enough this one works too. The volume here is good and the sustain is great with the whole instrument vibrating away in the hands. For such a slight little thing, the punch is excellent.
The tone is extremely clear and crisp too with every note extremely clear in the mix and no hints of muddy confusion. It's brighter than I expected it to sound and probably a bit brighter than I would personally like, but this is a concert after all. It strums wonderfully and it's easy to create a bouncy rhythmical sound that bops along very musically. I'm probably nit picking a little on that 'bright' comment as theres actually quite a bit of roundness to the tone too and a bit of experimentation with strings may also change things up.
The clarity when fingerpicking is very nice too with great volume all the way up the neck and a pretty bell like tone to the notes which really put a smile on my face. All in all it's a very nice thing to listen to and a joy to hold and play.
So another hit for Matthieu and his 'hobby'... This is my favourite so far of the Caravelle Kitchen ukes I've looked at and had already fallen for the looks the day I first took it out of the box. There's some skill on show here and a great sound.
If you are wanting something a bit different in the uke world, this guy should certainly be on your radar. Highly recommended.
UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP
Model: Caravelle Kitchen Monoxyle Mango Elite
Scale: Concert
Body: Solid block Khaya back and sides, solid mango top
Bridge: Rosewood tie bar
Saddle: Bone
Spacing at saddle: 41mm
Finish: Rubio oil
Neck: Khaya, integral to body
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Frets: 19, 13 to body, semi hemi dressed
Nut: Resin
Nut width: 36mm, 27mm G to A
Tuners: Unbranded friction pegs
Strings: Martin Fluoro
Weight: 485g
Country of origin: France
Price: €500
UKULELE PROS
Divine organic look and feel
Extremely light
Very comfortable neck
Good volume
Great sustain
Very clear tone
Good value
UKULELE CONS
Needs side dots
UKULELE SCORES
Looks - 9.5 out of 10
Fit and finish - 9 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
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Dot pattern is like fleas/flukes and I don't like it either, esp since 12 is where the body meets (on sopranos at least) and is rather obvious
ReplyDeleteRe hobby luthiers. There's a retired businessman in my club that occasionally builds ukuleles in his very tidy workshop. He's studied the history and practice of guitar and ukulele luthiery. I've handled three of his creations and have no doubt you would score his ukes well into the 9s. So they are out there.
ReplyDeleteHis website cannot send a product to the USA. If you want one, you will have to click on "CONTACT" on the website.
ReplyDelete