Well here's a uke brand I've been itching to get hold of for ages now. This is the 'Oli L2-BCR Baritone - a brand that caused some great excitement when they launched gets a run out on Got A Ukulele!
'Oli have been around for a little over a year now, though have only just started appearing in the UK. They are a new 'house brand' of the very well known 'The Ukulele Site' store in Hawaii run by Andrew Kitakis and his team. It seems a little churlish to me to refer to them merely as a 'House brand' Uke, as what is really the case here is a long thought out, ground up ukulele development between one of the globes most well respected uke stores and a renowned luthier team in Java under Ryan Condon and his team. This is not an 'off the peg' uke with a TUS badge slapped on the headstock, but rather Andrew's team have taken their own knowledge, advice from luthiers, pro players and the like to create their own instrument line. A really nice story in my view.
SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW
So as I say, people have been drooling over these for a while despite them only being available from TUS. Enter stage right, Alex at Southern Ukulele Store in the UK who secured a bunch to be available in the UK at both SUS and World Of Ukes. They both have quite a few in different varieties, which is my cue to try to explain the product lines. As I understand it they start with the 'X Series' as the base level - more standard ukuleles and then move up through two more 'tiers' called the L1 and L2. These add in some more premium appointments, key being the lattice bracing that I believe the L stands for. What i've also noted is that whilst they seem to have some core model types with namings that tell you what they are (TMG - Tenor, Mango Gloss, BCR- Baritone, Cedar, Rosewood etc), there also seem to be sub-varieties on some of the decor appointments, as is the case here. More on that below.
The L2-BCR therefore is in the upper tier from 'Oli and is a Baritone with a solid cedar top and solid rosewood back and sides. More specifically this is solid Western Red Cedar on the top and solid Indonesian Rosewood for the back and sides. That is a popular wood pairing in high end classical guitars which I expect will give a cedar warmth coupled with a darker tightening up of the tone with the rosewood. Tone aside these are clearly very nice tonewood selections as they each look beautiful and pair with a wonderful contrast. The top grain is tight and dead straight and the stripes on the rosewood is something I could gaze at all day. I would also note the overall shape that, despite being a trad double bout affair is pretty skinny side to side giving it a vintage uke feel to me that I am very taken with also in a world dominated by newer 'fat bottomed' ukes.
The bridge is a tie bar style made from ebony and very nicely finished and tapered on the side wings in a way that avoids it looking generic. That holds a bone saddle with a curved top (for reasons I come on to below) and has a string spacing of 46mm.
I mentioned that there are some decoration variations on the 'Oli ukes and whilst I had seen a TUS video of an L2-BCR with more regular black and white purfling to the top this one goes with a very striking blue turquoise purfling around the top and sound hole trim. It's a colour I wouldn't normally shout about, but from the moment I opened the case I just gasped as I think it works really nicely and presents more of a 'statement' uke look than the regular binding. I'd also tell you that it is less 'in your face' in the flesh than some photos would suggest. That blue edging pairs with more regular dark wooden ebony binding to the top, back and soundhole edge. You also get a lower bout arm rest bevel, also in ebony (and doesn't stand out like some can!) and a side sound port with ebony trim too. The body is then finished in a gloss which looks thin and impeccably done.
Inside is extremely tidy and interesting too. Alongside the notched linings and regular back braces the top is lattice braced as you will see below. That is to say that rather than single cross braces or a large X brace, there are multipled latticed braces on the top. I can also see the back braces are really skinny and the two sound holes are strengthened on the edges with additional plates.
The neck on this one is made of mahogany and i'm pleased to see they gave it a satin coat. There is no joint I can see at the headstock but it has a stacked heel arrangement with an attractive ebony wood cap on the end. The nut end also has what is almost a volute stopper which is comfortable. The profile is quite rounded on this one, and it's also a fairly average (to me) 37mm with 28mm D to E. I'd like it a touch wider and flatter, but as it's a baritone i'm still finding this comfortable and even more so when you read on. Oh, and it has an adjustable truss rod too.
That is topped with more ebony for the board which is in great condition. It's fitted with 20 jumbo ish frets with 14 to the body and there is also a slight radius to the top (don't ask me the measurement..) for comfort which is very nice to see and feel and offsets the width hugely for me. The board is also trimmed with more turquoise blue which looks great. Fret markers are Flight style offset wooden inlays that serve as both outward and side markers at the same time. They sit at the 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th and 15th.
Beyond the bone nut is a simple effective headstock with a slightly asymmetric wave top that mirrors the wave on the end of the fingerboard, but in reverse. That is faced in glossed ebony and is also trimmed in blue. The 'Oli logo is a wooden inlay and looks good too. Classy.
Tuners are the divine Gotoh UPT planetary pegs in black. Some of the best tuners out there and my heart skipped a beat when I saw rear facing tuners on a baritone. Wonderful! ALL ukes should come with these!
It comes strung with a Ko'olau Aho baritone set with both the D and G string being wound. You also get a lovely O'ahu fabric trimmed hard shell case which is seriously good quality. And for all that you are looking at a UK price of £1,599. Serious ukulele money for sure, but this is a seriously specced and finished instrument. For me these are at price points comparable to high end Pono instruments and things like the Moon Birds. As such, I have no doubt these will find their buyers even if it may be too much of a stretch for some.
So as you can see the build and finish here are impeccable. I love the details and old-timey look with that modern spritz from the blue trim. It's very comfortable to hold and not heavy for a baritone at all at 890g.
Basics first and of course baritones rarely miss a trick on volume and sustain. Both are great here and the resonance in particular is just wonderful with a pleasing vibration that can be felt wherever your body is touching it. Really nice.
Tone wise I was expecting warmth from the cedar and it certainly has that. But there is a snappy edge to the higher notes too which balances it off. I don't really consider baritones as old timey strummers for my tastes, and much prefer this fingerpicked with some chord strums thrown in. Either way though it has what I call in the video a 'cosy' sound that I find really comforting and relaxing. That isn't to say muddy at all as there is excellent note clarity on this that really shines whilst the lower strings are providing a glowing kind of warmth in the background. It's also extremely responsive on the fingers meaning you can get all sorts of frills out of the tone with ease and you don't feel you are fighting it to release tone. This is all VERY accomplished sounding that is hard to criticise. I suppose with the work that went into development, it was always going to be.
I really admire the story here - extremely knowledgable ukulele experts working with extremely proficient players and master luthiers to build a series from the ground up rather than slapping a badge on. I know that Andrew and team are proud of these and I can now see why. You can see, feel and hear the development that went into these and they've created a uke that sits firmly at the top table. I'd gladly own this one.
Very highly recommended!
Basics first and of course baritones rarely miss a trick on volume and sustain. Both are great here and the resonance in particular is just wonderful with a pleasing vibration that can be felt wherever your body is touching it. Really nice.
Tone wise I was expecting warmth from the cedar and it certainly has that. But there is a snappy edge to the higher notes too which balances it off. I don't really consider baritones as old timey strummers for my tastes, and much prefer this fingerpicked with some chord strums thrown in. Either way though it has what I call in the video a 'cosy' sound that I find really comforting and relaxing. That isn't to say muddy at all as there is excellent note clarity on this that really shines whilst the lower strings are providing a glowing kind of warmth in the background. It's also extremely responsive on the fingers meaning you can get all sorts of frills out of the tone with ease and you don't feel you are fighting it to release tone. This is all VERY accomplished sounding that is hard to criticise. I suppose with the work that went into development, it was always going to be.
I really admire the story here - extremely knowledgable ukulele experts working with extremely proficient players and master luthiers to build a series from the ground up rather than slapping a badge on. I know that Andrew and team are proud of these and I can now see why. You can see, feel and hear the development that went into these and they've created a uke that sits firmly at the top table. I'd gladly own this one.
Very highly recommended!
UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP
Model: 'Oli L2-BCR
Scale: Baritone
Body: Solid Western Red Cedar top, solid Indonesian rosewood back and sides
Bridge: Ebony, tie bar
Saddle: Bone
Finish: Gloss
Neck: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Ebony, radiused
Frets: 20, 14 to body
Nut: Bone
Nut width: 37mm, 28mm D to E
Tuners: Gotoh UPT
Nut width: 37mm, 28mm D to E
Tuners: Gotoh UPT
Strings: Ko'olau Aho Baritone
Extras: Hard case
Weight: 890g
Weight: 890g
Country of origin: Indonesia
Price: £1,599
UKULELE PROS
Extremely classy almost vintage look with modern twists
Superbly clean build and finish
Very comfortable to hold
Radius neck
Great tuners
Terrific volume and sustain
Terrific volume and sustain
Clear tone with a cosy warmth
UKULELE CONS
Nope...
UKULELE SCORES
UKULELE SCORES
Looks - 9.5 out of 10
Fit and finish - 10 out of 10
Fit and finish - 10 out of 10
Sound - 9.5 out of 10
Value for money - 9 out of 10
OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9.5 out of 10
UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW
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is this the first 10 score you given for any category?
ReplyDeleteNo, several others
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