This is an utterly gorgeous, handmade Maestro, all solid concert ukulele, made in Singapore and supplied with a top quality hard case.

When you learn about Maestro, you’ll see information about the master luthier, Hozen, and how he selects each set of tonewood for the ukulele personally - I’ve seen this done (not in person, sadly), but he clearly knows what he is doing as their ukuleles have such sustain and clarity, it is really impressive. This concert UK-MR is no exception. There’s brightness and clear note seperation in spades coming from the solid German spruce top, while the solid rosewood back and sides contribute to a rich tapestry of depth behind that initial burst of brightness which fills the sound spectrum up, giving a lovely balance. It’s loud, an ideal for chord melody and picking, as those trebles stand out, but never alone, complemented as they are by that full backdrop.

I fit World of Ukes Clarity strings to these instruments, which deliver extra sustain and really bring the best of out the instrument. It is also supplied with a top quality brown, wood shell fitted hard case with aged brass effect clasps. There are Grover gold open geared tuners, with smooth black buttons, an ebony fingerboard, bone saddle and 35mm nut, and a mahogany neck reinforced with carbon fibre rod for stability.

The comfort of play is great, in part due to an excellent set up (when I first put these on the bench to get them ready, I was hard pressed to find anything I’d want to adjust), as well as the bevelled comfort edge. Hardwood purfling and a nice soundhole decoration finish the body of nicely, and the fingerboard has a beautiful inlay depicting koi carp. I like this, it is distinctly Asian, which after all is where Maestro are based, and they’re committed to showcasing what they can do in their style, rather than aping Hawaiian makers. It is modern, distinct and celebratory, screaming ‘look how good a ukulele we can make’.

Just a point in case you can’t tell from the pictures of this gloss finish UC-MR from Maestro, there are very clear side markers along the neck.

There’s a video demo of this Maestro ukulele, compared with five others, if you click additional info below. There’s a longer demo of this concert there too.

For common accessories and customisations (like strap buttons / low G fitting) scroll down to the bottom of the page where you'll be able to add these common items to your basket.