This model is no longer available from World of Ukes.

If you’ve ever laboured under the misapprehension that all ukuleles made in the Far East are mass produced, then let his Maestro UT-KO tenor ukulele, handmade in Sinagapore, disabuse you of that notion. It is an immaculately made instrument, using beautiful materials selected by their master luthier, Hozen, for sonic and visual appeal. In this case, utterly stunning solid acacia.

Acacia can be a little muted, but in this case, the build (including lightweight bracing) gets plenty of volume from the solid wood. While it retains a portion of that sweet, slightly mellow sound of its cousin, koa, there’s an equal dose of crispness which balances in a perfect marriage. In fact, I’m writing this with a UT-KO tenor on my lap and just gave it a play - to try and bring to mind some superlatives to describe the sound, and the only thing that really came to mind was ‘phwoooar’. Play at the neck and the sound is bold and rich, and then up the neck, the sweetness is achingly good. A stunner to look at and a stunner to listen to.

The Maestro UT-KO has a 37mm bone nut - ideal for those who like a bit more space on the fingerboard, and a bone saddle, World of Ukes Clarity strings (clear fluorocarbon) and Grover open geared tuners. There’s a stylish Florentine cutaway, and a side sound port - which delivers that beautiful tone directly to the player, giving a sense of immediacy when you play.

While of course, the star of the show is that acacia body, such an attractive wood can stand up to some more bling too, and this comes in the form of mahogany binding, abalone inlays, a mahogany bevelled armrest for comfort and a subtly inlaid turtle motif on the ebony fingerboard. There are gold position markers on the side of the neck, and the Maestro UT-KO is supplied in a brown, wood shell hard case.

The quality is evident in the tone and the appearance. This Singapore made ukulele is simply fantastic.

There’s a video demo of this Maestro ukulele, compared with five others, if you click additional info below. Also there, you’ll find a demo of this instrument on its own.

On YouTube, the first person to comment said ‘what a chimer!’, and I think that sums it up very well!