This was a one off ukulele, which has now been sold.

When I opened the box that contained this Pete Howlett Revelator tenor electro, unusually, the first thing that struck me was the wonderful smell of the pencil cedar used for the solid top. Right now I'm writing this review with the ukulele handing on the wall and I could be sitting in a pencil factory, such is the pleasant aroma!

Hugely experienced craftsman Pete Howlett acquired this material from Oregon, where it was salvaged from the Biscuit Fire of 2002 (a huge wildfire that affected the Siskiyou National Forest, named after Biscuit Creek in the US state). The well balanced and rich tone this delivers is matched by the loveliness of the tight grain and the red hues that run through it.

On the back and sides, the solid wood used is aged korina, which is particularly smooth and tactile, as well as streaked with strongly patterned dark, wavy grain. The nut and saddle are made from corian, it has top-notch De Jung tuners, leadwood fingerboard and bridge and Worth Brown strings, with a wound low G.

Made in his workshop in North Wales, the Revelator is an interesting project, fitted with a passive Artec undersaddle pickup, with a sleek cutaway shape, an off centre soundhole and a thin body.

If you've never tried a thin-body uke, there's usually a bit more sound than you expect. Kala's travel series for example, sounds nearly as loud as a regular body uke - but not quite. With Pete's creation, the acoustic volume is really impressive - if you couldn't see and feel it, you'd not think you were playing something with such a thin body. It sings particularly well, with a real richness to the tone, coupled with plenty of punch and projection. There's a lot of positives that you could attribute to the sound - but the key for me is the balance. Even with a low G, which can sometimes dominate the mix, the volume of the individual strings is really well matched - delivering rich bassiness and sparkling highs at once, without one outdoing the other.

The undersaddle pickup does what it should, giving a good representation of the acoustic tone through an amp. Like all passive pickups, shaping your sound through a pre-amp or effects unit will get you even more out of the amplified performance.

Visually stunning, with its organic, graceful curves, mother of pearl logs and position markers, and matt cellulose finish, this instrument is first class. And the best smelling I've ever played too! It turns out the Revelator is a revelation.