This is the Ace R65, an all solid tenor ukulele with cedar top and rosewood back and sides - a common pairing with its roots in the classical guitar world. They’re a Chinese made instrument, not commonly available at the time of writing in Europe (if at all), but they do make ukuleles for some big brands, with big price tags too, so they’re not unheard of in that sense. Their workshop is overseen by a talented master luthier, and they produce instruments which really sing - with excellent projection.

This one, the Ace R65 tenor ukulele, has a bold tone, with plenty of volume and lovely clarity. The cedar top delivers a nice crispness, while rounding off the edges of the tone to add some warmth. The combination of the hard rosewood back and sides, gloss finish and lightweight bracing really allow the top to sing. The trebles are punchy, but not strident, almost sounding like there’s a little reverb added to the end of each pick. That power was such that I felt the best string combination included a low G. I am not usually a low G player, but the volume of the the treble strings I felt could take a big low G and stand out against it. So, I have restrung these with a Fremont Soloist low G and paired those with aNueNue Clear Water strings on the C, E and A. With this combination you get a lovely voice for melodies and a stonking volume when strummed. If you play with others and don’t like getting drowned out, fear not with the Ace R65 tenor uke!

If you click additional information below, you’ll get a video demo of the Ace R65. In this I’ve tried to show that big volume, but also the fact that adjusting your playing style can deliver a much more gentle, subtle performance.

I had some options when these were made and I’ve gone for the nut width that I’m most comfortable with, 35mm, with a 28mm string spacing from G to A. This is familiar to me and many players too. I’ve played high end ukes this company has made for another brand and the 37mm (30mm string spacing was a touch wider than I’d normally go for). It’s a tricky one… have a standard nut width and you’ll get people saying, ‘ah, if only it had a wider nut’, but I’ve gone with what I know. Perhaps it is my background with electric guitar, where the string spacing is narrower than a standard uke, but wider throws me off a little, so here we are.

The Ace R65 has a gloss finish and a modern looking slotted headstock, faced with ebony, the same material as the fingerboard, which has side and fretboard position markers in mother of pearl. Abalone inlays appear around the soundhole and the body, and there are very nice aged brass effect geared tuners made by Der Jung - which are pretty, and functional. The ukulele is supplied with top quality padded gig bag - one with loads and loads of padding.

I got these in as a response to changes in the market for my store. I have long been (and still am) a fan of aNueNue, but now they have a UK distributor I’m not selling as many - drop-shipping discounters have eaten into the market a bit and for some reason, being more readily available has almost had a negative effect, perhaps they’re not seen as exclusive as they once were, now an internet company can advertise one, take your money and then ship it out without looking at it. Anyway… this is turning into a moan… basically I started to look for some alternatives and I am glad I did. This Ace ukulele has an incredible voice - quite different to aNueNue but with a real qaulity of its own.

I set these up very nicely. Having played this company’s output when made for other brands before, they can need some tweaks - it was the weakest area of the instrument. I have a contact in Taiwan who visits the factory for me before dispatch for a final quality check, and addresses many issues - but I go a step further and get everything playing very nicely.

For common extras, like strap buttons and straps, scroll to the bottom of the page. If you want a high G on this uke, just reply to the order confirmation email you’ll get once you’ve checked out to let me know - that goes straight to me and I’ll fit that for you at no charge.