When Millar contacted me to tell me they’d prepared a Hawaiian koa jumbo tenor ukulele in their custom shop, I couldn’t hand over my money fast enough, from the pictures alone. And this jumbo tenor uke, hand-made entirely by their head luthier, is certainly a stunner to look at.

Yes, it’s possible to accent koa with binding an purfling, but in this case, the beautiful wood is left to do the talking, with the richly patterned grain shown off in quite radiant fashion by an impeccable gloss finish. With a jumbo size body, with both bouts larger than normal, and a sleek looking slotted headstock, it’s certainly a thing of beauty. Even the Millar logo, on the headstock and again inside the soundhole (the latter laser etched), is as smart as they come.

This is all about looks, yes, and they’re what grabs you first. But pick it up and play it and you’ll find that the visuals are matched by an effortless playability (super-slick to play, so comfy!) and a gorgeous tone that has a bit of everything. While Millar use an average nut width of 35mm, this is paired with fairly thin gauge Worth Clear strings, generous string spacing and a relatively flat neck profile - which is ideal for me, at 6 foot 2 and fairly large hands.

Tonally, it is livelier than many solid koa instruments I’ve played, with a decent punch of volume and fantastically rich, delicate harmonics. If you strum hard, there’s a charming, chiming quality, but this custom Millar tenor comes alive most with picking and chord melody, where there’s a great balance of bright, singing highs and soft, warm, glowing lows. Together it’s not overly bright, and certainly not muddy at all - just extremely pretty to listen to, with a really good versatility in the tones you can produce with different styles of play.

I really don’t think, if this had been made in Hawaii, anyone would argue that at this price, it’s anything but an equal to the famous (and fabulous) solid koa instruments made there. And, it’s made by just one man, who clearly knows how to make koa’s tone come alive.

This ukulele is supplied with a gig bag, for safe shipping.

For a video demo of this custom koa Millar tenor ukulele, click additional info below.

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.