This is a Martin Style 0 soprano ukulele, a modern instrument made in vintage style, by the Martin Guitar company in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. The body and neck are made from sinker mahogany salvaged from a river in Belize - the same species of mahogany used for pre-war Martin ukuleles from their heyday. What is sinker mahogany? This is from trees that were floating down rivers, and sank into the mud at the river bottom, with that mud and silt preventing the wood from decaying. In this case, the trees used to make this limited edition ukulele sank around 1900. In the course of over 100 years on the river bed, the wood loses sap and absorbs minerals and tannins, effectively maturing. So, while this is a modern US-made instrument, the wood is very old and has been through a maturation process - making it an ideal candidate to reproduce the vintage tone of an original, early Martin.

So with ‘vintage wood’, does it stack up against vintage Martins? Well… yes in some cases and no in others! Certainly there’s a warm and vibrant tone that’s, to my ear, equal or superior to many. But you do find some really special old Martin ukes that have a special something which this Style 0 doesn’t quite reach… yet. The warmth from a well maintained old Martin is really special and while this one is as good as anything modern can be - there’s a peculiar magic from certain old Martins that’s unbeatable. When someone asked me about this ukulele recently, and asked about that modern/vintage comparison, I suggested that while this isn’t like a 100 year old Martin, it’s maybe got a 50 year headstart. Of course this is all subjective, but I think that sinker mahogany does really do something ‘extra’ with the tonewood’s seasoning and maturity.

This ukulele is new, but already discontinued, as the stock of wood Martin acquired has now been used up. I can’t imagine that, despite it’s eye-watering price, that it’ll be a bad investment as a result.

The Style 0 uses a combination of modern techniques (like the CNC produced neck), and hand crafted aspects, like the simple soundhole decoration and satin finish. In a way it might seem strange, but it’s not quite perfect - not quite that pristine level of finish that can be achieved in modern factories - but there’s a pleasing handmade quality to it. It looks old and looks like it was made a long time ago, but has been kept really well - rather than a 100% immaculate modern build.

It’s fitted with Martin polygut strings, nylon strings developed with Aquila, with a graphite grey appearance. These have a nice bite and brightness, and good tension, allowing plenty of volume to emanate from this petite instrument. It’s quite fitting with this blend of modern and vintage that the string choice is sort of hybrid between the old and new too - with nylon that mimics gut strings, but with modern durability and added sustain.

The nut width is 35mm and it’s very light and nicely balanced. The wood might have sunk once, but you get the impression it wouldn’t sink again… almost as if you dropped it, it’d float down to the floor like a leaf. (I didn’t try this and don’t suggest you do either… let’s just say it doesn’t weigh much).

Is it worth the money? Well there’s things that say no, like the fact it has a gig bag included. Which, you know, is better than nothing… but anyone who gets one I suspect is going to want to protect it in a hard case. And the tuners are Graphtech rear facing gears. These work well and are very light, but with the casings made of plastic you do wonder if perhaps a set of Gotoh UPT’s, with their precision Japanese engineering might have been the way to go. Yes, with hard case and Gotoh tuners it would have been £100 more expensive, but, I don’t know, if you’re spending that much anyway, I reckon £100 would have been worth it. However, all of that said it’s a) a lovely soprano ukulele and b) likely to improve even further and c) could well be great investment, now that the supply of this particular batch of sinker mahogany has been used up.

At the bottom of the page you’ll find a variety of extra bits and pieces you can add, like a hard case. You can also add a strap button or even two - for free - but please note, as this ukulele may well appeal to purists, if you get buttons put on, I wouldn’t be able to accept a ‘no fault return’, although of course if anything went wrong with it, you’re still covered!