This is an all solid tenor ukulele of astonshing value. It looks good, has visual appeal, solid tonewood and a stupidly low price tag! To get solid German spruce and solid flamed maple, in a visually appealing package, at this price… it really marks out the Baton Rouge UTM-T as one of the best value instruments I’ve ever set eyes upon.

This model was reviewed on Got A Ukulele, the world’s premier ukulele review site, a review you can read by clicking here. In that review, which was 9.1 out of 10 overall, Barry Maz gave this one 10 out of 10 for value. And I actually think he was being a bit harsh not going up to 11!

The wood used is from Germany, where Baton Rouge’s parent brand is based. The techniques for using it, applying heat, have been developed with a German universitity’s sustainability department - allowing timber to be matured quickly, and for that wood to then be used at a competive price. This process, creating ‘rECOtimber’, as they’ve dubbed it, is a nod towards sustainability. Yes, it’s not a perfect solution as this is a Chinese made uke, using German materials. But it’s better than tropical hardwoods that are hard to replace being shipped to China. So, a step in the right direction only, but better than no steps at all!

The Baton Rouge UTM-T, which has a 37mm nut width, is well balanced in your hands and plays nicely, with a smooth satin neck. It has geared tuners (nothing wrong with these, but nothing fancy either in terms of how they work), and Aquila strings. I am not a big fan of Aquila, and find them a touch hard on my fingers, but at this price you can afford to experiment to find out what works for you and also, it sounds good with them on so that change isn’t pressing.

This model is loud, and bright - but the maple back and sides do soften the edge of the sound slightly (for example, the model with cherry back and sides Baton Rouge make is slightly crisper in tone). You can hear some nice complexity - you can hear the solid wood working, with its nice, thin build giving plenty of projection.

Compared to what you could get a decade ago, this UTM-T is just so far ahead, at less money. Things have got better and cheaper in some areas at least! You can, if you buy from Germany, get it for even less - but I would point out that in the UK, these are distributed by Stones Music, who inspect and adjust each one before they come to me. I think given how inexpensive it is, it’s worth the extra to have their, and my, hands on it before it goes.

The price includes shipping in the UK. You can read about international shipping here. But in short, to ship to the EU requires you to add £15 shipping by adding this product to your basket. And an additional £25 to ship the the USA, by adding this product to your order.

This uke has one strap button fitted, but other common extras, like a gig bag and straps, can be added easily using the common add-ons, located at the bottom of this page.

Also, if you click additional info, you’ll find a video demo of the Baton Rouge UTM-T (one where I have fitted fluorocarbon strings to this tenor uke).