This ‘Oli L2-TMG all solid mango tenor ukulele has such a list of clever, well thought out features that you can tell that the people behind it really know what they’re doing. This is a brand created by the team at Hawaii Music Supply, who have designed and curated a range of fantastic sounding instruments, drawing on their experience to have the factory in Indonesia produce ukuleles with a really impressive sound.

Before going onto that multitude of features, I can tell you that the sound is gorgeous. The sweet warm tones of the mango come to the fore, with a low G fitted as standard applying even more richness. Despite that wash of deep and chocolatey warmth, there’s an articulate uke there, with definition in the trebles that compliments that richness really well, never allowing it to become too much, or muddy.

As for the ‘Oli’s plethora of well thought out features, it might be best to start at the top and work down. First up an ebony faceplate, with wood inlays depicting the mango tree. Then, the brilliant, light Gotoh UPT geared tuners, with their neat, rear-facing buttons (superb). Next we are onto the nut, which at 37mm is wider than some but not as wide as others… even this is a clever choice, not putting off a player like me with a preference for 35mm, and not so narrow as to put off anyone but the most… ‘agricultural fingered’, for want of a better term for someone with sausage fingers!

There’s a bound ebony fingerboard, with super smooth frets that are slightly radiused, offering extra comfort as that slight curve matches the curve of your finger as it rests across the strings. And, despite this really being a minor thing, I simply love the maple fret markers that go over the edge of the fretboard to become both side markers and fingerboard position markers. I mean, they don’t work better than dots, but I love the style!

The neck has a satin finish, for smooth hand movement (the rest of the finish is gloss), with a C shape neck that feels really comfortable, without being too thick. The factory that makes ‘Oli Ukuleles also produces Pono ukes, and you’ll find none of the ‘broom handle’ chunky necks you find on those. Despite them sharing a factory, the ‘Oli ukes are, in my opinion, a far more modern, vibrant instrument, with thinner tonewood that allows them to resonate beautifully.

Next we’re onto the gloss finished body, with the pale, figured mango wood looking very attractive, a beauty only highlighted by the ebony binding and a superbly executed bevelled comfort edge. The same material appears around the classy, unfussy soundhole rosette, that looks great next to the off centre, shaped end of the fingerboard. There’s a side soundport too, which really effectively delivers that shimmering warm sound direct to the player.

Inside the uke there is lattice bracing, a key feature to the uke and one that underwent many tweaks before coming up with the arrangement that gives this ‘Oli uke such poise, definition and warm glow.

The uke is fitted with a Fremont Soloist low G string as standard (so no need to add one from the extras at the bottom of the page). It has Ko’olau Aho fluorocarbon strings which are super-smooth with just the right amount of bite, giving great projection. On the strings, the first thing I thought of after trying these ukes for the first time was, ‘can I get some of these strings to stock, they’re great’)

Another thing you can ignore from the standard add-ons at the bottom of the page is a case, as it is supplied with a nice quality hard shell case. You can use those options to add strap buttons though - so they’re not totally redundant!

Finally, this ‘Oli L2-TMG tenor ukulele has a truss rod for minor neck adjustments. Although you’ll be unlikely to need it and certainly, as part of my set up process, everything will arrive just right. On the set up, it’s lovely to play too - with only one small adjustment that I make in general. The bone saddle has a curve to match the radius but when they arrive, there’s an intentional additional bit of height under the G string compared to the A. This is a minor thing, but I do even this up as there’s plenty of volume and warmth without this extra height under the G. (If you’re wondering what I am on about, don’t worry, when you get it, it’ll play extremely well!)

For a video demo of the ‘Oli L2-TMG, you can click additional info below.