This is a tenor ukulele made in Northumberland by luthier Paul Mason. It is part of a series of three prototypes made for feedback from players (and me) before going into further production. As a result, this prototype is being sold at a much lower price than production models will be - and the work involved to produce it makes it a real bargain!

It is has a solid spruce top, with solid yew back and sides, with sycamore and maple binding and inlays. It also features a handmade passive pickup, allowing you to plug into an amp too. The strings are aNueNue Black Water fluorcarbon, with a Fremont low G.

The tone is full and clear, with a brighness you’d expect from spruce, coupled with an accentuated bass from the low G. Having tried this model I felt it was particularly suited to low G and that’s what I’ve gone with here. It has a wide neck, with a brass nut and a zero fret, and Kluson geared tuners, as well as a radiussed fretboard.

Having discussed the build with the maker, while this uke has decent volume, it is quite substantial, in terms of the materials used, and the neck - it has some weight to it. Future models will feature a slimmer neck profile and smaller heel, to reduce this weight a bit. I don’t mind playing it in the slightest, but it’s to be noted that it is solidly built!

The amount of work that has gone into this uke is incredible, with fantastic skill on show. It plays like a dream too. Impressive stuff!

It is a prototype and there are some small scratches in the yew in places, that are hard to photograph (but it’s solidly built as I mentioned and these aren’t cause for concern).

Because of the dimensions, if you choose a hard case from the extras listed at the bottom of the page, it’s too big for a regular tenor case so would come in a baritone case.

There’s a video demo of this uke in action if you click additional info below.