There’s certainly no denying that the

Romero Creations Tiny Tenor is unusual looking, designed as it is to be compact. It’s the size of a concert ukulele, with a tenor scale length. The headstock is short but interesting-looking and the body has a flattened, paddle-like shape, with the bridge located nearer the bottom of the uke than is ‘normal’. But then, this isn’t meant to be normal!

With a fitted low G, you naturally get a lot of bass, and with mahogany being a warm-sounding tonewood, there’s plenty of richness in the tonal profile. It’s got a good dose of volume and the sustain is also impressive, but I do find it suits a gentle, relaxed style of play because of all that warmth. To really carry a melody, you definitely have to dig in hard on the E and A strings to compete with that big low G.

This is an all-solid mahogany instrument, with a very good gloss finish. It’s made in Vietnam (there are Chinese Romero ukes too which aren’t as refined), and it comes with a top quality padded gig bag. The enclosed geared tuners are smooth and compact and look smart, and a set of LaBella strings are fitted. The luthier behind the design, Pepe Romero, took inspiration from the classical guitar world in the design to tease out more volume and resonance, using reverse fan bracing in the process.

While the looks are far from average, the playing experience is remarkably normal, with the balance of the instrument not feeling dissimilar to a regular tenor ukulele. The 35mm nut suits me, but woudn’t suit people with large fingertips perhaps, though the string spacing seems generous enough to prevent most people having any problems. For me, I just played it and never gave its unusual shape a second thought, which is a good thing.

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.