Pete Howlett All Solid English Cherry Tenor Ukulele Electro Acoustic Legacy Series #185

This solid English cherry tenor ukulele is part of Pete Howlett's final 250 uke legacy series (#185) and really is one for the history books. The aesthetic benefit of cherry is that it looks so understated, clean and vibrant and its vibrancy is never more evident than on this ukulele. The stunning grain just pops out at you as you hold it.

Speaking of which, this uke is absolutely lovely to hold and play, owing to the lovely "soft edge" armrest in cherry that Pete has built into the top of the bottom bout. No more sore forearms here! This kind of feature (most commonly know as "comfort edge") is becoming very popular with players these days, as it means that you can clasp the uke tightly to your chest as you play it without any discomfort, which might mean that you choose not to have a strap button fitted or use any kind of strap. You can of course opt to have one fitted, but you may decide against it after trying it out.

Tonally, cherry is a massively under utilised sustainable wood and it sounds very full on the deeper tones and clear on sustained notes. Sometimes people describe cherry as 'harp like' and although this particular tenor ukulele is currently high G you can definitely get a sense from finger picking this ukulele what an expansive tonal spectrum it is capable of, and how well it would take a Low G if you wanted it to.

Although mellow sounding as a whole, the treble register on this ukulele is so completely lovely and capable as well, with the high C on the 15th fret A string pinging out with such gorgeous clarity and volume, and damn near perfect intonation. This is a very clever trick indeed, and one that only the really well made instruments can pull off. Nice one, Pete!

An Artec passive undersaddle piezo pickup is installed as well, so anyone wanting to plug in and play is well catered for. The passive pickup does rely on a decent gain stage in your amp or preamp, but it does produce a very high quality sound.

This uke is world class in its design, build and sound. But, there are a few finishing marks to the headstock (see pictures) of which any purchaser should be aware. The price of £1425 has been reduced a little on account of these to £1350. They are only visible under very close scrutiny!

Specification:
Solid English cherry top, back and sides
Shropshire alder neck, stained black
Indian rosewood fretboard and bridge
Corian nut and saddle
Der Jung open backed tuners
TGI ABS tenor case, with neck pocket removed for fit
Artec passive piezo pickup
431mm scale length
36mm nut width
Matte cellulose finish
Fitted with Worth BT high G strings