Naturel - Deluxe Custom Mango Tenor Ukulele - NAMM 2024

Naturel Ukuleles are the work of Yoshiro Naoki - an experienced luthier that set up Naturel back in 2004 in Shikatsu, Nagoya but also worked for 18 years as a jewellery maker prior to building musical instruments. With 2024 being his 20th year in the ukulele industry he set about creating some special one offs with woods that would be unforgettable and unrepeatable.

The waiting list in Japan for one of his instruments is currently 4 years! We managed to jump the queue with this tenor ukulele, built and featured at the 2024 NAMM show. The Naturel body shape and this one is both unconventional and contoured to perfection. The Naturel ukuleles feel incredibly powerful and delicate in equal measure. 

This Naturel tenor ukulele blew me away at the NAMM show. I have always been a huge fan and proponent of mango as a tonewood. A good piece of mango is chunky sounding with resonance, sustain, character and plenty of volume. The only downside to mango is often that it lacks a crispness to each note and an attack. I found, even in a loud room that this ukulele just sings pure and true with every note.

The Japanese style of ukulele build is often thinner, lighter and more petite than the modern Hawaiian ukuleles, this particular ukulele treads a fine line being sweet and innocent on the eyes and on the ears whilst resonating like an opera singer against the body when you play it. The cutaway is sleek and curvy and mirrored with the lower body recess and shape. How this effects the sound of the ukulele is unclear as it sounds much bigger than it looks. The high grade mango body is stunning as well. The mango tree that used to exist before this ukulele had clearly benefitted from high altitude and the grain is consistent but very wavy. The dual mango leaf side sound port is a nice touch because it allows you to see the inside of the ukulele as well, which is also gorgeous...

The neck shape on the Naturel is round and a nice curvy C shape, the 36mm nut width feels wider as it has a wider 29mm string spacing at the nut. What I'm trying to say is that this Ukulele feels unique and very intimate to play.

As you expect from Naturel, the abalone inlays are gorgeous and present throughout!

I wish I could take this one home myself! It's like playing the best traditional Martin/Kamaka ukulele but designed by someone who travelled from the future!

Listing shows actual ukulele.

Specification:
Solid high grade mango top, back and sides
Gabon ebony fingerboard and bridge
Bone nut and saddle
Gotoh UPT planetary tuners
Clear fluorocarbon strings
Ebony front and back binding
High gloss finish (lightly buffed back so very light gloss)
36mm nut width (29mm string spacing at nut)
Pauo abalone inlays on top, fingerboard edge and headstock
Curly walnut bindings
Abalone rosette
Side port
Fremont woodshell rectangular case