By: Brady Lavin
Photos by: Faraz Chaudry
Walking around the NAMM floor at Nashville’s convention center last week, it was incredibly surprising how many ukulele manufacturers there were. For some reason or another, the “uke” is becoming very popular; there were at least three manufacturers who were selling only ukuleles and ukulele accessories.
It really hit home, however, when we stopped by the C.F. Martin & Co. booth, who are world-renowned for their high quality acoustic guitars, and Chris Thomas, the Martin rep who was showing us around, dropped that the big hit of the show for them so far was their new line of ukuleles. Here’s this guitar company known for high-end acoustics, and now they’re making $1,500 ukes and people are buying them? I’d say watch out for more uke-driven indie bands this coming year.
Here are some of Martin’s nicest new ukes:
Martin 2K Tenor Uke (Hawaiian Koa)
MSRP: $1,649
Martin 2K Tenor Ukulele
Martin 2K Concert Uke (solid flamed Hawaiian Koa)
MSRP: $1,599
Martin 2K Concert Ukulele
Martin 2K Uke (solid flamed Hawaiian Koa)
MSRP: $1,549
and
Martin 2 Uke (solid Mahogany)
MSRP: $1,499
Right: Martin 2K Uke, Left: Martin 2 Uke
Of course, no self-respecting dealer will ever sell musical instruments at the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, so these ukuleles will likely go for a couple hundred dollars less than those prices. Either way, with Martin’s dedication to quality, these little guy will sound great for the casual player learning pop songs on the uke for the campfire or the serious musician adding another texture to their music. And damn did they sound good on the NAMM floor.
