This Banjolele is simply the most eye-catching Banjolele you can buy right now.
This review will go over all the details about this Banjolele, why this model is Great and yes…..there are a few not so great things about it as well.
Table Of Contents:
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Specs
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Pros
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Cons
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Other things you need to know
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Conclusion
Specs:
- Maple Back
- Clear head
- Etched Hawaiian Design
- Rosewood fingerboard
- Mahogany neck
- 15.5″ scale (Soprano)
- Chrome hardware
- Tortoise Binding
Pros and Cons:
With this model there are countless more Pros than Cons,
Starting with the obvious (The Pros), this particular Banjolele is beautiful, with a wonderful bright crisp sound with a slight twang. The clear head with the etched design on the inside makes this particular Banjolele model really stand out compared to other models.
This model is of course made by Luna and not a random off brand company. So you know you’ll be getting an instrument that has been checked for quality. Luna has been around for awhile and makes other quality instruments as well.
Take a listen and hear for yourself.
Luna chose some great woods for this model which is a part of the reason why the tone has that happy warm twang sound, the neck is Mahogany with a Black Walnut fingerboard. The back is Maple. There is a tortoise binding as well, doesn’t really affect the tone much, however this is also a pro because some other Banjoleles out there use plastic binding and I find that just kinda cheap. Not to mention looks tacky.
My personal favorite thing about this Banjolele is just how crisp it sounds. There are a lot of banjoleles out there that the tone is slightly muddy which makes it less fun to play. I just really like a bright sound for my Banjoleles.
Note: This Banjoleles sound makes it extremely versatile for what styles of music it can play. Since it only has a slight twang, and an overall bright sound you can jam this instrument with just about anyone playing (almost) any style.
Fun Fact: the design etched on the back is based on Hawaiian quilt design, pretty cool.
So what’s the bad stuff? And the Ugly?
With any instrument, there are flaws. I personally have played two of these, one in a GC store and the one my sister owns and I haven’t found absolutely anything wrong with either. So, to find Cons for this particular model I really had to do some digging.
I scoured all the forums, fb posts, and comments I could find and I came up with a few things that to me are not necessarily cons, but to some people might be.
Only one actually negative thing did stand out however, and that was that quite a few people online have had issues with the intonation.
(Intonation = having the right tune at the right frets on the fretboard)
Again, this was not an issue with the Luna Banjoleles I played, and shouldn’t be that big of a deal considering that Luna does state on their website that if your Luna instrument is defective you can simply send it to them (as long as you have your receipt from an authorized seller) and they’ll fix it for you.
So, not a big deal.
Other than the issue with the intonation, most of the other “Cons” would just be personal preference.
Other Things You Need To Know:
- Most places online don’t sell these with a gig bag. Since it’s Soprano sized any Soprano sized Ukulele bag will work with it.
- These come tuned like Concert Ukuleles even though they are Soprano Ukuleles, which means they are tuned down some. They are meant to be played this way. This gives the instrument a unique sound.
- As with many instruments, changing the strings can change the sound pretty drastically of an instrument. My sister has recently changed her strings to Aquila Reds which she says has given it a “sweeter” tone.
Conclusion:
The Luna Ulu Banjolele is great instrument for someone who is looking for something new and exciting to play that needs their instrument to be versatile and not have as much twang. A beautiful piece that really stands out and has no major issues. Well worth it.