Lanikai QM-BKCEC Concert

Before Christmas, I am back with one final instrument-review post. I have now tried a third premium Lanikai ukulele, and I would like to show you a few photos and a video. Last December you could read the review of my Lanikai QM-BLCETtenor ukulele, and this autumn I wrote about its smaller sibling, the blueLanikai QM-BLCEC concert model. This time I was able to try the BKCEC: the black — in reality more dark gray — maple Lanikai:

concert (QM-BKCEC)	concert (QM-BLCEC)	tenor (QM-BLCET)

These three pictures side by side are slightly misleading, because the two concert-size instruments — on the left and in the middle — are actually a little shorter than the tenor. The BKCEC is also photographed from a slightly different angle and from closer up. The BKCEC tested here differs from the BLCEC only in color.

As I wrote about the blue model, the figuring is unbelievably beautiful. The correct technical term is "quilted" maple — not the literal "padded" version I originally came up with . It arrives in a factory hard case, and these are the steps you have to go through before you can finally hold it in your hands:

Throw yourself at the case and open it!

Another layer?? Rip it off! Carefully take it out of the packaging:

Spend a few minutes admiring it before trying it:

As I mentioned above, I had already tried the blue version, so this ukulele held no real surprises for me. And I would not be telling the truth if I claimed that one color sounds better than another . For anyone who did not read what I wrote about the blue sibling, here is the short version: it feels incredibly pleasant to hold, and the neck thickness is ideal — for me, at least. The body is wide and easy to grip securely. The fingerboard feels almost silky. The headstock is slotted, which looks good and also makes the head lighter. The moment you pick it up, you can feel the premium quality, and unfortunately that is reflected in the price as well: it is already in the six-figure HUF category.

I liked the instrument so much that in the recording of Ó, Gyönyörű Szép this is the ukulele I am playing.

I am very happy that the owner of the instrument — who also allowed me to publish her photographs — was brave enough to make a big step after buying an absolute entry-level ukulele and invest in this Lanikai, which will surely serve her for many years.

If you would like a ukulele like this, you could buy it from the Ukulele.hu webshop.

Finally, here is a short demonstration video of this beautiful gray ukulele: