Tiki Uku Baby
Recently my eye was caught by a very small ukulele. It was not quite as tiny as the recently reviewed Koki'o Mini, but it was still a little smaller than the sopranos next to it – certainly thinner, at least. If I had to classify it by size, I would describe it as a soprano-size travel ukulele, meaning a narrow-bodied ukulele, and the words “Tiki Uku” were displayed everywhere, including on the back. (Why not “tiny”, while they were at it?)
The Rorschach-like design on the back looks a little like the decoration on a totem pole. I think it looks good, but why put it on the back of the ukulele? Nobody sees it there except when the instrument is taken out or put away. Of course, that is not really the point; what matters is the sound, which I thought was quite good. Naturally, a body this small is not going to produce concrete-shattering bass. That makes the built-in electronics a very useful addition, and the output jack also serves as a strap button:
It is therefore a compact little creature with advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage is obvious: if you are travelling and want to take a ukulele, this is almost certainly the one you choose. After all, there is no holiday or excursion that we take without a ukulele. Right? . I can mention only one real disadvantage, and it follows directly from the advantage: because this is a small instrument, its range is small too. On a single string you can just barely squeeze out a full octave. This varies among soprano ukuleles, but on many I have seen another one or two frets above the octave. There simply was not room for that here. But the point of this instrument is not virtuoso playing in the high register; it is that we can take it anywhere and at least practise chords or accompany singing.
I will now answer the question from the beginning of the post: why is this ukulele not called “tiny”? Anyone who studied the photos carefully may already have found the explanation. Among Tiki Uku instruments, this model is called the “Baby” size. That also means Tiki Uku makes larger standard-size instruments. It was a pleasant introduction, and I was glad to have another unusual little uke to handle and try.
