Got A Ukulele Reviews - Caramel CC102A Zebrawood Concert
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- Опубликовано: 21 апр 2017
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Got A Ukulele reviews and buyers guides looks at a brand creating quite a buzz in the Caramel CC102A Concert. Be sure to read the full review at www.gotaukulele.com/2017/04/ca...
Full list of Got A Ukulele reviews here www.gotaukulele.com/p/ukulele-... #gotaukulele #ukulele #review 
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Thanks once again for a very truthful assessment.
When people ask me about certain makes and models of ukuleles that am not familiar with I will always check your site to see if you have had a review and I will pass that information on with out hast.
I really like the fact that you are giving the prices of these instruments in both pounds and dollars for a lot of folks from the US are finding your site as you grow.
Keep up the good fight.
I always appreciate your honest and educational reviews, Barry. Forty bucks is still forty bucks and if it's someone's first ukulele there are all sorts of discouraging things about it. Thanks for the heads up.
Thank you for the breadth and scope of the reviews you publish. I found them very helpful when starting out on ukulele, and I now find them really interesting in vicariously exploring the wider world of ukulele. Your knowledgeable assessments of build and playability, along with the comparable sound demos, are all great...however, repeated negative comments about headstock shapes, or other aesthetic choices will get wearying very quickly for subscribers. Those things are purely subjective. You're a better reviewer than that. Keep up the great work 👍
Thanks - The whole thing is ultimately subjective though!
Hmmm...not sure about that - if something is poorly constructed or beautifully finished, that's fact 😉
True - but things like sound are a huge part - and that's totally subjective
I recently bought the guitalele tuned e to e. I like it for my small hands. It is solid acacia and beautiful. Sounds very good. I will be putting hannabach high tension strings on and having action lowered.
Great review! I think this makes a good case for buying from a good music store. At least you will get a decent uke properly set up. I can understand wanting to save some money, but in the end you want something that sounds decent and is playable, even if it's just a beater to take to the beach. I would imagine it would be a nightmare to send this uke back to china if you wanted to return it! If you can do the setup yourself Amazon has some decent Ukes like Makala, and Oscar Schmidt, or Córdoba in the $60-$100 range maybe a bit more. That's what I'd be doing if I didn't have a good music store near me.
I know I keep banging on about this. But your last 2 concert uke reviews have made me sooo grateful I was in the right place at the right time to buy your aiersi! It's my baby haha. my 20 quid Mahalo served it's purpose because I had a little tinker and knew I'd have fun learning the instrument. (& I'll happily take it camping etc) but the jump in quality between that and the aeirsi, for not that much more money in the grand scheme of things is staggering. Also I find it more forgiving (buzz-wise etc) & there's simply no comparison in sound. I LOVE the zebra wood looks & a few months ago I'd have dived right in and got one of these, but for a minimal extra few £, people can do sooo much better. I've got a birthday with a zero on the end later this year & shall be therefore treating to myself to a serious (by my standard) tenor. hoping you review one that catches my attention!
Those Aiersi ukuleles are a perfect example of how it CAN be done - and still a great priced ukulele really.
Although, I've received one or two fairly poorly set up Aiersis too. It's the same with all the eBay China ukes - Ammoon, Kaka, Giarry, RockYou, HongCheng, UKBoy, ADM, Kmise, Obong, Woodnote, Cantervil, Kasch, Osten, Harmonia, Burks, Mozart, Acar, Omi, Maerdisi, Pruhall - I've had them all on my bench and they almost always need some set up. Hell, I've even had a few Lags, Diamond Heads, Lunas, Eddie Finns, Kohalas, and Riptides that came with less than perfect set-ups too. That's the nature of buying ukes online - they get drop-shipped from the same dozen or so factories in China.
Can happen with any instrument. I've seen badly set up Koalohas before now.. and Kalas, and Ohanas.
Yeah me too. It 's really worth it for musicians to learn a bit of set-up skill these days. You can often turn these cheapies into decent players with a bit of know-how.
Kop Prophet as a very new newbie... one day I'm probably gonna need to know how to change strings and adjust stuff. & I dare say I'll be proud of myself. But right now I'm more concerned with learning how to play Hotel California. I mean mastering a C chord is much more magic on your first uke day than adjusting a nut.
Great video review. I recently did a new review on a Chinese made Tenor Ukulele called Kasch, it was an early birthday present (my birthday is this Tuesday). Sometimes you can get a Chinese made Ukulele that has "no" issues at all, other times it will need the saddle adjustment like the ukulele that you are reviewing. And also sometimes you may need to file the nut slots. Very understandable that new players may not want to handle doing that sort of setup, or paying a music store more money to do it.. but that is the trade off / chance of paying the less inexpensive price. Have a great weekend - Mr.Tom :-)
yes, I know you can - i've reviewed many Chinese instruments that didn't have any issues at all.
It's just the roll of the dice :-)
3:42 Re: Dipping ... Looks like they tightened the strings (causing stress) while the glue wasn't quite set where the neck meets the body. The glue stretched (bending up the neck) causing the dip. Depending on the glue you might be able to warp it back by applying a hot hair dryer then use a weight to push it back into place -- also make a post, and put it on the inside, pushing up the dip. However, it's a jury-rig fix at best. In any case, I would loosen the strings (releasing the stress) if your going to store it for any length of time otherwise it will just keep dipping.
Perhaps - but for a ukulele THIS cheap - could you honestly be bothered? They are marketed at beginners!
ps - this was a review model - I am not that interested in keeping it as it sounds pretty poor anyway!
You'd "gain" the experience, if anything. Say you had a good uke you really liked that developed the same problem? -- then you'd know how well the fix works through experience and even refine the idea. Anyway, good review and something to think about.
Personally dont need the experience - been setting up strings for 20 years - but not seen this before. this is also a brand new uke, so doubt its' something that developed. But yeah - perhaps!
it is quite anoying how a bunch of ukelele companies make the same exact ukelele.
Yep..
That's because the logos and branding mean absolutely nothing. Most Chinese ukes are made in the same few factories - then bought up by distribution companies for eBay, Amazon, and Aliexpress. I've worked on both Ammoon and Caramel Zebrawood models, as well as a completely unbranded one sold on eBay - and it looks like they were made in the same factory. Same bracing, same binding, same joinery. It's the same with guitars too.
That's exactly right. This is the case with so many things these days - everything from musical instruments, clothing, electronic devices, toys, you name it. They are all made the same way in the same factories in China with a different label/logo whacked on them. I often check to see if there are different brands of the same product before buying it - chances are I can save a lot of money going for the cheaper one because it is the same product just different labeling and marketing.
Chinese companies copy the design from others and mass produce the same design with much lower price, it is a shame for Chinese to still doing this to kill other foreign companies.
Great, honest review as usual!
What are your thoughts on Hora ukuleles? They have a all-solid Tenor for less than 100 pounds, almost seems to good to be true. Would you consider reviewing one?
+SlaughteredDecay afraid I've not played one/ does sound too good to be true though. They usually are!
as if that is not enough: they are european made ;)
Is this Hora a Jewish Ukulele. I'm assuming you know how to check. If so it'll only be good for havant nails. No I'm not being racist,I am Both a Uke player and a Hebrew by birth. Then of course its name alone should put you off,no doubt it's a complete Hora 😊
I've got this ad my starter uke and I really regret it. The tuning pegs were loose, and the tuning pegs fell off after a few weeks. I'm glad I upgraded to a luna. At least the tuning on that doesn't jam up
Ouch - yeah - the tuners on this are really bad...
Spooky
Can you tell me what type it is? Tyler joseph is a huge inspiration to me and I want to play a ukulele. I'm having huge trouble finding a starter one. |-:
I got one and I suppose I must have gotten really lucky because it's quite good. The intonation is only very slightly sharp at twelfth fret, the frets are dressed quite nicely, and the finish has no blemishes. It's too bad that they all couldn't be like that.
Yeah - as I say - I am sure there are better ones - but I know a few people who bought them and got bad ones. I think their QC is dreadful.
Believe it or not - Ammoon's zebrawood uke is worse!
Caramel used to be called Rubin. Another case of rebadging. I have got a Caramel baritone currently for sale on fleabay. I did have to take the action down considerably but the intonation is OK.
Adjusting the saddle and nut on this would likely improve it, but something else weird is going on with the neck. All that done though, still dont really like the tone either!
The best sounding Caramel Zebrawood I've come across was a Tenor. With that particular wood it seems that the bigger models sound better.
I have one that's actually pretty good. It's my first uke so I just needed a cheap one. The ukuleles from overseas are really just a roll of the dice. You might get a good one or a terrible one
I am sure there are better ones than this out there - but you second line says absolutely everything about why I can't recommend them!
A lot of fuss about this review - it prompted me to add a STOP PRESS to the written article. It reads:
STOP PRESS!
Since writing this review it seems to have gone on to create some of the worst backlash I have ever had for an instrument review. It seems that most of the fuss seems to be regarding one point I made about the possible dipping top. This even led to people comparing their Caramel ukuleles and checking if this was a fault or a design feature. They have come to the view that Caramel deliberately shape the end of the fingerboard. I have no idea if that's true, and if it is, i have no idea why they did it. I merely reviewed it as I saw it and having never seen this design 'feature' before, assumed it was dipping. Maybe it isn't and I am happy to stand corrected if that is the case.
HOWEVER - that was but one issue I had with it. I still don't like it. Still think the finish was poor, as was the set up. Still think it sounds utterly mediocre. Seems a shame that just one point has taken the focus. If I hadn't mentioned it, I still would have given it the score I did.
Thank you!
GotAUkulele i
Hello :-) just stopping by again. I really like your reviews, you are very critical about the ukulele's that you are reviewing, and I think that is a good thing as it gives your viewers / subscribers fair warning. (I just sub'd to your channel, like today). One thing, is I've been recording and playing music for a while now (since 1984), the instruments that I buy (including Chinese based ukuleles and other instruments) give me more of a "palette" if you will, in regards to songwriting and recording commercial licensed music. The thing is... why small issues are not a big deal "for me" is I've been doing this for such a long time, I can setup and repair instruments. So if a ukulele is $30.00 USD "or less" I can fix it and set it up proper for "little money".. and YES not everyone would like to do this.. and it can be a pain in the "blank" to get an instrument and then spend "hours" on fixing it... but I've gotten pretty good on doing just that... LOL! I hope you have a great upcoming weekend! Also as I am an old rambling fool.. ...have you ever been a part of ukulele-tabs DOT com ? No spam intent.. just wondering.. as I am Mr.Tom / Happy Tom . I have transcribed some uke' songs to that web site. Thanks for your time, I do appreciate you.
I try to be critical, but only where it is fair to do so. Reviewing any other way would be pointless. I too have a long history of doing setups and used to do them on guitars, so poorly set up ukes dont faze me. When reviewing though, I need to recognise that my readers / viewers may not have the skills or tools to do that themselves. It’s why I recommend buying from reputable uke specialists UNLESS you know how to set up.
Totally agree :-) I hope you have a great upcoming weekend. You need to tip a few pints down.. I'm doing something like that ;-)
Love these reviews you do. I, like Mr. Tom, like making instruments that are needing a little love play well. Same with guitars, absolutely love it.
New strings and a good setup, be good to go. One of their models reminds me of ovation look.
I've got two caramel ukes.. and they're quite good! I guess I lucked out!
I think that's my concern with them Brent - on various channels I've had various responses to this review - those saying they received great ones (as I predicted in the review), but also those that received terrible ones. That's a prime example of poor quality control and the main reason I could never recommend one to anyone. Too much like playing Russian Roulette
Yes you did. Kmise is another inexpensive Chinese brand you can get off Ebay or Amazon. I bought two very cheaply. Since I work on them I made them play very acceptably. If you do not work on instruments wait until you have about $100 and buy from a local or mail order company that will check the instrument prior to shipping.
Not surprised you didn't like it, you're not easy to please, which makes you a good reviewer. Ironically, I just received a tenor Caramel Zebrawood Tenor uke. I have a mahogany tenor of theirs that has worked out pretty good. (If there's too much zebra wood out there, how do you feel about the ubiquitous mahogany ukuleles). Anyway, the new caramel has some issues, the actions much too high, and pretty severe tonality problems. I knew it was a gamble. When you talk about buying form a dealer, are you talking about music stores or on line sellers. My experience in looking in music stores, I don't see evidence that anyone has examined or done any set up on the ukuleles, or the guitars for that matter.
The pattern I am seeing in comments on this review make it clear to me that quality control is the issue. You MAY get a good one, you may not. I don't like those odds! When I talk about dealers I mean ukulele specialists (there are not many) who do setup checks before sale - they can be stores or online - doesn't matter - so long as they do checks. Look at the stores listing on the website for the sellers I totally recommend. None of them would have sold this particular ukulele in this state.
Thank you for this review... and honestly... I have to agree that I am not a fan of this Ukulele. Bypassing a dealer pretty much puts this as a total hit or miss, as well as the the completely over used Zebra wood. Even at the price, I would have to take a pass on this Ukuele.
That's exactly why i can't personally recommend them - too hit and miss. I would frankly have NO idea whether a buyer would get a good one or bad one
Just remember this is Caramel lowest price Concert Ukulele. I have the CC-102 which has a tuner and equalizer and sounds lovely, It did need a setup when I got it but it was very playable as received. Just needed the saddle sanded down and the strings lowered a bit.
I have many Caramel Ukuleles and they have improved their quality control a lot over the five years I have dealt with them.
I'm currently waiting on a Ebony and Rosewood Concert to be delivered, not a cheap one to be sure, but beautiful if the pix on Amazon are to be believed.
I can only review what is in front of me though. And this was pretty poor.
My Caramel CC100 Zebra Wood Electric Acoustic Concert arrived 5 days from when purchased direct from Caramel.
When compared with the instrument you reviewed mine appears to have improvements. The tuning pegs appear to be better quality. The strings are held in place by pegs. The frets are smooth and the wood is smooth and well finished.The fretboard looks straight without any dip. The lazer etching around the soundhole is a rather pretty leaf motif. The black and white trim around the top and bottom rims of the uke contribute to its striking appearance. In terms of weight distribution my Caramel yuke seems well balanced compared with the one that was reviewed.
I personally rather like the zebra wood with satin finish and I chose a laminate uke rather than solid wood as I believe laminate stands up better to climate change when travelling or if the instrument has to be stored in a non pressurised cargo hold on an aircraft.
The one negative is that the saddle is too high as is also the nut. The height of the strings above the 12th fret are 4.5mm. Hence, even though the open strings are perfectly in tune the intonation is not great especially when fingerpicking. So, I'm considering having it set up professionally. Even though the uke needs some adjustments, I like its tone. I paid £43 including P&P for this instrument and feel that its worth more than that when compared with instruments retailing at £250-£300 where materials and workmanship are nothing startling.
I am so impressed by this instrument that I'm intending to buy the Caramel CT100 Zebra Wood Electric Acoustic Tenor. I intend to order direct from Caramel and will request that the action setup be optimised before dispatch.
+Denys McNair yes, they endlessly change the specs on these all the time. Really don't agree that these are anywhere near the tone quality of something £300 but glad you got a good one
GotAUkulele I've actually gone ahead and ordered the Caramel Zebra Wood electric acoustic Tenor ukulele and messaged them to ensure that the instrument is correctly set up before dispatch... They responded to my previous message about the Concert uke saying they would do better.and to contact them before ordering the Tenor which was out of stock until today.
Members of ukulele underground forum can't stop writing about these. A friend has a high end zebra wood Uke, I don't care for it, but he loves it. I think I'd buy one for a beginner but I'd have it set up before giving it to her. I think the engraved logo is cool.
I got completely sick of those endless discussions. I really just didn't like this one. One chap focussed in on a single point of my review and complained for about 9 pages about it. Seemed to miss the several other things I didn't like about it. I thought it was totally bland myself.
I hear ya Baz. I had to quit reading them too. I'm surprised that all the banter isn't about Bruce Wei Ukuleles, Kala or some really good K brand instead....then it might be of some use.
+Nickie McNichols honestly - it's not worth the oxygen!
Any thoughts on a similar price range soprano that sounds better and more consistent.
The price is ULTRA low and that makes it really hard to find one - and that seems to me the ONLY reason people are so positive about Caramel. Not for me though. I'd suggest spending a small amount more to get something like a Makala, Kala etc - it will be a better overall ukulele in my experience.
I have just done the setup myself. The low price means that I've picked up a bunch of them for the kids in my life. I have one that goes with me when I travel, and another one that I play when I work at the oceanfront. I'd say that caramel ukulele fits all of those niches perfectly. with all of that said, I completely understand why other players don't care for them.
Yes, as I say in the review - you COULD set this up better (and I could do that myself also). But the majority of people dont know how to do that or are not confident - and that's why these aspects always feature in my reviews - it's hugely relevant to most people. Also - no amount of setup is going to sort that dipping top! All that said - I really don't like the tone either?
GotAUkulele I've only had one with a bad tone, and I've never had one with the dip that you've described. The biggest problem I've had was with the frets.
Even if it was just the frets, that's not a good thing either. And most beginners (as these ARE beginner priced) don't know how to tackle sharp frets.
They are selling them all over facebook Market place, they are junk just slapped together. it may sound a bit better at the top of the neck but once you move down the neck, it will suck. Tuning it will be horror
Agree with you totally - horribly cheap ukes.
I have a tenor from another supplier ( I find it hard to believe that these abominations are made by myriad manufacturers ) which purports to be made of Zebrano. It is plainly obvious that the soundboard is a precut colour printed formic board. Can't say for certain about the back and sides but suspect them of being of similar construction. I tried to return it and they refuted my claims and asked me to send it on to another UK customer. Obviously I refused and eventually they just refunded my money. Ironically after some adjustment by yours truly it does not sound too bad. Similar I would say to formic type travel Ukes available from people like flight. Obviously I still have a mental block towards this Kmise uke and it seldom comes out of its gig bag. If it's coming straight from China to you I would definitely say "dave a bit more and buy something with a reputable name. Yes we all know Kala and the like are made in China but they are at least built to a standard and quality controlled. Rant over 😊
Nigel Davey it’s ALL about quality control. It’s what sets apart the good Chinese from the junk.
@@GotAUkulele agreed but solid zebra wood is not what this particular uke is by any means. Ukulele experience = four months. Experience with wood = fifty plus years. They didn't exaggerate they lied. Trading Standards obviously doesn't mean the same in China as in the West. As evinced by at least one other of the responses here it could very well totally discourage the novice.
Nigel Davey did they claim it was solid or use the words ‘all solid’ - if it doesn’t use the word solid it won’t be. I’ve never seen a solid zebra uke costing less than 500 which is the other indicator. Of course if they DID claim it was solid and it wasn’t that’s a terrible claim!
@@GotAUkulele yes they did but I expected laminate but wood not photographic print . It's still up there on Amazon in several packages but what you see is definitely not what you get. Amazon of course take no responsibility. Paradoxically the tuning heads are of good quality and I do have a Donner concert ( bit snug for a Polar bear for some chord forms) which clearly is Zebrano laminate. Kmise 2 dimensional, Donner 3 dimensional. Oh I did give it a suitable review on Amazon incidentally.
Nigel Davey hard for me to comment as I don’t know precisely what uke you are referring to. It sounds like high pressure laminate material - and I have nothing against that. Martin make a superb range of instruments out of HPL. Which model was it? Incidentally - Flight do NOT make a HPL uke - only laminate wood in the normal sense
Just about all these Amazon/Ebay bargain ukes from China will need a set-up. Don't buy them if you can't do one - or don't have anyone to do it cheap for you. I've bought and set up a number of different brands, including quite a few that Got-A-Ukulele has reviewed and they almost always need action and nut adjustments as well as fret-work. Most of them come out fairly decently after that - but not always. I actually prefer the old Rubins to the newer Caramels. I have an old Rubin Koa Soprano that's streets ahead of these new Caramels - so they have definitely cheapened on their production values.
Bad instrument to start with? Why bother? A setup might help in the short term. But, junk is still junk. This instrument would probably be better off used as fire wood, sorry. If a Musical instrument is going to be made at all, why make a bad one? This kind of a starter Uke would only get you to give up playing ever again. I would rather see a plain-Jane looking Uke that is made better (for a beginner), then this. I do kind of like the looks but, looks aren't everything...Great review, thanks!
Agree on all counts Greg!
Someone ought to tell Greg that it gets a lot worse than Caramel when it comes to ukes. You should have seen the Diamond Head uke I tried to fix the other day - now that was firewood! Or try playing a Skylark!
It sounds awful when you played so i definitely wouldn't buy one it's not very often you review a uke and really not have anything good to say. Does it make good firewood lol
No, I really struggled with this one - partly as I had seen people speaking about them very favourably. But no, not on this particular example - it's awful. And I am still seeing a mix of people saying they got good ones, and some got bad. That's dreadful QC and the main reason I can't personally recommend them. To much chance of being disappointed.
Lets get realistic its a $50 Uke your not expecting a Steve Grimes or even a Pono are you?
Of course not. But that doesn’t make them unreviewable. It’s also why the scores are split into categories making up the full score. Cheaper instruments gain more points on things like price. The end result is that there are plenty of ukes on here at lower prices with much higher scores. There are also plenty with higher prices and lower scores.
this company is cheap avoid them
chris page I agree
Boo Hiss! That one's a stinky model innit ... 😕
+Tahiti Slim ha ha!