Chris Perkins Solid Spruce/Tasmanian Blackwood 18 inch scale Baritone/Tenor Ukulele #WB5

What an absolutely stunning instrument from Chris Perkins this is. Designed with an 18 inch scale, so it can be tuned either Baritone DGBE or Tenor GCEA successfully, this Baritone/Tenor hybrid has tone, class and presence that puts it in the world class bracket.

The wide 38mm nut makes this an absolute doddle to play, and the neck feels very comfortable and intuitive, certainly in my hands. But, the way it looks and feels is completely blown away by the sound that this beauty makes. The Spruce top is such a powerful sound engine, giving huge expressive range, clarity to all styles of playing and sustain for days. The Tasmanian Blackwood on the back and sides is not just a pretty cosmetic adornment - it really helps to focus the sound, giving it lovely definition. Overall, you get the sense that you are hearing the true characteristics of the wood - so called "true to wood" tone - which is a real treat for the ears.

This is strung Low GCEA at the moment, but you can change this to DBGE without trading anything in terms of feel or sound. So many players are asking for baritones tuned like tenors and tenors tuned like baritones at the moment, and they always feel like a bit of a compromise. With this hybrid, you need not make any compromises at all. In Tenor tuning, the string tension is slightly tighter than normal, but not so that it would throw anyone off their stride, but this adds significantly to the volume and projection of the instrument. You do get a vastly richer and more resonant sound than you do with a standard Tenor bodied uke, with greater complexity in the sound.

Strung as a Baritone in DGBE, the strings will feel a little easier under the fingers than a standard Baritone, and you find yourself lost in deep dark depths of velvety sonorous rumblings. Sadly, you do have to change the strings to switch between the two tunings, but really this is one of only a handful of options available now where you can successfully tune it either way without stressing the instrument.

Spec:

Solid AAA Swiss Spruce top
Solid figured Tasmanian Blackwood back and sides, with Red Cedar stripe in middle of back
18 inch hybrid Baritone/Tenor scale length
19 frets total, 14 to body
Rocklite Sundari (faux Rosewood) binding to body
Birds Eye Red Cedar soundhole rosette and headplate
Ebony bridge pins with MOP dots
Corian saddle and nut
38mm nut width
Mahogany neck
Ebano fretboard
5000 year old Bog Oak bridge
Aluminium fretboard markers
Gotoh UPT Planetary tuners
Worth CT strings, with Fremont Squeakless Low G (currently tuned GCEA)
Open pore, Satin finish
TGI ABS case included
Serial no: WB5