Hricane Ukulele sent me a second ukulele as a review sample. I’ve seen quite some folks playing their ukes at several festivals in the last year, so I was really interested to see how they feel and sound. Either way, I’ve got way too many ukuleles around, so there is a giveaway coming up with this baby in October- so stay tuned.
So this is the Hricane UK-23 Concert Ukulele with Carving Pattern. The top is made of spruce and the back and sides are sapele wood. The fretboard is made of walnut. The satin finish on the sapele is very nice, however the finish on the spruce top looks a bit blotched. The top also has a floral carving pattern which looks very nice. It does feel pretty rough though – depending on how and where you strum this could be an issue – however, it probably isn’t if you’re a regular happy strummer where the body meets the neck.
It had a bit of a gluey smell when it came out of the box, however the smell fainted pretty quick, so no issue there. The ukulele came with nylon strings. As you all know, they are not my favorite, but then again, this is something that can be changed real quick and with low cost. The action might need a slight adjustment – again, most ukes out of the box might need a proper setup, so no surprise there. It does stay in tune though and seems to have some quality tuners on it.
What I am missing are fret markers on the side of the neck, this of course is personal preference. What might be an issue is the quality of the fretboard. It feels very rough and already has some little splinters coming off right next to the soundhole. I have no idea if this might get worse after playing it a lot, but I have a feeling it would.
The ukulele comes with a really nice soft gig bag. It has two straps, so you can wear it like a backpack. It’s very well padded and even has a removeable neckrest in it. In the outside pocket you can find a cleaning cloth and an extra set of strings. The Hricane Concert Ukulele has a very full sound – something I enjoy a lot. I imagine it would be even nicer with some fluorocarbon strings on it.
If you have a smaller budget or you are just starting out, this might be a good deal for you. However, if you’re lucky you might get it for free – so stay tuned for my upcoming giveaway.
xoxo Nikky