![]() It took a jeweler’s loop to see any gaps in the inlay. Not sure what material the inlays on the fret board are, probably plastic, but they are cleanly set in and flush with the surface. The neck was very smooth and not even a hint of any frets as you slide up and down the neck. Rather than being plain wood at the edges of the fret board, it was painted. It soaked in quickly and gave the fret board the rich wood look you expect. I loosened the strings and gave it a quick hit with some fret board oil. The fret board was very dry, it did not appear to have been oiled. But the look of it on the body, front and back is very attractive. I cannot tell if the binding is actually binding, I suspect that it is simply a lack of black paint on the edges to give it that look. It only took a minute to determine that it was one of the tuner pegs not being fully seated, and a quick push with my pliers resolved that. The first issue I found was that it rattled. There are a couple of small places on the corners where there is a bit of discoloration, perhaps due to a knock or hit, or being the lowest place when the over coat was put on. The black paint is pretty clean, with a few tiny skips and misses that can’t be seen from a foot away. The glossy finish is clean and smooth over everything, no skips with just a few very minor flaws. What doesn’t show is that the back of the instrument is actually arched! The length of the string from nut to bridge is 13.5 inches, nothing mini about this! It is a full sized soprano ukulele. The other is that the neck is fully painted, without the ‘binding’ look shown in the photographs. Despite the lack of packaging material, it arrived intact.įirst impression was very good, the instrument matched the pictures very well, the biggest difference being that the finish is glossy and not the matte you see in the listing photographs, though the descriptions says the ‘resonator’ is glossy. The box was banged up and there was a noticeable crush tear over where the extra cardboard had been placed, obviously a known issue. It was shipped in the standard soft cardboard ukulele shaped box, wrapped in a soft thinly padded plastic bag and a bit of extra cardboard over the sound hole area. I received it eight days later, with a holiday included. My biggest reservation was that it was listed as ultrathin and the diagram indicated it was 4 cm thick. Ox bone nut and saddle with rosewood bridge and fingerboard. ![]() It showed 15 frets with markers at 5, 7, 10, 12 and 15. The label inside simply has Model No: LA03-21 on it. The neck is supposedly mahogany, but as it is completely covered in paint there is no way to tell for sure. The top is listed as Spruce and the back and sides are listed a Sapele, an African wood often substituted for mahogany. It is listed as unbranded, but has an IZ (ZI?) in a crescent logo on the head. The pictures on line were very attractive, I figured for the price, let’s give it a shot. This was an ebay purchase and was listed as a Buy Me Now at $35.58, with free Economy Shipping. 21″ Mini Size Ukulele Exquisite Workmanship Spruce Ukelele Ultrathin M3K9
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