Original Post By: bassfiddlesteve Date: 1/31/2010 8:38:52 PM Anyone seen this yet? http://folk-instruments.musiciansfriend.com/product/Martin-0XKUKE-Ukulele?sku=423492 - Steve Posted By: Jamie_T Date: 1/31/2010 10:55:57 PM Seems like a lot of money for an HPL Uke... Posted By: Hilo Greg Date: 2/1/2010 12:31:36 AM There's certainly a market for affordable laminate ukes (I have a Fender tenor I take outdoors), but it seems kind of sad for a company like Martin to put their name on this. "Koa-like finish" Jeez.. Posted By: Ukester Brown Date: 2/1/2010 8:06:15 AM   (Updated: 2/1/2010 8:12:30 AM) Martins biggest problem is competing against luthiers who can build you custom for less money than their other models. This is how they are competing I guess. Is it like plywood or laminate flooring? Aldrine made some interview videos at NAMM and they showed these ukes when he interviewed the Martin guy. http://ukuleleunderground.com/namm/ He has a nice interview with Jim B too. Jim shows off the new Fluke/flea designs. Posted By: NinaC Date: 2/1/2010 9:12:25 AM Sad to see Martin continue to marginalize its uke business. I know I'll probably get flamed for this, but it's how I feel. Do yourself a favor, buy a vintage Martin instead and hand it down to your kids and grandkids instead of tossing this one in the landfill a few years from now. Posted By: glenn A. Date: 2/1/2010 9:37:31 AM I was trying to come to grips with how I feel about this and then I read NinaC's comment. I couldn't have said it better. They are now doing to their ukuleles what they have been doing to their guitars. Posted By: duane Date: 2/1/2010 10:02:26 AM I have worked on Martin guitars made from this material. It is like formica. People damage them and bring them in to me for repair. You should see the look on their faces when I tell them that their guitar isn't wood, its a laminate like formica. The common response is "But its a Martin!". Bad guitars in my opinion and certainly not worth the money. Posted By: CurtSheller Date: 2/1/2010 10:11:27 AM I have some knowledge on this uke. There intent it to replace the existing model that people don't like. The crappy one made in Mexico. I've played a few of the prototypes and it actually has an amazing sound. I'm comparing it to the model that they currently offer for sale that sounded very thin. Sound be very a very durable instrument. It is along the lines of their HPL guitars and they sound pretty good. Posted By: pukulele pete Date: 2/1/2010 10:20:49 AM I don't understand " the crappy one made in Mexico" . I have a Martin SO and I think it's a really good uke. The one I have looks and sounds great. It is very different from a vintage Martin but maybe I just got a good one? I'm looking forward to trying out an OXK. Who knows,maybe they got it right. Posted By: bassfiddlesteve Date: 2/1/2010 10:47:01 AM   (Updated: 2/1/2010 2:09:19 PM) It seems like Martin has had some success with their HPL guitars that have been around for a while. I tried the tenor guitar a while back and I thought it sounded pretty good. Martin does not try to pass these off as real wood instruments and honestly I don't see how anyone who owns one could think that was the case. My own opinion of the often maligned Martin SO is that it's a nice uke but a tad pricey for what it is. I agree with Pete...they do not sound or feel like my vintage Martin soprano, but the SO's I've tried had a punchy sound and and accurate intonation. - Steve Posted By: Walter in Austin Date: 2/1/2010 11:17:49 AM   (Updated: 2/1/2010 11:22:47 AM) I have an S-0 & really like it; as Pete says above, it's not a vintage Martin (I also own a vintage 0), but my S-0 sounds just as good in its own way. My wife & I recently ripped up & recycled the laminate floor in our house installed by the previous owner (cheap laminate flooring is brittle and horrible stuff, with a fake wood-grain pattern printed on; we replaced it with solid bamboo--much nicer to look at & walk on) & the thought of a uke made of that kind of laminate is not pleasant. Dunno, though--maybe it'll *sound* okay. I hope I get to try out an OXK. Posted By: mLKauai Date: 2/1/2010 2:33:58 PM could be good; yet for a bit more $ what can compare to a vintage Martin soprano in decent shape? Posted By: NinaC Date: 2/1/2010 6:10:32 PM Does HPL stand for "Hey! Plastic Lanikai!"? Posted By: bassfiddlesteve Date: 2/1/2010 6:48:57 PM I think it stands for Hard Pressed for Lumber. - Steve Posted By: ed w Date: 2/1/2010 7:43:55 PM Duane says: "I have worked on Martin guitars made from this material. It is like formica" I wonder if Martin will be expanding into the kitchen biz? Posted By: duane Date: 2/1/2010 8:31:14 PM As long as Martin is going to build a substitute for the SO uke, why don't they make an all CF soprano. People seem to want that. It may be expensive but they could probably sell those. Please don't get the impression that the HPL ukes are more durable then wood, they aren't. I have reglued many open seams and reglued some inner braces on their guitars made of this stuff. And if the stuff gets fractured, it is ugly! At least they should use a better glue. I had to use epoxy to get the sides to stick to the inner linings when I did the repairs. Posted By: scrooner Date: 2/1/2010 8:50:27 PM Maybe they should just sell Martin stickers, and we can provide our own crappy ukes to put them on. Posted By: bassfiddlesteve Date: 2/1/2010 10:42:16 PM If a simple, solid mahagony soprano ukulele like the SO can be made in Mexico and retail for $339 couldn't Martin make a US version that would still retail for under $1,000? I would think there would be a market for such an instrument now that clean vintage ukes are approaching that price. - Steve Posted By: allenhopkins Date: 2/2/2010 1:57:52 AM Martin's been building guitars for the sub-$1K market for quite a while, realizing that not everyone will lay out $2K for a D-18 (my D-18 cost $300 used, but that was in 1970 or so). Doing this has involved "abandoning their quality standards" or "creatively using alternative 'tone materials,'" depending on how you look at it. They have, as stated above, a whole line of "Formica" instruments that are no pre-war "herringbones," but are affordable and not too musically terrible. And of course, not everyone's going to lay out $4K or whatever for the 5-K ukulele reissue, either. Seems the S-0 uke hasn't been a unanimous critical or commercial success, so they're undoubtedly looking around for an affordable alternative. And, like it or not, the major part of the ukulele market is below $1K -- in many cases, well below it. Martin sells a ton of "Little Martins" and other low-end guitars, and no doubt would like to get a big foothold in the mid-price uke market as well. Face it, the "Martin" on the headstock sells instruments to many people who aren't real aficionados, as do "Gibson" and "Fender" and other such nameplates with a history of quality. Based on Martin's other forays into the non-wood-instrument area, these HPL's will probably be serviceable, undistinguished, and slightly overpriced. Never bet against Martin and their understanding of the instrument market (unless it's one of their '70's electric guitars -- now THERE was a disastrous product decision!). Posted By: dingo Date: 2/2/2010 4:03:02 AM Now I have a Koa laminate Famous (made by Kiwaya in Japan) uke that I simply love. It is laminated but using Koa wood and the Japanese have really perfected the art of finely making a laminated ukulele. I most say this uke has many advantages and sounds terrific.. When my old martin and Kamaka ukes sit in my humidity controlled cabinet, my koa laminate is sitting on the table beside me always ready to be played. It also is great for traveling car, bus, train, plane but since Jake Shimabukuro signed it I don't bring it to the beach anymore. Don't know if the new martin is being made of laminated koa wood or just being described as koa due to it's artificial color or wood grain.. but check out the Kiwaya brand for a laminated Koa if that is what you are after. The famous make can only be gotten in Japan. Posted By: Bill1 Date: 2/2/2010 4:09:47 AM The Martin LX series guitars are very good for travelling with and cost a lot less than carbon fibre. Or they can be a great beginners guitar. HPL looks and feels exactly like formica and is water resistant and is not affected by changes in humidity and is very hard to scratch, great for enthusiastic youngsters. If you can't work out it is not wood, you must be blind. My LXM sounds as good as any other small guitar, particularly if you tune it up to G or Terz tuning and it does get better after it has been played for a while. For mine the problem with the ukelele shown is that it is actually priced well above the price of the LXM guitars, and is probably out of the price range of being a good beginners ukelele or a good travelling ukelele. Perhaps if the price was dropped to be in the "low cost" range it would be a better deal. The whole idea of the X series of instruments is to find alternatives for shrinking supplies of traditional tone woods. It is great that large campanies like Martin risk critisism (like that above) to try to find sustainable alternatives. Imagine the risk they took when they had the audacity to make and sell the first commercially produced steel string guitar. Posted By: NinaC Date: 2/2/2010 8:42:41 AM   (Updated: 2/2/2010 8:52:19 AM) "It is great that large campanies like Martin risk critisism (like that above) to try to find sustainable alternatives." I think you might be missing the point a bit. I am not critical of the material as much as I am the workmanship. I'm one of those goofy people who expected a low-end Martin uke to be close to the quality of the original low end Martin uke, the Style 0. If Kala and Ohana can do it, then why not Martin? The SO is not nearly as nicely made as some of its cheaper competitors, and it's not Mexico's fault, it's the specs they were given. It makes no sense. If they'd do that they'd have the best of all worlds--a uke that deserves the Martin on the headstock, happy customers and they'd get to keep their valuable brand identity solid. I'm of the opinion that if Martin wanted to launch a line of lower end instruments, they should have done so under another brand name, but I don't want to get into a lengthy discussion about branding. Think Ko'olau with Pono, they did it right. So did Ovation/Applause. Posted By: hoaryhead Date: 2/2/2010 2:03:49 PM Martin tried the weird branding thing with Sigma. They were OK laminate guitars, and their headstock signature looks like "Martin" from afar, but it fooled nobody. IMO, Sigma took a serious dip in "quality" near the end. I guess I don't really care whether Martin uses their fancy name for their non-fine instruments (I almost wrote "cheap," but I know how that offends some), and it is probably not even surprising that people think they are getting a fine instrument when they pay $500 for their HPL Martin. (Or $300 for their HPL uke.) I think Martin arouses more passion because they were once the standard-bearer, and the makers of so many classic, timeless styles of guitars and ukuleles. They still build those classic styles, but they have a classic price tag. Their less expensive models simply do not measure up, and that is disappointing to those who love the brand. Martin has the serious disadvantage of competing with themselves in a thriving secondary market, so I can empathize with their conundrum--how do they offer something "new" in the marketplace that fills the holes between their current high-end and the secondary market. Even though ukes "sustained" Martin pre-1929, it is my belief that they have always marginalized the instrument. Relative to the guitar lines, they were easy and quick to make. The Style 0 and 1 were equivalent to their unadorned mahogany guitar models. Style 2 ukes weren't really any more work (white binding instead of tortoise). I don't recall seeing the number breakdowns, but I am guessing that far fewer 3s and 5s were made (fewer in Koa) than 0, 1, and 2. I still don't know how I feel about Martin's uke renaissance, but mostly I am glad they are building ukes, and I am glad people are buying them. But if one is looking for a true classic, the only place to go is vintage or custom. Many makers out there are building fine-quality classic Martins for a much better price. Just ignore the headstock... Posted By: bassfiddlesteve Date: 2/2/2010 2:50:35 PM "Even though ukes "sustained" Martin pre-1929, it is my belief that they have always marginalized the instrument." When I was looking for potential sponsors for the "Square Pegs & Round Holes" ukulele compilation CD I spoke to Dick Boak at Martin. He told me that ukuleles account for less than 1/10th of 1% of C.F. Martin's annual sales and 90% of the prodcuts go to Japan. I appreciated his candor but I couldn't help but think "now, whose fault is that?" - Steve Posted By: mLKauai Date: 2/2/2010 4:46:16 PM well it's good to know that discriminating buyers can still get a great vintage soprano and sometimes a concert. Unintentionally keeping that a "secret" that is shared by those who not only value tradition, culture; ..."uncle played a Martin uke, they're the best" , but who value quality as well, is fine with me! Actually these recent efforts by Martin will probably increase the value of the vintage pieces. Posted By: pippin Date: 2/2/2010 7:37:39 PM   (Updated: 2/2/2010 7:38:42 PM) The 3 and 5K are very nice ukuleles. I'd like to see Martin sell an "0" that is made in the USA, but it is not likely to happen at less than $1000, so, I doubt that they will bother. I had talked with Martin about interviewing Dick Boak and talking with Martin about the ukulele tradition and their present strategy and there didn't really seem to be a lot of excitement for them in "Ukulele Player Magazine". Now that we have over 100,000 readers (individual IP addresses, anyway), maybe they would be a little more interested in talking with us. They were willing to be interviewed, but, there was not a lot of excitement. I just want to make that clear. As Mr. Boak said, it is a very small percentage of their market. I might approach them in the near future for an issue on the Martin vintage dream ukes and the legacy they have. I'd love to see them get serious about a middle-priced uke that will compete with the KoAloha, Kamaka, and other lines. Posted By: Walter in Austin Date: 2/2/2010 7:49:16 PM If what you say about their percentage of the market is true--and I'll bet it is, for whatever reason--I think that wishing for a solid mahogany, less-than-$1K-21st-century 0 is a waste of time. There are lots of other uke-makers out there who seem to be willing to create well-made ukes under $1K. I say let's forget about Martin as a serious reasonably-priced uke-builder in 2010 (although I love the reasonably-priced ukes they used to build, even the S-0). Posted By: coconino Date: 2/3/2010 12:58:36 PM I'm with NinaC - vintage Style 0s and 1s are about the best ukulele value on the market. If you keep your eyes open and don't mind a few battle scars you can still find them for under $500 - sometimes well under. Heck, you can get solid wood Ohanas and Kalas for less than that Martin 'X' thing. The fake koa also bugs me. Why not just cover them with Felix the Cat pictures like they did with one of their HPL guitars a while back? That might be cool enough to get my attention! Posted By: bassfiddlesteve Date: 2/3/2010 3:45:16 PM "I'm with NinaC - vintage Style 0s and 1s are about the best ukulele value on the market. If you keep your eyes open and don't mind a few battle scars you can still find them for under $500 - sometimes well under." I agree too. I got my "scarred" Style 1 for $250. I also agree with you about Felix the Cat. - Steve Posted By: Mike Atkins Date: 2/3/2010 3:56:57 PM I've had a chance to play a prototype and one I suppose was a production model. VERY heavy, sound is OK - minus. Way too much of an asking price at $399 list. The idea is kinda cool, but didn't work. Would be a great item to chop small vegi's and sweep into the hole. RonCo I believe had a part in the design......... (Please excuse the sarcasm). My opinion was they were below Martin's ability. They come with the 'New' Martin flourocarbon strings (which weren't half bad). Martin no longer makes the all nylon string sets. Posted By: Neil A Date: 2/3/2010 5:51:30 PM I'm amused at the way Martin invokes the names of true tonewoods in the description of the uke. "Sitka Spruce bracing, Mahogany end-blocks, Cedar ribbons". You rarely see a listing of woods used for the parts inside the box. I suppose it's to imply quality materials and to draw the eye away from all the HPL with "Koa-like" finish. Meanwhile, brands like Ohana and Kala are producing much less expensive, good quality instruments that use solid mahogany, spruce, or cedar for their soundboards, not just the small assembly parts. And chances are these Kala, Ohana, and Martin ukes are all coming from similar Asian factories. Hell, if Martin is charging a premium for their name, why don't they go all the way? Forgo the ersatz Koa print, and just emblazon a bold Martin logo across the body? Make it kitschy enough and they might dominate a new niche market. Anybody know which releases more toxic gases when burned? The HPL body or the Stratabond neck? BTW, I bought my wonderful, but bruised, 1925 Style 0 for $225 here on the Market Place. It's a great player. But I play either of my Ohanas much more often. Posted By: bassfiddlesteve Date: 2/3/2010 7:03:51 PM "And chances are these Kala, Ohana, and Martin ukes are all coming from similar Asian factories." I'm not sure if the HPL guitar are made in Nazareth or Mexico but I doubt the Martin uke will be made in China. - Steve Posted By: Neil A Date: 2/3/2010 8:36:48 PM "I'm not sure if the HPL guitar are made in Nazareth or Mexico but I doubt the Martin uke will be made in China. Perhaps Mexico, but I really doubt they will utilize any of their Nazareth employees or factory resources for a product line that represents only 0.1% of their sales and mostly ships to Asia anyway. Does anyone know if the S-O is still made in Mexico? Posted By: bassfiddlesteve Date: 2/3/2010 10:25:35 PM "I really doubt they will utilize any of their Nazareth employees or factory resources for a product line that represents only 0.1% of their sales and mostly ships to Asia anyway." They make the high end style 3 and 5 ukes in Nazareth "Does anyone know if the S-O is still made in Mexico?" I'm pretty sure it is. - Steve Posted By: Grandpa Jim Date: 2/3/2010 11:57:36 PM Martin offers a terrific factory tour which I took a couple of years ago. It's really worth going out of your way to see. The unfortunate part is that you will be impressed with the almost total absence of ukuleles in the factory or of any interest in ukuleles on the part of the tour guides (who are employees from the production line).. Jim Posted By: NinaC Date: 2/4/2010 10:45:38 AM   (Updated: 2/4/2010 10:46:48 AM) The Larrivee ukes built in the late 90s, early 00s are good examples of what Martin-grade production craftsmanship should and could have been. I'd put my 2000 10KA up against any new Martin 3 any day, and it was cheaper. Larrivee makes guitars, too. There was one of the 10Ks in the marketplace not long ago. Posted By: ukola Date: 2/5/2010 3:08:44 AM I think these new x ukes are cool. They are like a poor man's 3. I do agree that they should have offered them with some kind of print instead of fake koa. I'd personally like one with a Big Lebowski print. It would be my dude uke. I had a Larrivee guitar and I did not think it sounded all that great, especially compared to a Martin. The Larrivee was over built in my opinion and it had a really thick polyester finish that deadened the sound considerably. I don't know how their ukes are but I'd guess they use that thick finish on them too. Posted By: duane Date: 2/5/2010 10:18:29 PM   (Updated: 2/5/2010 10:22:57 PM) I don't think a poor man is going to spend $300 for a formica uke no matter how cool they are. One Larrivee guitar that does not sound as good as one Martin guitar is a poor way to judge any brand. I've played many a Martin guitar that had the dud (not dude) factor also, but the majority at very good, just as I am sure larrivees are. The poly finish on Larrivee guitar is very thin, that is why they use the finish in the first place. Usually, the cheaper the instrument, the thicker the poly finish. Larrivees are not cheap by any means. The new Martin HPL ukes don't need a finish, they are FORMICA! Formica is not a tone wood, its a kitchen counter top material. This thing is another insult to the ukulele community in my opinion. To me it speaks, "We don't care what you want, this is what you get!" My opinion is of course is less then 1/10 of one percent of the population. Posted By: Bill1 Date: 2/5/2010 11:59:20 PM If you want to Martin executives to focus on the higher end, get out your wallets and put your money where your mouth is, and start buying them in numbers. You don't have to get them from Martin, order them from someone else. If we all do this, soon, the market people will get the statistics and do the sums and before you know it, every manufacturer will be into the high end uke market, because there would be some good money there. But if you want the market to die so that you only have a choice of Asian made product, just keep sniping at your North American made products and being insulted and refusing to buy them. The makers will get the message and will put their resources into areas where they are appreciated and can make a profit, like guitars and mandolins. Posted By: coconino Date: 2/6/2010 10:31:21 AM You certainly make a good point, Bill1, but the "high end" uke market has always been a very small nich. I think people, overall, are looking for good value - a quality instrument for a reasonable price - and I don't think Martin has been doing at all well in this area. This may be, at least in part, a function of production costs versus demand, but it's clear that good value is not impossible - simply look at KoAloha; they produce instruments of a high quality and manage to charge a pretty reasonable price for them. Posted By: AlanJ Date: 2/6/2010 11:04:29 AM Bill1, I think the buying public indeed has put their money where their mouths are. All wood ukes (even good laminates) with exciting features, good tuners and intonation, optional hard (real hard, not stiff Styrofoam hard) cases and good strings are selling well. Martin has revamped their uke strings and I applaud them on taking a follow the leader position in this. They offered a boring style 0 uke at a less than enticing price point. Following this up, they are now wavering the HPL made with the plastic wood pattern of your choice. This isn't a question of american made versus imported. This is a question of marketing not understanding their market. Had the imports followed this tack, they'd be having difficulties too. Martin did an excellent job reissuing the Style 3 and 5. However, these are out of the price range of most of the uke buying public. They've yet to come up with a compelling story for the lower end other than it has a Martin decal on the headstock. Critiquing products is an excellent way to provide feedback. However, if a manufacturer doesn't care to listen, then sniping isn't out of line either. (Are you listening Fender?) Posted By: DougD Date: 2/6/2010 11:23:53 AM This comes at a time when many people feel that Martin is building some of their best guitars ever. It seems that this HPL uke is seeling at about 60% of the price of the equivalent DXM guitar (which is also offered with a real wood top for $50 more). The all mahogany 15 series Martin guitars are a very good value at the street price of around $1000. If they kept the same price proportion, I wonder if an all wood, plain Martin uke for $600 would attract buyers, or not? Posted By: bassfiddlesteve Date: 2/6/2010 2:05:06 PM "I wonder if an all wood, plain Martin uke for $600 would attract buyers, or not?" My guess is that it would. - Steve Posted By: Walter in Austin Date: 2/6/2010 2:15:43 PM   (Updated: 2/6/2010 2:24:45 PM) '"I wonder if an all wood, plain Martin uke for $600 would attract buyers, or not?" 'My guess is that it would. '- Steve' Steve-- It would, but it appears that Martin's decided that it's not worth the trouble of making it. There are plenty of other makers out there doing a great job with reasonably priced ukes. I just tried out a Hamano soprano in a local music store. It cost under $300, and it sounded quite Martin-0-like. Thumbs up. Posted By: NinaC Date: 2/6/2010 3:39:20 PM   (Updated: 2/6/2010 3:41:15 PM) I had a soprano Hamano and sold it to Papaya Boy when I got a Martin 0. The Hamano is the materials and build quality the SO should have been. What a great little uke. Then Ohana and Kala started stepping up their game, among others, and now the serious beginner has a lot of really nice instruments to choose from under $350. This month marks my 4th year playing ukulele and it's great to look back over these few years and see the richness and diversity of companies and talented luthiers we have compared to when I started. Viva la ukulele, indeed. Posted By: duane Date: 2/6/2010 6:37:53 PM   (Updated: 2/6/2010 6:39:33 PM) People have to remember that the Martin company would not get the full retail price of $600-$1000 for a new style O uke, only about half of that. They sell their ukes through stores who have a contract with them. You also have to remember that when the original style O ukes were built, times and marketing practices, competition and attitudes where very different. Most manufacturing companies today do the numbers before anything else gets done. Since the SO uke has run its course in the market, this new HPL uke is the next step they see as providing some sort of income and place in the market of low end ukes. It worked with the X style guitars to some extent, but the guitars are awful and way to expensive for what they are in my opinion. Some people like them but only because they usually know nothing about quality and simply heard that Martin is a good name to buy. That is what I am told when I asked people who come into my shop for repairs. I try to educate people when this is the case. some folks are appreciative of the information, some think I'm just feeding them a line. It is always then that I come to the conclusion, these X guitars are good enough for you they are for. I suppose the same goes for the new HPL uke. Posted By: DougD Date: 2/6/2010 7:40:28 PM duane, I understand the economics of commercial instrument building. That's why I was comparing the price of ukuleles to other Martin products that have the same markups. It seems to me that a plain Martin ukulele at a comparable price to the 15 series guitars might be successful. However I also agree with Walter that it appears Martin is just not interested in that approach. I'm curious, but I think this new uke will sink like a stone, unless the world has gone mad (which is always possible). Posted By: duane Date: 2/6/2010 9:14:53 PM Doug, yes I completely agree. With the Walmart mentality that seems to be every where, I often times feel like a dinosaur. Posted By: Murch Date: 2/7/2010 11:12:18 AM I think Martin should move up to building concert size and offer the same great wood selections plus styles. After the sales slow down with concert size, go to the tenor. Posted By: AlanJ Date: 2/7/2010 11:40:41 AM Duane, not sure what you mean by the "Walmart mentality". Not everything can be gotten at Walmart. Also, Walmart does not provide added-value. For example, MGM sells ukes on eBay. People don't get a chance to look them over, play them and decide which seems right to them. MGM overcomes this by offering his consultation as part of the sale. He also ensures when you get a uke, it's in playable condition. Walmart would not provide these services. Does Walmart put pressures on prices? To a degree yes, but it depends on if you are actually competing with Walmart at all. Last time I checked, they didn't even have the horrific "Spongebob Squarepants" ukulele in stock. A bigger piece of worthless junk I've not seen in years. Posted By: allenhopkins Date: 2/7/2010 12:54:14 PM Not so sure the HPL (high pressure laminate? a.k.a Formica) instrument will "sink like a stone." I do agree that these non-wood Martin instruments are an unfortunate compromise of Martin's traditional quality. But Martin's been pretty successful expanding their guitar line at the lower end to pick up the sub-$1K market. They clearly want to re-establish some presence in the ukulele market, although far from their earlier major role. Building the high-end "5" and "3" re-issues was one strategy; having product in the mid-range is another. The Formica ukes will be compared against others in the same price range, and will sink or swim based on the comparison, AND on the fact that they carry the Martin label, which is respected and carries appeal to buyers who may not have heard of Ko'Aloha or Hamano or even Larrivee. Ukulele production probably enabled Martin to survive the Depression; Mike Longworth, in his "Martin Guitars; A History," states that "the demand [for ukes] was such that Martin doubled their factory capacity with an additional wing, and increased the work force. The guitar took a back seat, not in the hearts and minds of Martin craftsmen nor in craftsmanship, but in terms of the number produced." The second sentence is revealing: Martin seemed to see ukuleles as "not quite as serious" instruments as guitars, especially after their earlier (c. 1907) experiment with a guitar-like, over-braced, spruce-topped ukulele bombed. They turned out thousands of ukes, but gave them no serial numbers, and didn't keep production totals as they did on guitars and mandolins. This institutional schizophrenia may persist to some extent, although clearly a lot of work went into their high-end reissue ukuleles. "What can we stick into our product line to appeal to uke buyers, without putting too much effort into it?" Just speculating, but if the Formica uke is Martin's response to the increase in ukulele interest, they'll be competing with some well-crafted instruments in that price range. That said, I never bet against Martin; they haven't survived 170 years by misunderstanding their potential markets. Posted By: Mattman Date: 2/7/2010 2:09:46 PM Wow! All this fuss about a formica uke! Martin has had the great name & reputation- but this really seems to be a bad move in the direction of using cheap materials. Too bad. I'm squarely in the "middle price" group of buyers in the best of times, and there's no way I'd ever buy a formica uke. That said, I still hope to one day find that rare gem of ukedom- the bargain Martin "0" in good playing condition- one day, one day... All The Best, -Mattman Posted By: coconino Date: 2/7/2010 9:08:21 PM Holy Holy Grail, Mattman! Honest - vintage Martin Style 0s and 1s are really pretty mid-price! Sometimes when I'm playing my mid-twenties Style 1 at a uke gathering people think it's worth a fortune. They're always amazed at the real value! If you keep your eyes peeled and your feelers out you can find a good player at a good price. Heck, I found my first Martin at an outdoor antique sale for $20! Posted By: Mattman Date: 2/7/2010 9:48:06 PM You can be sure I'm keeping an eye out for a nice Martin "player", Coconino! Eventually it will turn up... Presently unemployed, no bucks to spare- it's bound to show up soon, no? Cheers, -Mattman Posted By: pippin Date: 2/8/2010 6:42:14 PM   (Updated: 2/8/2010 6:43:43 PM) The reactions to this uke are interesting to say the least. I have lots of guitars and ukes and in my stable is a very early Martin DX1, and to give you some idea, it has a solid mahogany neck and headstock. It is not the "Stratabond" neck, which to me is terribly ugly, although it is actually a very strong neck. My DX1 is ten years old and has had lots of play time. It also sounds better every year, but that is due to the solid sitka spruce top. This guitar is dimensionally stable and stays in tune much better than the solid wood guitars and wooden laminates do. I'd love to have the back and sides constructed like this with a binding for the sake of looks, like the D1, but, this guitar was originally brought to market as an experiment in sustainable materials and mine was built in Nazareth, PA. The current "X" guitars are made in Mexico and I am sure that this uke most likely is, too. HPL is not as bad as the critics are saying. I like this guitar much better than the Ovations, the Stratacoustic Fender, the DG-20ce Fender, the Masterbilt DR500mens, the Ibanez PF, and the others that have taken up space around here. Posted By: Pete Howlett Date: 2/10/2010 6:38:56 PM Let's not get too carried away... 'good' is an inaacurate, subjective superlative that means about as much as the word vintage. I have even seen one of my 15 years old ukes on eBay described as 'vintage' and that made me laugh long and loud! MArtin are wrong here - we all know it. So why are so many reluctant to admit it? Feet of clay - we don't want our 'gods' to have 'em do we? Posted By: bassfiddlesteve Date: 2/10/2010 9:04:11 PM There's a "players grade" 1950's style O on the marketplace right now for $399. It's made of real mahogany and it's real vintage too. - Steve Posted By: Mattman Date: 2/10/2010 9:46:32 PM No foolin'! Like I joked a few posts ago- being that I'm unemployed at the moment, and have no money to spare- THAT's when one shows up! It'll have to wait until I can spare the money. It looks like just the ticket- a Martin O "player's uke". It will find a good home, I'm sure! Cheers, -Mattman Posted By: AlanJ Date: 2/10/2010 9:49:57 PM There was a style 0 Rutan on eBay that went at a very good price. Had I been paying closer attention, I would have tried to snag it. I can't tell a lick of difference in sound between my style 2 Rutan and a style 2 Martin uke. Posted By: allenhopkins Date: 2/10/2010 10:30:50 PM "...'good' is an inaacurate, subjective superlative..." Actually, "best" is the superlative, and "better" is the comparative. Thanx, Mrs. McKee, 7th grade English... Posted By: popman Date: 2/11/2010 12:52:35 PM I believe Martin will sell a few of their new ukes, Just like they did their SOs.Friends of mine that own a small music store were forced to take one if they wanted to handle Martin guitars.They offered it to me at cost,couldnt get rid of it. Im sure more than a few dealers will be in the same boat. Posted By: bassfiddlesteve Date: 2/11/2010 1:40:47 PM That's true. One store I visited in Tennessee was "forced" to take an SO uke and a HPL tenor guitar becasue they are a Martin dealer. They weren't offering much of a discount on either. I have to admit that I enjoyed playing the tenor guitar, formica and all. - Steve Posted By: northern uke Date: 2/11/2010 7:36:31 PM A little Martin dealer I know has had the same SO for 4 yrs. now. I swear it's starting to open up from all the strumming it gets. Posted By: grouch Date: 2/11/2010 9:42:21 PM well, back when I bought my Martin tenor (1958)it had been in the store for at least 2 years.. that's why I got it for $25.. Posted By: bassfiddlesteve Date: 2/11/2010 11:43:37 PM Yes, but that was a week's salary back then :) - Steve Posted By: NinaC Date: 2/12/2010 8:17:57 AM duane writes, "With the Walmart mentality that seems to be every where, I often times feel like a dinosaur." Duane, you create absolutely spectacular pieces of art that play beaurifully and that will be heirlooms. I don't shop at Walmart for my artwork, and I don't shop there for my ukes. While there are plenty of people who will, there are also a lot of people who want quality and are willing to pay for it. Keep on fighting the good fight. Posted By: grouch Date: 2/12/2010 11:28:00 AM steve--I was working in a steel mill..base pay was about $80 a week..so I could afford it.. Posted By: bassfiddlesteve Date: 2/13/2010 12:33:27 AM Say Mattman, that Martin style 0 on the marketplace has been reduced to $299...no affiliation. - Steve Posted By: Mattman Date: 2/13/2010 12:01:13 PM I saw that, too! It looks like a really good deal, but I just haven't ANY money to spare. My dream of a Martin uke will have to wait (unless the legendary "found it at a tag sale for $20.00" miracle shows up...). Somebody will get a good deal, just not me right now. Cheers, -Mattman

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