Ibanez Maple Concert Ukulele UEW10QM

3.69/5 (1)

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The quilted maple on the Ibanez UEW10QM is a real eye-catcher. I’m guessing by the fact they don’t say it’s solid means that it’s laminated – but I couldn’t confirm that – which is a little disappointing as you can pick up solid wood ukuleles by the likes of Ohana for around the same price.

Specifications

Size: Concert
Construction: Quilted maple (laminated)
Fretboard: Rosewood
Bridge: Rosewood
Neck: Mahogany
Tuners: Open, geared, chrome.
Finish: Natural high gloss.

Buy it on Musician’s Friend Price: $149.99

4 Comments

  1. Skipper March 16th, 2011 7:16 pm

    Now, I’m no Doctor of Ukulele but I just upgraded to this model from some toy Hilo and I must say this is quite a fine instrument. It has just the rich, bright tone I’ve been looking for. Wonderful action and playability. She certainly ain’t bad looking either.

  2. Steve March 13th, 2013 5:59 am

    Ordered one of the Ibanez quilted maple ukes (concert).
    Good points:
    * Very pretty, and quite unique.
    * Excellent fretted tuning

    Bad points:
    * Extremely low volume – it might be marginally acceptable if you use a pick
    * Very thin tone. It sounds like a uke half the size.
    * Ibanez quality control fail – see below.

    We also have an Ohana CK-20S ($140) with a solid mahogany top, which is easily twice as loud and has a much richer, fuller sound, compared to the Ibanez ($160)
    The low volume and lack of richness isn’t surprising, since they DRENCHED it in a thick, high-gloss finish. This works well for solid body electrics and does look stunning, but acoustics vibrate better with a thinner finish.

    Another problem with some Ibanez ukes (including ours) is neck back-bow. There is a significant crown in the fretboard around where the neck meets the body. This causes an annoying buzz on most of the frets, perhaps 3/4 of the way up the neck. A very well-respected repair shop told us it could probably be fixed with some fret work, but at that point, why not put the $40 to use getting a better uke in the first place?

    Most of the good points I’ve read from others are with the plug-in versions. The thin sound just doesn’t matter if you can turn the amp up and go swimming in a sea of reverb, but this pure-acoustic version just won’t cut it volume-wise against an Ohana of any size or even a Kala of half the price.

    I can say that the fretted notes, buzzy though they may be on this example, are very well in-tune. Many other ukes in this price range have lackluster fretted tuning.

    We also have a Kala KA-TEM (tenor) and KA-B (baritone), both of which are tremendously louder and less expensive than the Ibanez.

    We will actually try one more time to order a good one, simply because it’s so unique and pretty, but this example is practically unplayable without the fret work.

    Bottom line – if you get one without a bowed neck, and you can live with the low volume and thin tone, then it’s a really pretty uke!

  3. Phil September 15th, 2013 4:36 pm

    If you are reviewing it with factory strings, sound rating is nearly irrelevant. With Aquila strings, it’s a “different Instrument.”

  4. Rev Dr N Holmes-Clough March 17th, 2016 2:58 pm

    I have just had this UKULELE re-stung with MARTIN STRINGS wow what a difference it sound much louder and sweeter. I also have a PONO Soprano strung that with MARTIN strings now very little difference
    Bought my strings from ” Southern UKULELE in Bournmouth UK

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