Riptide EUB-2N Baritone Acoustic/Electric Ukulele – Gloss Finish

Comments

1. T. Russell says:

   March 3, 2010 at 4:43 pm

   Bad News: The Ukulele I got from Amazon was defective. It had a string buzz on all strings between the 2nd and sith frets. Very annoying. Good news: I sent an email to Riptide (Boulder Creek Guitars)and they had UPS pick up the Uke and shipped me another one right away. This Ukulele plays wonderfully and has great tone. The onboard tuner is a big plus as well as the sound hole in the side. The finish and fit (in the replacement) is great. Overall a fine Ukulele and a good value in this price range. As far as the first defwctive Uke goes, I was informed that it had been the only complaint since the release of this new model. I believe this as the replacement more than met my expectaions. Boulder Creek Guitars is a great company to work with.
   Rating: 4 / 5
2. Charles Rogers says:

   March 3, 2010 at 6:09 pm

   If your looking for the ukulele that you would usually be sold in Hawaii for this price (soprano sized made of Mahogany or Koa with a single centered sound hole) this ukulele does not lean toward that tradition. But if you want a well made instrument with unique looks and nice sound, the EUB-2N is well worth your consideration.

   Here is what you get:

   - Solid spruce top (close straight grain) with minimal bracing thanks to the small offset sound hole.
   
   - Laminated rosewood back and sides
   
   - A Dual Port (sound holes) System that projects the sound to both the audience and the player. Moving the front sound port away from the center of the soundboard helps to increase volume, tone, and sustain.
   
   - Binding on the body
   
   - Abalone Trim around the sound board and ports
   
   - Natural high gloss finish
   
   - Active Boulder Creek UK-300T preamp and pickup system with 2 Band EQ and Chromatic LED tuner. It uses two CR2032 batteries which are easily available and keep the size of the electronics smaller.
   
   - Sealed tuners
   
   - Aquila strings (G tuning- the traditional baritone tuning.)

   When played acoustically this Riptide ukulele is brighter sounding than most other ukuleles. It has a nice rich, full, clear, complex sound. Of course baritone ukuleles being larger and tuned to G like a guitar, tend to sound like a cross between a smaller ukulele and a guitar anyway. This instrument still has an identifiable ukulele sound, but if you want the more traditional mellow sound you can achieve that through the on-board electronics. In my case, I already have a more traditional baritone ukulele. I changed to Aquila strings with a C tuning, low G so that I can use the music written for ukuleles without altering the key. This change made it a bit brighter still. The tuner works well with either string configuration.

   Quality Control- The Boulder Creek Riptide ukuleles were just made available in December 2009. The only detailed user review I found was on Ukulele Underground on the tenor version of this ukulele. That buyer complained about several flaws (file marks on the frets, sound holes not nicely finished, a small dent on the back, high action toward the 12th fret) in the ukulele he received. My ukulele had none of those flaws. However, the Abalone around the side sound hole is not perfectly centered. The finish while well done probably should have been given more time to cure since it arrived with a strong finish smell. The action on mine is set fairly low and you can get a buzz if you really dig into the strings which isn’t really necessary to achieve expressiveness with this ukulele. I’ve seen lots of Boulder Creek guitars in our local music stores and they are always beautifully made. I’m sure they will improve their ukulele quality control and stand behind their products.

   My bottom line is that I’m pleased with this purchase. It is a delight to play. The unique design says I’m open to new ideas. And the sound quality speaks for itself. A fine tool for your artistic expression.
   Rating: 4 / 5