2016 ULO (Black Bear) Pineapple Jack-O-Lantern Soprano Ukulele

March 05, 2021

2016 ULO (Black Bear) Pineapple Jack-O-Lantern Soprano Ukulele

ULO (ukulele-like-object) ukes were made by the same fella who makes the fantastic Black Bear Ukuleles. I've handled a few of those and this one is sort-of like a stripped-down mission statement from the builder. I guess he built these as a limited run and they've got an interesting design -- the body is cut from a pine 1" plank with a top and back mated to it (spruce -- over mahogany?) and either a neck fit to the pine plank or part of the pine. They're thus very sturdy and also very thin.

One would expect the sound to be only so-so but the reality is that this "paddle" uke is loud, snappy, and punchy. It sounds like what a lot of old '20s ukes wish they were doing and is perfect for vintage-style strumming and weird strum patterns because it's so defined. Instruments with thin depth tend to not have the same "airspace" or sustain but, like this one, are very direct and poppy.

I only had to adjust the setup a tiny bit and it was ready to go.

Also: can we just mention just how awesome the jack-o-lantern paintjob is?

Repairs included: setup

Made by: Black Bear / Duane Heilman

Model: ULO pineapple

Made in: USA

Serial number: 10

Top wood: solid spruce

Back & sides wood: pine block, mahogany(?)

Bracing type: ladder

Bridge: rosewood

Fretboard: rosewood