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ezFolk Forums > Ukulele > Baritone Uke > Anyone know about the Brownsville UK-5 Baritone from Sam Ash? |
| Moderated by: Tony Provencher, Richard Hefner |
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| Anyone know about the Brownsville UK-5 Baritone from Sam Ash? | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Mon Oct 20th, 2008 09:17 am |
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1st Post |
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molinee Approved
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I see Sam Ash is selling this Bari for about $70 and since it doesn't say solid top I am assuming that it isn't. I kind of like the matte look of it. Anyone ever play one of these? I can't find any info on them and it appears that Sam Ash is the only place to get one. Any thoughts appreciated.
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| Posted: Tue Oct 21st, 2008 08:09 pm |
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2nd Post |
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larry c Approved
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I tried out one of those Brownsville baris at the Sam Ash in Manhattan about two years ago while browsing. I thought it played well and most certainly would be a good buy for $70. That's quite a mark down in price--- I remember the salesman telling me something around $200- and I just checked the website. Sure enough- marked way down to $69. I presume they are discontinuing this model and that is why it is so marked down. As for the store brand...."Brownsville"...I presume a factory in China makes these and brands them for their customers. I see Sam Ash is giving you a 1 yr warranty --- and for $70--- buy it. If I needed another inexpensive bari I would buy one today.
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| Posted: Tue Oct 21st, 2008 08:39 pm |
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3rd Post |
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molinee Approved
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larry c........ Thanks a lot for the info. I did go ahead and call Sam Ash to see what they could tell me about the baritone. They said the UK-5 was their brand and he thought it was produced in China. No suprise there. He said that it had gear tuners which is what I am looking for. Other than that, he had no real info on it which I thought was strange since it was their house brand. Didn't know how many frets, strings, nut, etc. Not sure I want to take a chance on it even for only $69. I could add another $30 and pick up a Lanikai LU-21B Baritone Ukulele. I know the quality on these are pretty good and they have a good reputation. The Brownsville UK-5 I still no nothing about. Unless I hear from someone with some recent hands on with the UK-5 I think I am going to pass on it. Thanks again larry c.
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| Posted: Tue Oct 21st, 2008 09:32 pm |
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4th Post |
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Will Approved 
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molinee wrote: I see Sam Ash is selling this Bari for about $70 and since it doesn't say solid top I am assuming that it isn't. I kind of like the matte look of it. Anyone ever play one of these? I can't find any info on them and it appears that Sam Ash is the only place to get one. I saw the Brownsville baritone uke last year at the local Sam Ash. It was selling for about twice its current clearance price. That same store no longer carries the Brownsville ukes - they now carry Oscar Schmidt. Brownsville is a store brand of Sam Ash, and all of its products (mostly acoustic and electric guitars) are made in China. I'm not sure about its construction. If you have a chance to see it up close, look at the cross-section of the top wood at the sound hole. If it's laminated, you should be able to see at least 3 layers of wood sandwiched together. It is possible to find a solid wood baritone for under $200: -Oscar Schmidt OU53-S (solid spruce top) http://folk-instruments.musiciansfriend.com/product/Oscar-Schmidt-OU53S-Baritone-Ukulele-?sku=514019 -Silver Creek (Guitar Center/Musician's Friend) - all solid mahogany: http://folk-instruments.musiciansfriend.com/product/Silver-Creek-All-Solid-Baritone-Ukulele?sku=513380 Is it possible that the Brownsville has a solid top? Only a first hand look might answer the question.
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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| Posted: Wed Oct 22nd, 2008 02:05 am |
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5th Post |
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molinee Approved
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Wil .... Thanks for your comments. Always glad to get your take on things.  I can't imagine the Brownsville being a solid top for only $70 but anything is possible. I think that fact would be identified in the Sam Ash writeup.
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| Posted: Wed Oct 22nd, 2008 02:19 am |
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6th Post |
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Will Approved
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molinee wrote: Wil .... Thanks for your comments. Always glad to get your take on things. I forgot to mention that the Silver Creek all-solid mahogany baritone sells for $169. The solid spruce top Oscar Schmidt (which I own) sells for about the same price (I've seen it sell for as low as $150). If the Brownsville sold at a similar price originally, there's a chance that it might have been at least a solid top instrument. The Amigo AMB-7, which I own, is the biggest bargain amongst solid spruce baritones, and it sells for $59 (or less): http://www.apollosaxes.com/Baritone-Ukulele Last edited on Wed Oct 22nd, 2008 02:33 am by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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| Posted: Wed Oct 22nd, 2008 05:58 am |
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7th Post |
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molinee Approved
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OK... Call me crazy. I just ordered the Brownsville UK-5 Baritone from S Ash on a whim. I couldn't stop myself.... kept thinking I might be getting a great deal at a low price. Will provide a mini-review once I get it. I think I probably will have a 50/50 chance of liking it. 
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| Posted: Wed Oct 22nd, 2008 04:59 pm |
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8th Post |
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larry c Approved
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Solid top or not--- a $70 bari is nice if it has decent intonation, good tuning gears, durability and nice playability. Laminated is not bad-- sometimes a plus in terms of strength and resistance to changes in humidity and temperature.
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| Posted: Wed Oct 22nd, 2008 07:35 pm |
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9th Post |
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molinee Approved
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larry c wrote: Solid top or not--- a $70 bari is nice if it has decent intonation, good tuning gears, durability and nice playability.
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| Posted: Fri Oct 31st, 2008 03:09 am |
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10th Post |
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molinee Approved
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Well I finally received the Brownsville UK5. The first thing I noticed is that it came in a rather small exterior box...... hmmmm. I opened up the box and I was thinking that this is starting to look smaller than a baritone. Then I opened up the uke box and "What the Heck?" It was a tenor. I checked the label and it was the UK5 model. I measured the overall length and it was 26.5". The scale (nut to saddle) was 17". The nut measures 1.31". The body is 12". I guess Sam Ash can call it a Baritone if they want but it is a Tenor for sure. There was very little write up on it so I couldn't get any clue about it other than it said it was a baritone and was deeper sounding than a concert. OK, so now I'm thinking that I don't have a baritone but I do have a pretty nice looking tenor for $69 total. It appears to have a laminated top. The overall quality of it is really really good. Great working gear tuners. A really nice matte non-glare finish. All mahogany. There is no binding around the edges which I like the looks of. Black strings so not sure what they are. It plays nice and has good sustain. Couldn't find anything wrong with it..... and I am a pickey guy. I have had a couple of nice Lanikai's and a real nice Kala from MMG and the overall quality of this UK5 is way better than any of them (Your mileage may vary). I emailed SA to find out what is going on with this uke and am waiting for a reply. I am assuming that the write up somehow got messed up for this uke way back when and it should have been listed as a Tenor..... Awaiting to see what SA would like to do. CONCLUSION: This is a nice Tenor! I will keep it! Now I need to find my Baritone.
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| Posted: Sat Jun 27th, 2009 06:23 am |
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11th Post |
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gibheid Approved
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Hello everyone! This is my first post here. Hi Molinee; I hope you're still reading this 9-months later! Thanks for your review of the Brownsville UK5. Sam Ash still has a few of these left at the $69 price-point, and I am attracted to it as a possible beginner's instrument. Are there any pitfalls with the UK5 that you've noticed in the time that you've had it (other than that it's short)? I'd be keen to hear your impressions 9-months on. Thanks for taking the time with this!
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| ezFolk Forums > Ukulele > Baritone Uke > Anyone know about the Brownsville UK-5 Baritone from Sam Ash? | Top |
