Islander, 4-String Ukulele (A-ST-4)

If I would've gotten this ukulele before all my others I probably wouldn't have so many. This and my Kala ziricote Baritone are my hands-down faves that I play nearly every day. I love their deep, rich, resonant sounds and easy playability. I took a chance on this and ordered it "like new" from Amazon warehouse. It was in perfect condition and has blown me away. My other tenor ukes are an Enya mahogany and a Enya Nova Pro. The quality of this instrument far exceeds my experience with Enya (I've had to order 1-2 replacements to get a decently a sounding/decently playable Enya). Maybe I just got lucky this time, but the Islander is beautifully made, with smooooooth frets, nothing sharp, the neck feels great, it is so easy to play with a full, resonant, sustaining sound that I feel vibrating through my chest. Love! I usually compose basic melodies and chords on the ukulele before transposing them into slightly more complex songs on the piano. I've had this Islander for about a month (?) and have probably played about 100 hours on it. I use it to compose, to play/have fun, to practice, and to relax. And the Islander, along with the Kala ZCT baritone, are still the ones I consistently reach for (oh, and also the Nova Pro because it's fun and sounds so different, kind of harp-like). Anyway, I love my baritone and Islander so much that, for the first time, I've been debating selling a few of the others that aren't getting much play time... Maybe I'll just sell two. Maybe just one. (probably none)I also love the wider 38mm width since I feel cramped on fretboards with the more standard 35mm nut width (I don't think I have big hands. I can hand-span an octave on a piano but a guitar feels too big). I like its subtle style with the pretty wood, black binding and blank tuning heads. I also have never had a ukulele with a pin bridge. I have 1 with a slotted bridge, 1 with a pull through, and the others have tie bridges. I was honestly nervous and almost didn't purchase because of a review on Got a Ukulele that mentioned problems with this instrument's pin bridge. Either I got a good one or Barry got a bad one, or Islander has corrected the issue. I've not had a problem (but will update this review if anything changes). And I restring regularly. Since owning this Islander, I prefer the pin bridge-- Fast, easy string changes. I haven't even needed a pin puller, just unwound the strings a bit and popped the pin out easily.I currently have it strung: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd strings with the GHS black nylon Hawaiian set with a wound C and a wound low g from Ernie Ball on the 4th string. I didn't think I could love the sound any more than I already did, but this string set up sounds absolutely amazing. I'm so happy with the resonance, depth, complexity, and sustain with the 2 wound and 2 nylon strings.Side note and apologies if this is obvious, but the Islander won't fit in a standard tenor gig bag or case. I ordered a Kala UB-B baritone 12mm padded bag for around $28 and I also ordered one from Amazon that can likely be found by searching for listing "Devisev Size 30 Inch Baritone ukulele case 0.5 Inch Thick Padding ABS Handles Deviser."The Kala bag is a little long even for my Kala baritones. For the Islander, it is around 3 inches too long and maybe a little less than an inch too wide for the Islander, but the padding is nice for the price. The Deviser was a bit more expensive than the Kala but it is a smaller baritone case that fits the Islander better than the Kala UB-B bag, only an inch or 2 too long, but the padding felt less firm/less substantial. For example, it was much easier to bend the bag at the neck than the Kala bag. The Kala bag was just much stiffer and more robust so I guess it comes down to preference on which to use.But yeah, this Islander, wow! I recommend it. One of my best ever Amazon purchases!

1) Most importantly, this instrument's intonation is very good. So far, it's the best intonation of any brand of similar instrument that I own.*2) The fretboard is roomy, being several millimeters wider than on my other tenor ukuleles. This added width helps my adult male left hand to form chord shapes.3) The lower bout of this instrument's body is wider** than usual, which contributes to this instrument's tone -- both its sustain and volume.-----* Since I re-string and re-tune my tenor ukuleles as octave mandolins, my experiences may differ from yours.** This ukulele's "super" tenor body fits into a baritone (not tenor) case that I own.

I like the look and feel of the Ukulele. I put on a set of Worth Brown strings with a low G Fremont black unwound and the whole fretboard became playable while the sound opened up nicely. Definitely a lot of value for the money with Islander.

Great sounding ukulele, solid top. I couldn’t a blemish anywhere on it even though it was listed as used. My only complaint is that the tuners are not very smooth, but that’s an easy fix!

I like the ukelele and plan to change the G string to low G. The reason for the 4 star rating is the uke came with a very dried out fret board and sharp fret ends -- probably related. I put on a healthy amount of fret oil, which was quickly absorbed by the fret board. I then carefully filed the sharp fret ends; almost all of them needed filing. Now I have a playable ukulele.

The larger body of this uke gives it a nice deep tone.