Luna Mahogany Series Tattoo Concert Ukulele Review

Distinctive style details, a classic shape, and a beautiful sound add up to a very popular instrument. The Luna Mahogany Series Tattoo Concert Ukulele comes in at around $100 USD, bridging the gap between ultra-cheap instruments and expensive ukes meant for professional players.

Take A Quick Look Here:

This beautiful instrument features a solid spruce top and mahogany back and sides. The top is adorned with a design that takes its inspiration from traditional Hawaiian body art, with patterns and layouts that reflect the beauty of the natural world. This particular model features a design based on honu, the Hawaiian turtle, which is a symbol of endurance and longevity. The fret markers are styled after sharks’ teeth, adding even more character to the ukulele’s appearance. A beautiful rosette surrounds the sound hole, completing the look. Appearance isn’t everything, though! The Luna Mahogany Series Tattoo Concert Ukulele also gets excellent marks for its beautiful sound and its outstanding playability. We’ve read hundreds of reviews to see what buyers think about this ukulele and most are positive, which is a bit surprising for an intermediate-level instrument like this one. Here’s what people have to say.

Pros

While the Luna Mahogany Series Tattoo Concert Ukulele is not terribly expensive, it’s clearly not  a cheap plastic toy of the type found for sale on Hawaii’s beaches! Beginners and seasoned players alike have shared positive remarks, providing insight on the instrument’s best features.

• Awesome design: This ukulele is absolutely beautiful. The artwork adds so much character to the instrument and makes it a pleasure to see as well as to play. We get many compliments on the unusual design!
• Solid tuning: The tuning mechanisms aren’t the very best on the market, but they’re not the worst. In fact, they are just fine. As expected, the uke slipped out of tune frequently for the first few days until the strings were properly stretched. After lots of playing, it stays in tune and only needs minor adjusting here and there as is to be expected in any stringed instrument.
• <>b>Affordable strings: The Aquila strings are a very nice touch and a great cost savings as I planned to replace cheap strings with Aquila ones. No need to buy new strings or pay a luthier to put them in place.
• Great tone: The tone is just fantastic, sweet and mellow, exactly how a uke should sound!
• Fair price tag: Although this is a nice ukulele, it’s not too expensive to take camping or to the beach. You don’t have to worry about anything happening to it, meaning you can simply relax and play.
• A bang for the buck: I’ve compared this ukulele to a $300 one from a different manufacturer and of course expected the more expensive one to be better. I was wrong! The Luna is nicer in every way, and for the price, you can’t go wrong. If you want a better ukulele than this one, expect to pay at least $200 for it, if not more. This is excellent in terms of craftsmanship, sound, and materials.
• Subtitle for beginners: Many people mention purchasing this ukulele for a beginner, and are very happy with it. A few people mention being seasoned players, and are equally if not even more impressed at the quality compared to price.

Cons

There are very few downsides to the Luna Mahogany Series Tattoo Concert Ukulele. A few buyers complain about the tuning process, which can be tedious at first, and a few are surprised at its small size relative to the guitar. Let’s take a look at some unusual complaints as well as a few of the more common “cons.”

• One reviewer discovered a flaw in the finish, saying that the bottom edge felt rough compared to the other edges and even noting that it scraped his forearm during strumming.
• A few reviewers note problems with the strings as installed including a whining sound and some vibration on playing. The issue was easily resolved with new strings.
• One person discovered that the frets on their ukulele had not been sanded down and were very sharp, preventing the instrument from being played. They returned it for a new instrument without a manufacturing defect.
• A few reviewers noted minor flaws in the appearance of the ukulele’s finish, particularly on the back. One person found unfinished patches on the back of the ukulele that they received.
• One reviewer found a problem in which the instrument’s geometry was off; fixing it and resolving the “twanging” sound would require the luthier to move the bridge back by about an inch. The ukulele’s owner opted to deal with the twang and noted that it’s still a nice uke for the price.
• Some players report buzzing on the frets, which is typically resolved by tightening the screws on the tuning pegs or adjusting the string height at the nut. These issues are easy to fix but in most cases the ukuleles arrive properly set up so you can play right out of the box.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for an attractive ukulele with an unusual appearance, then you’re probably going to love the Luna Mahogany Series Tattoo Concert Ukulele. Besides fantastic looks, this little uke offers a sweet, harmonious sound that makes it a pleasure to play. Beginners love it, and those with larger hands find that it’s easier to get around than a smaller soprano uke but not quite so easy as a tenor ukulele. Seasoned players appreciate this Luna ukulele for its beauty as well as for its playability and its sound. There are typical problems that are common to nearly all brands, and that are associated with mass production, i.e. occasional issues with frets, blemishes, or poorly adjusted strings, however these are few and far between; in fact, we had to do some digging to find problems to discuss. Luna has an excellent reputation for making quality instruments including guitars and ukuleles, and this model is as expected – a very good instrument at a surprisingly affordable price.