Table of Contents
What to Know for Luna Tattoo Ukulele
- All-mahogany Concert ukulele produces full, rich uke tone
- Mahogany neck with walnut fingerboard provides stellar playability and response
In this review, we’ll be looking at the Luna Tattoo concert ukulele. This uke includes a unique Hawaiian “tattoo” on the front. This Luna ukulele has an attention-grabbing design, but is this ukulele any good?
The Luna Tattoo concert mahogany is an effective ukulele. It’s nicely constructed and plays reasonably well, and I was especially impressed with the tone.
I wasn’t a fan of the tuners, and the included gig bag wasn’t very good. In any other case, I felt this uke was a great high-quality instrument considering its worth.
This Tattoo ukulele isn’t a bad selection for newbies, however, there are certainly better selections when it comes to the total worth. Many beginner uke packages on the market online nowadays include more and cost less.
- All-mahogany produces full, rich uke tone
- Mahogany neck with walnut fingerboard provides stellar playability and response
- Really cool traditional Hawaiian geometric design on front
- Stylized shark-teeth inlay on the walnut fingerboard
- Open-gear tuners that help ukes to stays in tune
Construct Quality & Materials
In this ukulele review, we will see that this uke is nicely crafted, with no obvious flaws or defects, and with good quality. The joints and seams have been all tight, and the craftsmanship was clean and crisp. Given the price, I couldn’t discover anything to complain about.
It’s good and lightweight, which is a top build quality I look for in any ukulele. In the world of acoustic instruments, light is nice because it means there’s much less resistance to vibration whenever you pluck the strings. The result’s a more resonant, lively instrument with a better tone.
Woods
The top, back, and sides of this Luna uke are laminated mahogany. As I’ve talked about in other ukulele reviews, I don’t think laminated wood has an effect on the tone in the way that solid wooden does. In my opinion, laminated mahogany sounds similar to laminated Sapele, laminated koa, and so on.
There is a walnut fingerboard and walnut bridge on this ukulele, which is a durable hardwood that I’ve now seen on several high-end instruments. This means they didn’t use mahogany neck material like other ukuleles in this price range.
Nut & Saddle
On Luna’s webpage for the Tattoo ukulele, they state the nut and saddle are graphite. It appears and feels similar to TUSQ, which is an artificial material designed to simulate the properties of bone.
I can’t tell for certain what the nut and saddle are produced from, but it feels very hard and tough. It’s a lot better than the plastic parts usually discovered on very low-cost ukuleles.
Frets
No issues right here. The frets on this Luna uke have been smooth, level, and even. I didn’t have any fret ends sticking out, which may sometimes be an issue with budget ukes.
Luna Tattoo Concert Features
Luna Tattoo Design
This ukulele’s most original design feature is the large tattoo pattern on the front.
The laser-engraved pattern relies on traditional Hawaiian body ornamentation and Polynesian tattoo styles. Apparently, it’s inspired by a Hawaiian turtle design, though to be sincere I don’t really see it.
Nonetheless, I believe it’s a cool design that’s tastefully finished. The pattern is subtle and doesn’t overpower the rest of the uke, which is pretty mild on decorations.
The laser engraving may be very crisp and appears surprisingly natural. When looking closely, you’ll be able to see that the engraving process exposes the grain of the mahogany top, which I thought was kind of neat.
I did notice some random mild flecks contained in the laser-engraved areas. It wasn’t too obvious and didn’t bother me, but I still needed to point it out.
Tone
Tonally, this Luna uke may be very open, airy, and sweet. It has a nice volume and lots of sustain. In total I’m actually pleased with the way in which this ukulele has a beautiful sound and sweet tone, especially considering the price tag.
It has a pleasant, rich low end, however, the trebles are also very strong. The treble register is usually the weak point of a budget ukulele’s tone as a result of laminated wooden construction.
Fortunately, this uke doesn’t suffer as a lot from that problem. I believe that is partly because of its slightly oversized concert body. I checked it against a Lohanu LU-C concert ukulele I own, and the Luna was slightly larger all around.
Playability
My Luna Tattoo got here with respectable action from the factory and was simple to play without adjusting anything.
The neck was completely straight, and the frets have been even and level. I didn’t detect any high or low spots that might trigger buzzing and rattling.
About Action & Beginner Ukuleles
As is usually the case with beginner ukuleles, I would have preferred for the action (string height) to be slightly lower from the factory.
Nevertheless, it’s necessary to have realistic expectations of an entry-level instrument like this Luna uke.
Luna Tattoo Concert Features
Some Variation Is Normal
As I’ve talked about in different reviews, entry-level ukuleles often have some variation in string height. In case you order a Luna uke, it’s possible your action might be slightly higher or lower than mine.
A little bit of variance is normal for instruments in this price range. Nevertheless, in case you receive a uke that feels unusually high or low, you must contact the vendor with your concerns.
Tuners
The tuners were good, but not great. The tuning action was slightly gritty, and a couple of the tuners had small tight spots.
Most of the other entry ukuleles I’ve played and reviewed had much better tuners than those that came on my Luna.
Still, they got the job completed, and I don’t anticipate them having any major issues. One good factor was that they didn’t have too much slack before the gears engaged, which is something that drives me nuts.
Gig Bag
The included gig bag is simply OK. It’s pretty thin and has minimal padding. Compared to the awesome bag that came with the Hurricane UKS-3 I just reviewed, Luna’s bag appears low-cost and flimsy.
It’ll guard the uke against light scratches and dings, however, if you’d like more serious protection, I’d think about investing in something more substantial.
Accessories & Extras
This Luna concert ukulele doesn’t include any extras or accessories, which is a little bit disappointing. There are many nice beginner ukes that cost lower than the Luna however include a tuner, strap, and extra strings.
Luna Tattoo Concert Features
Warranty & Customer Service
Luna provides a lifetime warranty on all of its instruments, which is a good factor on its face.
However, the warranty claim process seems it’s a little bit of a problem. From what I understand, you need to discover an authorized Luna vendor and then pay for the transport to and from Luna. This process will probably cost more than what you paid for the uke in the first place, so it sort of defeats the point.
The reality is that mass-produced, entry-level instruments can have issues or can develop issues over time. The one solution to guard against that is a customer-focused warranty that doesn’t cost you anything if something goes wrong.
Conclusion
Through a sacred inking process, the laser-etched Tattoo design takes its inspiration from Hawaiian body ornamentation. The ancient Polynesian people believed getting inked was a divine course and a bold statement.
Patterns and layout were strongly geometric with many shapes and symbols representative of the natural island world: stones, waves, fish, sharks, turtles, rain, sun, and birds. This design is primarily based on waves and sharks’ teeth which are also echoed as fret markers. Expect a warm tone from the all-eastern mahogany concert body and walnut fingerboard on this great uke.
