Martin T1K Tenor Ukulele - Natural Reviews

Excellent all the way around!

To start with I am new to ukulele. I play a few other string instruments and thought I would like to try something new. My wife and I already have Martin guitars so I thought I would give Martin a try. In my research for a ukulele I discovered that Martin has been making ukulele's for over 100 years.

I was not disappointed. This little instrument has tremendous amounts of quality. The tuners hold very well and the playability is like I would expect from a Martin instrument. The Koa wood is beautiful and the sound is spectacular. It came packed very well with plenty of padding.
Sweetwater as always was great to work with and answered any question I had before I ordered the instrument.

I have the most beautiful T1K, thanks to my main man, Tyler Moore, for putting me on it. I have a Streetmaster, also, and love it as well. They were not setup well, but I filed the nut slots down some and dropped the saddle to get it perfect. I use D'Addario EJ65T strings on this one. I tried the Martin premiums, but they didn't move the top enough, in my opinion. I also tried the EJ88's, but it wasn't the right tone. EJ65T's are perfect for this one.

I started playing on a a Yamaha 12-string for $130.00. I have forever regretted not buying the Martin that sat right next to it for 30.00 more. But now, 55 years later after 4 hand surgeries and bad arthritis, I had to find something new to play. I made the right choice. I later returned to the big box store and played ever Uke they had. There was no comparison. The Martin is a superior instrument by far. Thank you Noah for all of your help before and after. Sweetwater did such a great job they are now my go-to for all music purchases.

Just received my Martin T1K after previously purchasing the C1K (which I also love). I was lucky enough to get to choose a T1K with figured koa and it is GORGEOUS in every way! WOW…the pictures did not do it justice! Not only is it beautiful, it sounds amazing! This uke sings and practically plays itself! Beautiful warm sound, excellent volume, great sustain!HIGHLY recommend!! You can't go wrong with a Martin! SUPERB!

Thanks to Stephen Oppenhiem, thanks to sweetwater. This tenor beats all, I wish the fingerboard was wider but that's me !

I sampled 15 ukuleles is a guitar store and became immediately obsessed with this one.

I absolutely love this Martin Tenor Ukulele. It arrived to me in perfect shape. The sound projects quite well compared to other tenors I have played. It is super comfortable in my hands, and I just love the rustic appearance of it. It's everything a ukulele should be, and more. The gig bag included is of great quality as well.

My service from the staff at Sweetwater was perfect, as always. It even arrived a day earlier than anticipated.

If you are ready to step up the quality of ukulele that will last either a hoobyist or a professional, you can not go wrong here.

The action was a little high and it was effecting the intonation higher on the neck. So I had to file down the bridge (which was easy).

Love the finish on the body. The sound is great. Can't wait to continue to get to know this instrument even better!

You know how you can sometimes buy something on-line from the Big A***** store and be really impressed with the product and packaging when it arrives - so much so that you feel good inside? You know how sometimes you get something from a new seller on-line from the E*** store and just feel nice and toasty warm inside by the description and item matching perfectly, and like you made a good price/deal and a friend in the transaction?
Well, dealing with Sweetwater is like both of those feeling combined with a double scoop of professionalism, a big dollop of courtesy, and a whole lot of sprinkles of nice touches that make you feel like a valued individual. What a great store!
I dealt with Matt South and I can't say enough nice things about the gentleman. I thought I liked the looks and description of not just a particular product but a particular one of the units of the product and he walked me through the process of choosing like a champ. I never felt rushed...I never felt pressured.
And the item itself, a Martin T1K Tenor Ukulele of solid koa wood, was exactly as pictured and arrived packaged as if someone had shipped a Stradivarius violin. It's gorgeous! And so was my experience of dealing with Sweetwater.

First off, beautiful uke. Top and back have infinite contrast in browns, reds and yellows. Sides are a flame job. 5 people had this in their cart when I bought it.
Setup was incredible. Dead on, no need for adjustments. My hat is off for the Mexican Martin Shop!
The only thing needing my attention is the fret ends and the edges of the fretboard. A little sharp, but not enough to force me to remove the strings and address right away.
Tuners are great. I expected to be a little frustrated with the open back type. I am used to Ratio tuners, most of my guitars have them. These tuners are fine.
Sound is loud and clear. Rings like a bell. With a plastic pick I can out volume anybody.
Highly recommended.

Great tone beautiful grain and finish

Have a 65 year old Martin Mahagony Tenor. Wanted to add an additional instrument. The similar model now being made uses "Koa" wood which was new to me. Happy to report the sound is similar to the other tenor, but it's projection is slightly greater. Makes for a fine instrument with which to solo. Am pleased with the purchase. Compared to my other Martin, the fretboard size is a little different in addition to having added frets, but will be o.k. with some practice.

Being new in the area, the visit to your facility was my first. Friendly personnel, and Andrew was enthusiatic, spent as much time as was needed and a fine representative of your organization.

This instrument has helped me to become a better player. After a year of practice I can now create melodies using the full range of notes on the tenor and fingerpick my way through various exercises or riffs. It has an ethereal sound, I would not describe it as punchy but more subtle with a nice ring and or sustain. To be absolutley critical; it seems the sustain on individual notes cuts out on the A string around the 18th fret but not significantly. I can still hear a fraction of sustain on the individual A string at the 20th fret but it would obviously be drowned out if played with other notes. This is all without using a pick , I simply fingerpick the strings. It is not easy to get a clear note with recognizable sustain on the 20th fret of the G string. The instrument has limitations; it requires some decent fingerpressure and dexterity, you can't let it dry out or the face will split below the bridge. You should probably purchase a hardcase for it. It has the made in Mexico stigma which upsets some people. I personally cherish this instrument because it was made in Mexico and it is one of a kind despite its midrange price. Martin definetly knows what it is doing in this market. I consider myself extra lucky that I got a model with a spirit wood fingerboard instead of rosewood lol. I suppose you get lucky once in a while with a good quality wood. If I ordered a second one and it came with a rosewood fretboard id probably consider it a different model from tonal and aesthetic perspectives. It would be nice to see a differentiation possibly with T1KR and T1KS to represent either spirit wood or the rosewood fretboard. It may not be that big of a deal to some people but it is quite apparent to me that the rosewood is significantly darker than spirit wood.

Overall, this is a nice ukulele. The tone has depth, but it also seems to project well. I'd say it's "jangly" in comparison to my Lanikai all-solid mahogany uke, which has a warm, mellow sound, but that's not to say that the Martin is overly bright. It's nicely balanced. I wasn't crazy about the strings, but a switch to D'Addarios solved that. The action was a little on the high side for me, so I lowered it slightly by sanding the bottom of the saddle. But that saddle is TIGHT in the bridge! I know a saddle shouldn't be loose in the bridge, but really... Build quality is excellent and the koa is beautiful. Unfortunately, the fret ends were protruding enough to drive me crazy. I know it wouldn't have left Sweetwater this way, so the change in weather from origin to destination must've caused the neck to contract slightly. I tried to sand the fret ends, but I decided I'd probably do more harm than good. So the Martin is in the capable hands of my local repair guy. Sweetwater's service, communication, and shipping speed was beyond excellent, as always!

Had to send the first one back for several cosmetic issues and the intonation was not very good past the 5th fret. 2nd one was much better and I'm keeping it forever haha... seriously. Sweetwater made the exchange very easy. I'm a guitar player looking for a good travel instrument and this thing is awesome! Been practicing at work and get lots of compliments. Expensive, but worth it.

I really love the tone of this uke! It's comfortable to play and has great projection. If I could change one thing, it would be the bridge mount. It's rather thin and makes be concerned that it might have a problem in the future. Of course that's not drastic since bridges and mounts can easily be fixed.

Fit and finish is very good. Playability not so much. I expected better setup out of the box from Martin - that's one reason big reasons why I purchased this model.
Tone is nice. Some reviews say it sounds thin but to my ear it's a great sounding Uke. Once chord can actually be played with that really high action.