Description
The Peavey Jack Daniels ukulele is the first ukulele I ever owned so I guess I’ll always be a little biased, it’s still a ukulele that I play a lot today. Here’s my honest thoughts on it having owned one for a few years now.
When I first bought this ukulele I wasn’t even aware it was a Peavey instrument. I got talking to the owner of my local guitar shop and I asked him what you have to spend to get a decent ukulele without going too crazy and it was the one he recommended to me. He played a few little things on it and I liked the sound – also the fact that he had more expensive ukuleles but didn’t steer me in their direction told me that he was probably telling the truth. It wasn’t even like I could try it in the shop as I didn’t know a single chord at the time.
I should point out that this is a concert-sized uke. At the time of purchase I wasn’t even aware that different sizes existed (it’s fair to say that I didn’t do my research), I just knew it was small and had 4 strings. In terms of the sizing, I find it pretty comfortable, more so than a soprano but that’s very much a personal preference.
Two Sound Holes
I think I paid around £55 ($85) for it and so far it’s been pretty good value for me. I know that ukes are notorious for not staying in tune but this one seems to hold out quite well. I do pretty much keep a Fender clip on tuner attached to it at all times should it go out of tune though. The ukulele itself has 2 sound holes, a small one on the front and then one on top which allows you to hear what you’re playing a little bit better. This does make it a little quieter when you’re recording though but it hasn’t really been a problem for me.
The uke came with Aquila strings which have a pretty good reputation and are often the first name that you hear when uke strings are recommended.
If I had to give one criticism of this uke, it’s the the neck/headstock seem very heavy in comparison to the body, there’s a little bit of an imbalance and it can make it a little awkward to play if you’re standing up and trying to hold the uke.
The fingerboard and bridge are both rosewood, the back, sides and neck are sapele. Overall it’s a pretty decent looking uke that gets a fair bit of attention when people see it. I’m really not sure whether the double sound hole makes a huge difference, it’s probably more of a style thing.
The finish on the whole is pretty impressive, everything has a nice feel to it and it’s really tidy inside which I guess it has to be when it has a gaping hole on the side. It holds it’s tuning incredibly well and the tuners feel very smooth. Overall I think the finish on this uke is pretty good.
