As a child, I played violin and have fond memories of school orchestra class and youth symphony. The school's violins were made by Kremona and I carried one home daily to practice. Fast forward some decades and I'm a music professor at Leeward Community College specializing in classical guitar and plucked string instruments. I haven't thought about violin or Kremona since my school days.
Nowadays Kremona, a European company headquartered in Bulgaria, is more than a bowed string manufacturer: they also build guitars and ukuleles. Lots of them! In my search for a 7-string classical guitar I stumbled across the Kremona Fiesta CW-7 classical guitar, bought one, and loved it. I was also in need of an ukulele and bought a Kremona Mari Tenor sight unseen due to my experience with the CW-7.
Kremona Mari Tenor Ukulele | The figure on Mari's top is beautiful.
Mari's Sound
After Mari's soundboard settled in (at pitch for a week), I brought her into my studio to record. I left on the stock Aquila Nylgut strings but swapped out the 4th course high G with a low G, a D'Addario .028 silver wound string. The pieces I recorded are demonstration tracks for assignments in my beginning ukulele class (MUS 121Z) at Leeward Community College.
The classic melody of Queen Lili'uokalani's Aloha 'Oe was perfect for the traditional timbres of Mari. I used sul tasto strums in the accompaniment and thumb flesh strokes for the famous melody.
Aloha 'Oe | Kremona Mari Tenor recorded with Neumann KM 184 mics, Tascam US 2x2 and Logic Pro X.
The iconic Hawaii Five-O is fun to play on the ukulele albeit not your usual beach strum tune. And Mari hangs ten with the melody, chords and fills. Her lower register is robust and surprisingly responsive to vibrato in the first, second and third positions. I also had fun playing small percussion on this track! The melody was mainly played on the sound hole area for a little more bite.
Hawaii Five-O | Kremona Mari Tenor recorded with Tascam US 2x2 and US 4x4, Neumann KM 184 (2X), small percussion and Logic Pro X
In Malagueña, I used a variety of techniques to illustrate Mari's range of colors. Chords were played with both flesh thumb strokes and rasgueado. To achieve a brighter timbre, I played the main theme with my nails, classical guitar style. The lyric theme in the middle section was articulated with the flesh of my thumb, highlighting Mari's rich midrange timbres.
Malagueña | Kremona Mari Tenor recorded with a Tascam US 2x2, Neumann KM 184 (2X), small percussion and Logic Pro X
I used thumb flesh strokes for Linda Amiga's fifth position melody and first position strummed chords. Mari's strummed chords have a beautiful harp-like quality when strummed sul tasto, i.e., over the fingerboard. The melodic lines mids are thick enough to cut with a knife and serve on a dinner plate:
Linda Amiga | Kremona Mari Tenor recorded with a Tascam US 2x2, Neumann KM 184 (2X) and Logic Pro X
Mari plays the melody of Amazing Grace with her brighter voiced sister model, the Kremona Coco Tenor, laying down P-I-M-A-M-I arpeggio accompaniment. Towards the end, Coco lets rip a few blues licks.
Norwegian Wood | Kremona Mari Tenor on melody | Tiny Tenor on fills and chords | Tascam US 4x4, Logic Pro X and Neumann KM 184 and TLM 102
If you're looking for traditional ukulele tone, this is it. Mari's voice is full and sweet and comparable to my similarly priced mahogany Pono MT-E but a little less edgy or bright. Tasto strums are amazingly mellow and harp like. Although rich in midrange timbres, single notes exhibit excellent clarity and definition. Plus, timbre, sustain and volume are consistent up and down most of the neck, although sustain and volume begin dropping off by the 12th fret. Volume was initially softer than my Pono MT-E. After six months of play-in, Mari blossomed considerably and volume and projection easily bests my old Pono.
Kremona Mari Tenor Ukulele | The figure on the book-matched back is straight but on rather plain compared to the top.
Design and Construction
The Kremona Mari is a beautifully crafted instrument with a quasi-gypsy style oval sound hole, offset headstock with rosewood cap, solid mahogany body, rosewood fingerboard and bridge, mother of pearl fingerboard position markers, 7th fret side position marker, bone nut and saddle, gold plated open gear heads and matte finish. Mari is simply appointed with no inlays or binding. The sound-hole, bridge and head stock impart a modern aerodynamic design vibe while the mahogany body and matte finish link Mari to legacy ukulele design and sound.
I love matte finishes: they feel silky smooth in the hands, don't show fingerprints and nix stage and video light reflections. The gotcha with matte finishes is they emit a "sanding sound" when rubbed against clothing—especially shirt sleeves—so you must be still while recording. Glossy finishes are quieter.
Some ukulele builders cut corners with bracing and their tops distort under string tension. Not Kremona. I took a peek inside Mari's sound-hole and was pleased to find a full array of guitar-like soundboard bracing. This instrument should last a long time. Plus, not a messy glue joint, finish defect or sharp fret to be found on the Mari. Impeccable workmanship!
Open Gear Tuning Heads | They're reasonably smooth and hold pitch okay but I prefer a finer gear ratio.
Playability
Like most tenor ukuleles, the Mari has a scale length of about 17" (430mm). If you've been playing on a typical tenor you'll feel at home on the Mari. Her neck is on the slender side with a rounded contour and is well suited for players with small to medium hands. I got used to Mari's neck after a couple days and found it more comfortable than my Pono MT-E neck, a similarly priced and spec'd ukulele.
Kremona's specifications indicate a 36mm (1.27/64") nut. My calibers show a slightly larger measurement of 36.5mm (1 7/16"), so Mari's nut is just shy of 1.5 inches. Most players should feel comfortable with Mari's nut width but I wouldn't mind a little wider 38mm (1.5") or 40mm nut.
Mari 'n Me | I rarely wear aloha shirts but Mari refused to play without one.
The string spread at the saddle is 40.5mm (1 19/32"), narrower than I'm used to and not as comfortable for finger-style playing as the wider spacing on Cordoba, Romero Creations and Kanile'a tenors. On the other hand, you have less distance to travel if you're mainly a strummer or only pluck with your thumb.
I set up new instruments myself—a habit from decades as a music shop owner—but there was little to adjust on Mari: her frets were polished and level, intonation was true up the neck, and the bone saddle and nut were well adjusted for ease of playing. There was only one minor tweak needed: the first string was set too deep in the nut groove, impeding vibration and reducing volume. With that said, these types of adjustments are normal for new instrument setup. Most new guitar and ukulele stock in our shop needed nut and/or saddle adjustments.
The nut fix was simple: shave off just enough bone so the string protrudes partially above the nut, widen the groove so the string vibrates freely and file the groove so the string sits on the front edge of the nut. I also widened the 4th string nut groove slightly to better accommodate a low G. It was only a 20 minute job and the first string really popped in volume.
Mari's Head Headstock | Mari's "aerodynamic" headstock design is a refreshing change from the straight cut headstocks common on ukuleles.
Finally, I installed a strap button on the lower bout as my technique requires both hands to move freely without the burden of supporting the instrument. A polished brass button matches Mari's cosmetics nicely.
Strings
Mari is strung with a set of Aquila Nylgut and setup for reentrant tuning, i.e., high G on the 4th string. It delivered a nice chime for strums but I prefer a low G on larger ukuleles, so I installed a D'Addario .028 silver wound string. After setting in a bit, Mari rendered a rich and full bass tone from the low G.
The included Aquila Nylgut strings are okay—nice fat sounding C string—and respond well to vibrato and timbre changes. However, the A and E strings are too bright and boxy for my taste so I fitted Mari with D’Addario Dynacore strings: a little warmer and longer ringing than Aquila Nylgut.
Next, I tried D’Addario Carbon and Seaguar Blue Label fluorocarbon fishing leader and they sounded okay on Mari: loud but too bright for my taste. Finally, I installed Seaguar Pink Label 30LB fishing line on the first string, 50LB on the second string and 80LB on the third string and it was perfect: sweet bright tone like Worth Browns but I could customize string tension to fit my playing style! Pink Label is smoother in feel and mellower in tone than Seaguar Blue and Premier and most fluorocarbon string sets for that matter. And the per roll price is right for a frequent string changer like me!
UK-1 Pickup System
I mainly play acoustically and use mics for recording, but a Kremona UK-1 piezo pickup was installed on Mari so I jacked her in. The UK-1 is also sold as an after-market accessory for $69 USD and may be installed on ukuleles with traditional tie block bridges. It doesn't fit instruments with bridge pins or interior string ties, e.g., Romero Creations. Kremona also markets a larger version for classical guitars.
Kremona KNA UK-1 | Mari's impressive soundboard figure and the UK-1 piezo pickup installed on her "airfoil" bridge.
The UK-1 is a piezo pickup that sits under the strings where they attach to the bridge. It's an interesting approach to pickup design and has the advantage of being noninvasive: no permanent alternations needed and no change to the acoustic tone. The disadvantage is the UK-1 is more delicate than under saddle pickups, lacks volume and tone controls and is passive (no preamp). Also, it is not the right pickup if you use golpe and palm mutes (pizzicato) due to loud booms resulting from the slightest bumps of the UK-1.
I played the UK-1 through Trace Acoustic and Genz Benz Shenandoah amps and Mari's tone was pleasantly rendered. I didn't diddle amp EQ much as it sounded good with only slight sweetening of the midrange. Was it as accurate as a good mic like the Neumann KM 184? No, but it sounded as clear as some saddle piezo systems costing much more.
Who is the UK-1 for? Gentle and careful ukulele players needing a pickup for occasional use in church, coffeehouses, classrooms and home. It's not suited for rough and tumble conditions typical of touring and nightclub musicians. Why? The UK-1 piezo is housed in a delicate wood cover about the size of a tongue depressor and fitted with a tiny 1/8" output jack. A smack of the UK-1, jerk of the delicate cable, etc., might break the UK-1 and you'd be done for.
Kremona Case | Mari fits like a glove in this small hardshell wood case. People on the street think I'm a violinist when I carry this case.
Carrying Case
This flattop hardshell case is attractive and well made: snug fitting, black alligator textured vinyl on the exterior, thick light brown interior padding inside, large interior stash pocket and chrome latches.
Like Kremona's guitar cases, the one glaring omission is the lack of strap hooks. Cases need a shoulder strap since musicians often carry two or more instruments and need to go easy on the hands before a performance or session. My Mari travels in a well strapped Gator gig bag...
Last Blurb
In my search for mid-priced but well made tenor ukulele, the choices were many. Around the $600 USD price there are dozens of choices, with competing tenors from Pono, Kala, Cordoba, Romero Creations, Martin, etc. Kremona is virtually unknown in Hawaii, not even carried by the exceedingly well stocked The Ukulele Site. Nevertheless, if you're pining for traditional ukulele tone, the Mari Tenor is second to none in this price class and brings to the market an attractive and original design, sweet harp-like tone, wonderful playability and aloha from Bulgaria. Incidentally, Mari has a cute cedar and rosewood sister named Coco...
•••••••
•••••••
•••••••
•••••••
•••••••
Mari's Sound
Design and Construction
Playability
Strings
Carrying Case
Last Blurb
Kremona Mari Specs