Lanikai SZW-TCA Cutaway Zebrawood Tenor Acoustic-Electric Ukulele  

Great FEATURES, but that is all you are paying for.

I took it out of the box and noticed right away that the woodwork is not well done at all.  The heel of the neck looks like it was hand sawn and not even touche with sandpaper or anything to make it look neat.  The joining of the bookmatched pieces on the backside of this instrument is crap.  There are gaps and it is very pourous looking.  I did not even plug it I because I was so disappointed with it.  I am sure, however, that the pickup is probably OK since it is a Fishman.  Oh, and if you fret anything from the first fret to the seventh fret on the C string you will get nothing but buzz. 

I would not buy this thing for $50.  I have a Lanakai Tenor Uke which I paid about $130 for that BLOWS this thing away.  The tone and playability is WAY better.  I thought I could count on Lanakai to deliver.

I ordered this because I wanted a really good Uke to tour Germany with.  I will be playing folk, traditional, French, Spanish, German and Celtic music.  I might as well use my current Uke with a glued banjo pickup on the front and fight the feedback.  I have nothing but good instruments and I know when something speaks to me and this thing says "Get rid of me before it is too late to get your money back". 

Looks: Wow wow wow! A gorgeous instrument: fetching eye candy! Gloss finish looks great.

Playability: Very Good action and fretting.

Sounds: not very loud acoustically (kinda mellow), but plugged in: Mighty F.I.N.E. and Nice!

Well made with beautiful zebrawood. Great electronics and tuners. Top notch all the way.

Despite the wonderful accolades on looks and sound, I think the uke is a little overpriced. This would be a fantastic buy. Lanikai makes some very wonderful ukuleles.

I bought a Lanikai SZW-TCA cutaway zebrawood tenor ukulele last summer (August 2010) so I've got a year's experience in playing it and loving it. Overall, it is a Mighty F.I.N.E. ukulele, with its gorgeous and glossy zebrawood finish, Grover tuners, and Fishman electronics. This uke sounds absolutely wonderful plugged in so its perfect (with onboard volume and tone controls) for live performances at clubs, etc. Unplugged, it has a sweet classical guitar tone; it's somewhat softer and more mellow than my other ukes (Kamaka, Ohana, Koaloha). I'm thinking its the tonewood (zebrawood) although the notched cutaway could lessen some volume. Please know the cutaway is one reason I wanted this uke, to have extended reach to the upper frets for fancy guitar-like solos. Bottom line: this is one stunning ukulele that works well in many aspects.