The Snail UKT-598 tenor ukulele has a very pleasing combination of very good sound and a very good sound for this level of expenditure. When we first saw them, the looks obviously were the first thing to grab us, with very striking rosewood veneer and very intricate looking binding. They took some time to make their way onto our website because they proved very popular in our retail stores too - it was a problem to hang onto one long enough for the uke to make its way into our photo studio!

The Tenor Snail UKT-598 certainly looks nicely put together, with a satin finish and all looking tidy inside and out. The darkness of the rosewood veneer is very nice against the very exotic looking purfling, which looks to be made from maple, ebony and rosewood. A slightly simpler pattern appears on the soundhole rosette. The neck is mahogany, the bridge is rosewood and the headstock has a rosewood cap to match the uke's body.

As is very common at this price level, Aquila strings are fitted. The chromed, closed, geared tuners are smooth, seem to hold well and have nice feeling buttons  If you are a uke purist, you may notice this - but it is unlikely to worry you if you've either got loads of ukes of all shapes and sizes, or if this Snail uke is the first of your collection.
The sound this Snail produces seems well balanced, with rather good depth of tone and naturally, an edge of brightness from the Aquila strings. Strummed, you can hear the fullness of the tone, while all the time retaining a nice, sparkling quality of sound. There is plenty of volume, decent sustain and it compares very well to other models at this level, and significantly beyond.

You should never buy a uke just because it has a free gig bag... but, as this one looks great and sounds lovely, consider the fact that it does include a bag a big bonus!