The Compass Rose body shape is distinctive, almost resembling the popular mini-jumbo shape offered by many guitar manufacturers. Interestingly, this uke is actually shape-patterned after a more than century old parlor mandolin that Rick Turner owns and has studied for its superior sound qualities. Between the inspiration for this body shape and the advanced features that few other ukes employ, the Compass Rose web site is correct when it states that Compass Rose "combined old and new elements" in the design of this instrument. The body dimensions of the Compass Rose tenor ukulele are: Overall length 26 3/4", lower bout 9 1/4", waist 5 1/4", upper bout 6 3/4" depth at base of body 2 7/8", depth at heel 2 3/8". Neck width at nut 1 3/8", neck width at 12th fret 1 3/4 ". The neck is 25/32" thick at the nut and graduates to 27/32" by the 7th fret. The soundhole is 2 1/2" across.

The body and neck have a flat finish which is a combination of a tung oil base with sprayed urethane as a protective top coat. It feels great and looks great. In addition to traditional uke woods like mahogany and koa, Compass Rose also uses California woods such as sycamore, walnut and Big Leaf Maple. I'm reviewing the all sycamore model which has an absolutely stunning appeal, and looks unlike any other instrument wood I've seen. Tradition makes us think about top woods such as spruce, cedar or koa, but Compass Rose ukuleles remind us that the word tradition simply means it's been done over and over for a long time. Rick Turner breaks tradition because he has the vision to see beyond the norm.

The neck is mahogany, with mahogany ears on the headstock and a thin sycamore headplate dressing the face of the headstock. The vintage Kluson-style chrome geared tuners are both functional and attractive on this instrument. If you're familiar with the Turner/Renaissance guitar line, you'll recognize the same headstock shape on the Compass Rose ukulele. The neck hosts a standard tenor 17" scale length. The fingerboard is a lovely piece of wood named Pakka, which seems to pretty closely resemble rosewood. The fingerboard is free of position markers but does have the ever-popular side markers at fret numbers 3, 5, 7, 10, 12 and 15.

The nut and saddle are bleached cow bone, nicely polished. The bridge is rosewood and is designed to accommodate knotted string ends. The knots hide nicely inside what I refer to as "string caves"... (if anyone has a more appropriate name, please enlighten me). The string caves on the Compass Rose ukulele are drilled above the baseline of the bridge, allowing more glue surface area for the bridge and soundboard.

The neck has a cantilevered fingerboard, meaning that the fingerboard extension past where the 12th fret meets the body is raised, leaving about 3/32" of space between the soundboard and fingerboard. Rick Turner's reason for doing this is due to the small amount of resonant space you have available on the face plate of the uke to act as the soundboard. The Compass Rose neck design keeps the fingerboard from touching the soundboard, creating a few extra square inches of surface that is able to vibrate, allowing the entire top to resonate.

Peering under the extended fingerboard reveals a flat carbon-fiber plate that lends strength all the way to the end of the fingerboard, so you can play confidently all the way to the 17th fret. (Well, I should say that the uke will allow you to play all the way up... the confident part is up to you...)

I received the Compass Rose strung with Hilo black nylon strings. The set employs a wound third, and a wound fourth string, tuned to GCEA. I also found a high G string supplied in the gig bag, so it's shipped ready to satisfy either preference. Personally, I've always played reentrant tuning with a high G, but this has been so much fun playing with the low G that I initially resisted the temptation to change the string. When I did put the high G on, I was again enthralled with the Compass Rose experience, almost like playing it again for the first time. I've since reinstalled the low wound G and having a great time working with this setup again.

The top and bottom body edges on this particular Compass Rose model are not bound, although binding is available on any model. The unbound edges of the ukulele I'm reviewing are what I would call "comfort sanded" so that instead of feeling a noticeable edge in your forearm as you play, you feel a nicely rounded over contour that makes little if any contact sensation when you're holding the instrument.

The top and back of the uke are radiused, with the back being slightly more domed than the top. Most quality ukes employ this method of arching the top and back plates for strength.

The work inside the Compass Rose ukulele is almost as pretty as the outside, with smoothly shaped triangular kerfing, a nicely rounded backsplice and spruce bracing on the back. A small mirror allowed me to see the internal bracing method used on the soundboard, and I found a spruce brace above and below the soundhole, and three small tone bars traversing across the bridge area and continuing towards the base of the body. The neck is attached to the heelblock with two bolts, which is a preferred method by many high-end builders and manufacturers.

Strap lovers take notice! The Compass Rose tenor ukulele comes with a strap pin installed at the base of the body, and also includes a nice adjustable strap. However, you may not need a strap as the Compass Rose, in the true tradition of excellent uke building, is built so lightly that it practically floats in the air! I don't have a scale that will accurately measure the ounces of this tenor uke, but it's lighter than some smaller ukes that I own.

Although we're really talking about the ukulele, I have to mention that the Compass Rose comes with a better gig bag than you'll receive with most guitars. This bag is fully equipped with a variety of handles, hanging straps, backpack straps, a trio of zippered compartments on the front as well as a netted accessory pocket. I think you can tell how a builder feels about their product by the way they dress it up before they send it out in public, and the Compass Rose ukulele gig bag is ready to go anywhere.

We haven't discussed the sound yet; I saved the best for last! No pun intended on the name of the builder, but this ukulele is a real "head turner". Since receiving it a few days ago, I've shown this ukulele to several people in my own shop, and it's drawn lots of mighty praise for its strong yet warm tone, plenty of volume and playing ease. Some of the people who have played it have drifted into that "music zone" where you're no longer aware of any other stimuli in the room!

The list price of the sycamore Compass Rose tenor ukulele reviewed here is $750 including the gig bag. Actual selling price will vary. Different woods and additional features will reflect different pricing.

Heads up on the head turner, heads up to Rick Turner, and two thumbs and eight fingers up to the Compass Rose tenor ukulele.