Not so long ago I took a look at my first ukulele from the new brand TOM. Well they got back in touch and asked me to look at one of their more affordable models. This is the TOM AM3-C Concert.
That first one I looked at was the TUT-680M - a classy looking tenor that did rather well on the review bench. This one is much more affordable and simple and comes in this concert flavour and also, I believe, a tenor, a soprano and a sopranino.
SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW
This model line are made from solid mahogany on the top and laminate mahogany for the back and sides. It's a simplistic ukulele but with a clean look. No, it's not the most striking mahogany and i'd rather it was a darker colour, but the double bout shape is modern and curvy with an overly rounded lower bout which I like. It's put together well too.
The bridge is a through body design which means a bit more of a pain on re-stringing but good anchoring for the strings. This is pretty tidy too. The material is not specified on listings I have seen (and oddly, this model doesn't appear on the TOM website) but it's rosewood looking. Could be stained that way I suppose. That holds what they say is a bone saddle (though to me looks like NuBone) that is not compensated and gives you a string spacing of 43mm.
Decoration is minimal so no edge bindings, but you do get what looks like a maple inlaid sound hole ring trimmed in darker wood which is nicely done. The body is finished in a satin which is very even and tidy with no issues I can find.
Inside is tidy with thin braces notched linings and not a great deal of mess. The top wood is also very thin which isn't always the case with low priced solid top ukes.
The neck is specified as mahogany and here we have a typically far-eastern profile and width at the nut end. This is far too rounded on the back for me and the width is also skinny at 35mm with 27mm spacing. No and no for me!
The fingerboard is also not specified but again is rosewood-ish in appearance. It's very tidy and in great condition on this one. It's also edge bound down the sided and the fret dressing is smooth meaning nothing you can feel. In fact, it has something close to rolled fingerboard edges which is really surprising when you see the price. It's a shame the nut width and profile are not my thing because the rest of it is great. You get 18 fretsjoined at the 14th. Pearly position dots face out at the 5th, 7th, 10th and 12th and they are paired with side dots which give you an extra one at the 15th.
The fingerboard is also not specified but again is rosewood-ish in appearance. It's very tidy and in great condition on this one. It's also edge bound down the sided and the fret dressing is smooth meaning nothing you can feel. In fact, it has something close to rolled fingerboard edges which is really surprising when you see the price. It's a shame the nut width and profile are not my thing because the rest of it is great. You get 18 fretsjoined at the 14th. Pearly position dots face out at the 5th, 7th, 10th and 12th and they are paired with side dots which give you an extra one at the 15th.
Beyond the nut (again, listed as bone but looks and feels like NuBone) is a simple headstock with a nice wavy top to it. The TOM branding is inlaid in something pearly on the top face. A word about that. TOM have a nice almost flower petal design for their brand but neither this or the last one I looked at use it on the headstock. In fact this is totally different to the other TOM uke I looked at on that score which seems confusing. Think they need consistency to build brand awareness.
The tuners are not for me either as they are sealed chrome gears which I always hate to see on a ukulele. These also have slightly different tensions and I suspect are not the best, but they hold as gears usually do. Interestingly these DO use the TOM flower logo on the back covers!
Finishing it off are a set of fitted strings that look and feel to me like D'Addario Titaniums. You also get a couple of strap buttons fitted, a branded gig bag of decent quality, a cloth, spare strings, a strap with locking ends (nice!), some picks, and intro guide and a capo. The capo is an odd one because it's guitar sized not uke so far too big! It's the usual 'kitchen sink' offering for a very low price - because these can be bought on Amazon for about $70 or so. That's very good value for a solid topper.
So nothing hugely out of whack do far. The core build and finish is clean and decent. The neck is very tidy although I couldn't live with the profile and nut combination. And guitar style tuners are a no-no for me on a ukulele, but it's not a lot of money and clearly aimed at beginners. I've had my hands on much worse.
It's not heavy at 515g and balances very well in the hands. The core setup on this example is also decent with 2.5mm at the 12th and no adjustments i'd make to the nut either. A word on those strings though. Titaniums to me always feel hard and taught, but tuned to pitch these are loose and flabby. I don't have the means to check the string gauges, but I wonder if these are for a different scale uke. They don't feel right to me at all. Added to that I am also sensing a string buzz when played in certain positions on the first string. The action is not too low so I wonder if the string tension is creating that or possibly one or two high frets. Either way that's a disappointment.
Oh well, lets crack on and try to ignore the buzz... The volume is decent on this one with a good clear punch when played. Sustain is more average, but it's not lousy so not bad so far. It's doing the basics ok.
The first thing that struck me here, particularly considering it's a mahogany ukulele is just how bright and a bit reedy it sounds. It's far to thin sounding for my tastes and even for those who like a bright tone I think they may find it a bit too one dimensional. Strummed it is clear enough though and creates a pleasant jangle, but you wouldn't call the tone complex or characterful. This does not sound like a mahogany uke.
Fingerpicked it sounds too strident to my ears and not that pleasant. Again though, it's clear enough (if you ignore the slight buzz and dead spots, but again I find the tone of the notes too thin for me. I get that this is a smaller scale concert, but I still don't want a ukulele to sound shrill and that is what I am getting here. Maybe a string change could warm this up (and heck, it NEEDS a string change regardless).. but...
A bit of a shame this one as the core build of much of it is decent. But that string issue is bad news. I get this may be a one off, but when you bear in mind these come from Amazon, you will NOT be having it go through the hands of a dealer first. Yes, a string change is easy, but not so much if you are a beginner. Cheap though, but then there's a lot out there that is cheap.
Fingerpicked it sounds too strident to my ears and not that pleasant. Again though, it's clear enough (if you ignore the slight buzz and dead spots, but again I find the tone of the notes too thin for me. I get that this is a smaller scale concert, but I still don't want a ukulele to sound shrill and that is what I am getting here. Maybe a string change could warm this up (and heck, it NEEDS a string change regardless).. but...
A bit of a shame this one as the core build of much of it is decent. But that string issue is bad news. I get this may be a one off, but when you bear in mind these come from Amazon, you will NOT be having it go through the hands of a dealer first. Yes, a string change is easy, but not so much if you are a beginner. Cheap though, but then there's a lot out there that is cheap.
No cigar from me.
UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP
Model: TOM AM3-C
Scale: Concert
Body: Solid mahogany top, laminate hog back and sides
Bridge: Unspecified (rosewood?) through bridge
Bridge: Unspecified (rosewood?) through bridge
Saddle: Bone (more likely NuBone), uncompensated
Spacing at saddle: 43mm
Finish: Satin
Neck: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Unspecified (rosewood?)
Frets: 18, 14 to body
Nut: Bone (more likely NuBone)
Nut width: 35mm, 27mm spacing
Tuners: Sealed chrome gears
Strings: D'Addario Titanium?
Strings: D'Addario Titanium?
Extras: Bag, strap buttons, capo, cloth, strap, spare strings, picks, starter book
Weight: 515g
Weight: 515g
Country of origin: China
Price: Circa $70
UKULELE PROS
Modern shape and clean build
Nicely finished
Well dressed frets and fingerboard
Decent volume
Good value
UKULELE CONS
Something not right with string gauge
Skinny neck
Guitar style tuners not great quality
Overly bright sound for mahogany
Buzzing!
Guitar capo???
UKULELE SCORES
Guitar capo???
UKULELE SCORES
Looks - 8 out of 10
Fit and finish - 7 out of 10
Sound - 7 out of 10
Sound - 7 out of 10
Value for money - 9 out of 10
OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 7.8 out of 10
UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW
OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 7.8 out of 10
UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW
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