I recently purchased a Barnes and Mullins BMUK2S Soprano Ukulele (for £70 second hand - they are about £120 new) and thought I would share my experience of it with you.
Looks
The BMUK2S is a stunning looking ukulele. Every student that I teach has commented on it immediately saying how great it looks. It's a beautiful colour and the grain on the wood finish is amazing. It simply looks stunning. It has a solid spruce top and Spalted Maple on the back and sides. The head has a lovely Barnes and Mullins logo on it. It looks very professional and is a real head turner.
Playability.
The BMUK2S is very easy to play. It has a low action and the neck is easy to hold and move up and down. The only gripe is that it slips out of tune quite quickly (it might just need a slight adjustment on the tuners). Nothing disastrous, just expect to have to tune it daily.
Sound
What can I say. It has a deep, rich sound. It has a nice range of sounds too with a lovely crisp 'Ponticello' sound (when playing near the bridge) and a soft, sweeter 'Dulce' sound when playing 'Tasto' (further up the bridge). The strings it came with are a bit thick for my liking so I will change them for some thinner Aguilla ones.
Overall
It's a wonderfully made instrument that I have really taken to. If you look on my video page you can see it in action. I would happily pay the full price of £120 that it costs new.
Fantastic. I paid about £70 for this Ukulele from a well known auction site.