Just purchased this new Bondi Anthem from Ukulele Mate. The instrument was well-packed, arrived in excellent condition, and looks beautiful—love the rosewood fretboard! Mine only required a slight string action and bridge intonation adjustments, plus a little lemon oil on the fretboard—as do most new electric solid body steel-stringed instruments. Overall, it feels great to play, the stock pickups sound great, and the sustain runs for miles...

As a live musician with decades of experience playing various scale length stringed instruments, I’ve found that maintaining pitch while playing steel-stringed ukes is definitely a challenge. The Bondi Anthem, like my Flyt electric uke, required a much lighter touch compared to nylon-stringed ukes and full-scale electric guitars, which was difficult to manage during adrenaline-filled live shows.

However, I solved the physics of this issue by simply switching the three high A, E, and C strings to a slightly heavier gauge. The Anthem comes stock with .009", .013", and .016" strings, which are great on a full-scale electric guitar but too loose on a short-scale instrument. I recommend changing to .011", .015", and .018" (the stock Low G is a wound .032", which is fine). The increased tension compensates for the short scale length and minimizes pitch drift caused by fretting pressure. This is how playing intonation is managed on mandolins, balalaikas, banjoleles, and other short-scale steel-stringed folk instruments. Once you beef up the strings, electric solid-body ukes like the Anthem become a much more reliable and professional tool for the stage.

Summary:
Pros: Solid build, looks and sounds great on stage, fast shipping & communication from Ukulele Mate - five star service.
Cons: Stock string set tension may be too light for those used to guitar or nylon uke pressure.
Top Tip: Swap the A, E, and C to a slightly heavier gauge set to lock in your intonation for live shows.

Lovely tone, fun and easy to play. Just love the colour; has a vintage vibe. Very speedy arrival and came with bag included. As always, fabulous customer service from the UM team.

I recently surprised my husband with this electric ukulele for his birthday, and I couldn't be more thrilled with the purchase. He's always had a passion for music, guitar in particular, and this gift has brought so much joy into his life.My husband absolutely loves it. The look on his face when he opened the box was priceless. He couldn't stop admiring it. All of the accessories and gifts that it came with are wonderful.

I bought the Bondi anthem electric ukulele recently, and I really like it. It looks cool and feels solid. It's also easy to hold even though its a few kgs. When I play it, the sound is clean. It has a thing inside to connect to an amp or for recording stuff. Playing it is comfy, and the fretboard is easy to use. Overall, I think the Bondi Anthem is a great ukulele, perfect for players who wants something different. Id recommend it mainly to experienced uke players or guitar players looking for something new

Its a gift for my son but I think he is going to love it. If only I had the skills to test it out. Thank you for the great service, ordering was a breeze