Reviews: Rosette Ukuleles (soprano and tenor) from Octopus

Octopus Ukuleles is a British company established in 1990, coinciding with the resurgence of public interest in the instrument. Most of its operations are based in the UK (apart from manufacturing, which is based in China) and it offers three progressive levels of ukuleles: Academy (entry level), Rosette (mid level) and Premium (top end). Within each level, there is a range of sizes: soprano, concert, and tenor, as well as the option of electro-acoustic models and different designs.

Octopus kindly loaned me two different ukuleles from their Rosette series to review: a soprano, and an electro-acoustic tenor with a wave motif. Before playing the instruments I took a good look at the boxes, which display six essential chord charts (C, C7, F, Am, D7, G7) along with three diminished chords (C sharp, D flat and E flat). Also pictured are details of the free Octopus Ukulele Academy videos, the build of the instruments, and endorsements from the player Andy Eastwood. This gives the sense that you are buying in to an expert-endorsed package to support your ukulele playing. It also immediately appealed to me as a resource-hungry educator – anything that offers free resources is worth a second look, at least.