Ukulele
Martin T1K
Price: 451 EUR – 663 EUR
Price history
Cheapest seen
Most expensive seen
Availability: 2/10 (Very rare)
The Martin T1K is an all-solid Hawaiian koa tenor ukulele with a sipo fingerboard and bridge, built to a flawless fit-and-finish standard that earned praise even from reviewers who found faults elsewhere, delivering a notably loud, bright tone rather than koa's sometimes-expected warmth.
About the Martin T1K
The "K" in T1K signals what sets this model apart from Martin's standard T1: top, back and sides are all solid Hawaiian koa rather than the cheaper standard build. A sipo fingerboard and bridge - an African hardwood with properties close to mahogany - sit on a select hardwood neck with non-scalloped spruce bracing, a dovetail neck joint and a white Tusq nut and saddle. On a 17-inch scale with 20 frets and roughly 26 inches of overall length, the fingerboard measures 1 11/32 inches at the nut. Nickel open-gear tuners with faux-ivory button knobs and a high-quality satin lacquer finish round out the build, and it ships in a padded TKL gig bag.
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eBay Martin T1K Tenorgröße Hawaiian Koa Massivholz 451 EUR Best price View details
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Reverb Martin T1K Ukulélé T1K Koa 663 EUR View details
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Source: https://reverb.com/item/70336493-martin-t1k-ukulele-t1k-koa
Sound character of the Martin T1K
Despite koa's reputation for warm tones, the T1K is described as notably loud and extremely bright, closer to a soprano ukulele's voice than an earthy, mellow koa character, with good sustain and plenty of bite and attack that suits picking particularly well.
What owners of the Martin T1K say
The overall verdict lands at a strong 8.9 out of 10 across looks, fit and finish, sound and value, with the reviewer describing themselves as genuinely pleased with the instrument's volume, playability and tone. The complaints that do surface - invisible fret markers, a finish that marks easily, a cheap-looking logo sticker, and sharp fret ends needing dressing - are consistently framed as minor cosmetic or setup-level issues rather than anything calling the instrument's fundamental quality into question. For players specifically seeking koa's traditional warm character, it's worth knowing in advance that this particular build leans bright and loud rather than mellow.
Playability & handling of the Martin T1K
A detailed review calls the construction flawless, scoring fit and finish at 9.5 out of 10, with excellent intonation across the neck and a thin neck profile that supports comfortable finger positioning. Setup out of the box is described as reasonable overall, though the saddle action runs a touch high and needs adjustment by removing the saddle - a minor but real step some buyers will need to take or have done for them. Fret markers are criticized as nearly invisible, and the satin finish is noted to show marks and dings readily despite its attractive look on the solid koa. One oddly specific complaint singles out the raised gold logo sticker as cheap-looking and out of place on an otherwise premium-feeling instrument - a cosmetic gripe rather than a functional one.
Recommended accessories & strings for the Martin T1K
A padded TKL gig bag ships with the instrument, covering transport. Players who find the stock bright tone too piercing report good results from experimenting with different string sets, and a fret-end dressing is worth considering if the edges feel sharp - a complaint that surfaces in more than one independent source.
Technical data for the Martin T1K
| Top/back/sides | Solid Hawaiian koa |
|---|---|
| Fingerboard/bridge | Sipo |
| Neck | Select hardwood, dovetail joint |
| Bracing | Non-scalloped spruce |
| Nut/saddle | White Tusq |
| Scale | 17 in. |
| Overall length | ~26 in., 20 frets |
| Nut width | 1 11/32 in. |
| Tuners | Nickel open-gear, faux-ivory buttons |
| Finish | Satin lacquer |
| Included | TKL padded gig bag |
Price history for the Martin T1K
Cheapest seen: 451 EUR · Most expensive seen: 663 EUR
Cheapest seen
Most expensive seen
The history of the Martin T1K
Koa's connection to the ukulele goes back to the instrument's origins in Hawaii, where Portugüse immigrants' small guitars were rebuilt using local koa wood; Martin's T1K continues that tonewood tradition within its modern tenor ukulele range.
About Martin as a manufacturer
C.F. Martin & Company was founded in 1833 in New York City by Christian Frederick Martin, a German immigrant born in 1796 in Markneukirchen, Saxony, who had learned guitar building as an apprentice to Johann Stauffer in Vienna before seeking opportunity abroad. The company relocated to Nazareth, Pennsylvania in 1839, where it remains headquartered today as the world's oldest surviving guitar manufacturer and the largest acoustic guitar maker in the US. Martin's design innovations shaped the flattop guitar format still in use industry-wide, and the original North Street factory was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. The T1K carries nearly two centuries of that woodworking tradition into the ukulele category, applying the same tonewood expertise Martin built its guitar reputation on.
