It always takes me a few minutes to adjust my touch from a regular five string to one of my minis. But once I do, I’m always glad I did. Even though they are small, they growl, purr and roar in my lap. So much fun! This one is made from Mesquite, a wood from Texas/Mexico that I got from a retired builder and Pistachio from California orchards. I think the Mesquite is similar to oak in tone, with a dusty rattle that I love. This one is off to British Columbia and ready to make music!
8” rim, 17” scale, but tuned to standard/open g tuning. So much fun! The curly cherry is from a retired banjo builder and is the sweetest wood in the shop right now. Not too loud, but bright and rich. The Pistachio is from California orchards.
“Hi Aaron and Nicole,
I want to Thank You for the incredible mini banjo. I think it’s beautiful and sounds amazing. It has a lot of sustain. I’ve been playing it since it arrived and have discovered I can play all of your uke banjo songs by just retuning the first string and sometimes adding slight modifications to the song.
Thank you for opening up another musical world with my new banjo.
-M. A. ”
The maple from this baritone ukulele came from an amateur violin maker, who’s health had stopped him from realizing his dream. He only made a handful of instruments and I bought his maple from him when he had to give up. He wanted to make sure that I made instruments from it and here we are. (There is one next month too.) The Douglas Fir is all salvaged old growth wood from the Carpenter Ant Stash. The grafted Pistachio is from California orchards. Loud, crisp and complex, with lots of sustain, I had a great time playing it before shipping.
“Thanks for checking up on my baritone ukulele now that I’ve had some time to get to know it. First off, it’s stunning visually. Aaron had some amazing tiger striped maple for the back and sides, and some beautiful old growth fir for the top. They fit together beautifully, and the pistachio details really tie it all together. When I play it, I can feel it purring like a kitten - it’s a very physical experience - and it responds well to a variety of touches, to make a huge dynamic range. It really wants to be played and it can be very hard to put down. The voice is really lovely - clear and singing, with plenty of presence behind the notes. I can’t say enough good things about it!
- M. T. ”
This is one of my standard models, but it’s been a while since some one ordered one. It felt good to play this one today and remind myself how much I like it. The goat skin head adds a little more rustic tone and the K&K pickup ensures that it is ready for the stage. The walnut is from a retired furniture maker on Vashon island and the pistachio is from California orchards.
Made from shop scraps and humbly presented to you for a lifetime of happy strumming. A soprano scale ukulele with geared tuners, bone nut and saddle, fluorocarbon strings and a gig bag. The neck and top are Western Red Cedar from a salvaged hot tub, the back and sides are mahogany and the fretboard is cherry. Maple binding and bridge add some nice contrast.
Want to get on the wait list for one of these? Info@thebeansprout.com
Yes, we are all about the sound and playability, but the woods have to make sense together too. In this case, I had fun starting with the dark, streaky Koa, adding a simple cedar top, dressing it up with maple binding and bird’s foot purfling and tying it together with the neck woods. I love how it all works together but doesn’t “perfectly” match. The best part about the sound of this instrument is the high dgbe stringing, which still has the low end but allows for banjo style picking.
The Cedar is from the Carpenter Ant Stash in Portland, the Koa is from an estate sale in Colorado, the Pistachio is from California orchards and the Spanish Cedar is from a retired luthier.
I’ll be donating to https://savinghawaiisforests.org for this build and so should all of you.
With a 20” scale, non steel strings and an 11” rim, I originally designed this mode to appeal to baritone ukulele players. Since then, I have seen many kinds of musicians discover them and I’m quite pleased. This one has lovely curly walnut from Goby and Pistachio from California orchards. The goat skin head, brass arm rest and hardware from Brooks Masten make it just fancy enough.
“hi nicole and aaron! my beautiful new friend has arrived home and it is simply awesome. i love every bit of it. the sound is fantastic and it is gorgeous. i am thrilled!!!
thank you so much! now i’m going to start using the books i bought from you both last year ! thanks again .
i couldn’t be happier.
fondly
t. s. ”
Inspired by 1890’s Hawaiian ukuleles, this Beansprout is a great combo of traditional and modern. It’s a soprano ukulele, with Alaskan Yellow Cedar top, Oak back and sides, Fir neck and Texas Ebony fretboard/headplate/bridge. The rope binding was made in house, with maple, cherry and walnut in a random pattern. I used some amber stain to mimic the look of old lacquer. Modern features like geared tuners, bone nut/saddle, fluorocarbon strings and strap buttons make it easy to play. (Note: this instrument has a flat fretboard in the traditional style as opposed to a radiused fretboard that we usually have on our instruments). The Cedar is from Camp Westwind, the Oak is from the Carpenter Ant Stash, the Fir is salvaged from a floor joist and the rope binding is made from shop scraps.
“Aaron and Nicole,
My Beansprout soprano ukulele #657 arrived safely on Wednesday. I have now had a couple of days to play it and I absolutely love it. I love how it looks and feels and the sound is amazing. It even has a deeper and richer tone than my alto ukulele. It must be the Alaskan Yellow Cedar and Oak combination. I really like the shape of the neck and your rope binding is awesome. In my view, you made all the right choices with this builders choice. I feel fortunate to get this ukulele now and not have to wait 9 months for it. 😊
Thank you for making wonderful high quality instruments.
Thanks again,
- H. H. ”
The rim for this banjo came from a very old banjo mandolin. It is a heavy, high quality, 10” spunover rim which I paired with a stained goat skin head. I made a new neck for it from oak and Texas ebony. The slightly larger rim with 17” scale sounds great with gcea tuning. I look forward to using this for an upcoming recording project.
I needed one for an upcoming project, so here it is! Cedar is reclaimed from a hot tub, the redwood neck is salvaged from a factory vat, the pistachio is from California orchards and the myrtle is scrap from the old Mya-Moe shop.
Wow. The grafted Pistachio back on this one is a real knockout. When the tree does all the hard work, I just have to wrap it up! The curly Port Orford Cedar top is from the Oregon coast and all the Pistachio is from California orchards, both via woodfromthewest.com. The cedar neck is from an old barn beam I found. The curly maple binding adds a nice light colored accent that ties it all together. This is the last instrument of 2021, see you next year!
“Aaron surely has a way with Pistachio! The beauty of the graft on the back and the graft lines matched on the shoulders of the two sides topped off with the curly Port Orford Cedar top all bound in the highly figured Maple and the Cedar neck and Pistachio fret board and head plate make for an instrument at which one can’t quit looking. And, it sounds every bit as good as it looks.
The K & K twin spot pickup is so worth it. The sound is incredible when run through my Fender Acoustasonic. Paired with the Dogwood and Spruce baritone strung with the Fourth string in high D, I’m set. Oh! Thanks for the nail hole in the neck. I was hoping to get one. Thank you Aaron, Nicole, and Henry. Wishing you all the best for the New Year.
- F. P. ”
I thought Fred’s baritone was going to be the last of the year, but this one snuck in there. Made from Douglas Fir and Walnut shop scraps, with a rustic maple star inlaid on the headstock. It has a dusty yet rich sound and is a joy to strum.
This instrument is basically a copy of one I built for Lizann (keeper of the Carpenter Ant stash) this summer. The Dogwood is from a tree that grew at their house, cut and milled by her father Ken many years ago. It turns out to be great for ukulele back and sides. Add an amazing old Cedar top and it really sounds awesome. The binding, fretboard, headplate and bridge is Pistachio from California orchards. The Douglas Fir neck is salvaged from a stair tread.
I love the wood grain on this. Every time I look at it, I see new colors, patterns and curl. I am so grateful to get to work with an Oregon tree like this, provided by our friend Kevin at woodfromthewest.com. I used simple Myrtle binding to wrap it up, which gives it that muted, natural, wabi-sabi look. The Pistachio fretboard/headplate/bridge is from California orchards and the fir neck is salvaged from a stair tread.
“Beansprout 651 arrived across the pond today and it was love at first when I opened the case. It is just the perfect combination of form and function. Plays like a dream and is so easy and comfortable in the hand. Visually it wonderfully embodies the Beansprout folk art aesthetic. Craftsmanship is outstanding. Normally I am quite an objective person but this connects to my soul! Have a happy holidays and best wishes for your continuing success in the future.
-S.S.”
I’ve made several four string banjos in the last few years, but most have been tuned dgbe, like a baritone ukulele. This one is going to a tenor banjo player though, so he needs cgda. This tuning, combined with non steel strings, a brass tone ring and a walnut block rim gives an awesome sound. Loud, but rich and funky too. The curly walnut is from The Dee Mill and the pistachio is from California orchards. The fancy brass hardware is from Brooks Masten.
Spruce and maple is always a good idea. Crisp, loud, sweet and precise. Add some Bearclaw figure to the top and quilting to the back and it’s a knock out! The spruce top is old growth salvage from Alaska, the maple is from the Carpenter Ant stash, the pistachio is from California orchards and the fir is from an old floor joist.
“Dear Aaron, Nicole & Henry,
I just received the BEDAZZLING Alto uke Aaron crafted for me & am so excited to hold it in my hands & play it! I just love the selection of beautiful wood & the fine detail in the walnut binding & bridge. The quilted maple (back & sides) has such depth one can almost lose themselves in it while gazing at it. The matched bookends on the sides are lovely. I appreciate the fine grain in the neck & the way it is set off by the beautiful pistachio stripe. I couldn’t be more pleased with the dramatic grain in the pistachio fretboard & headplate. Since I like all things Alaskan & since bears hold a special interest for me, the Bearclaw Alaskan Spruce top is dynomite!
Though this isn’t designed to be a mere footnote to the above effusive praise, I can’t give high enough kudos for the super bright sound of this gorgeous Alto Uke. Its amazing action makes me feel as though I have better control playing this than my first mass-produced soprano uke.
Thank you so much for hitting this one out of the park for me, Aaron!
- S. P. ”
Bread and butter: POC and walnut. It sounds awesome, looks great and is local to me. I actually took the time today to sit and play this one and I surprised myself again and again. It was so fun to play and sounds so sweet! The POC is from the Oregon coast and the pistachio from California orchards, both via woodfromthewest.com. The neck is made from salvaged redwood and the walnut is from the scrap bin at Goby Walnut in Portland.
“Hello, Aaron and Nicole!
My ukulele (#650) arrived today in fine shape. I’ve been enjoying it for the past couple of hours and my fingers are getting sore! It’s even more beautiful in person than I had expected and the sound is great. I’m going to get many years of pleasure out of this great instrument.
It’s been a pleasure dealing with you and I have nothing but good things to say about the ordering process and communication.
Thank you again and have a wonderful holiday season!
- L. U.
”
I love putting together banjos like these, using whatever woods are on hand and in the way. It helps keep the rhythm of the shop moving and they look and sound great too. Maple block rim and Mahogany neck stained to match, with Cherry fretboard and headplate. A very simple design with as few add-ons and features as possible. The Maple is scrap from our kitchen cabinet project, the Mahogany and Cherry are from the Carpenter Ant stash.
This builder’s choice tenor ukulele is something special! I love the bright and sparkly tone, which still has wonderful sustain. I’m keen to try it with a low g, I bet it would shine. The redwood top is from a luthier’s estate sale, all the walnut is from Goby in Portland and the redwood neck is salvaged from an old beam. I added some special multi colored purfling, brass fret markers, a K&K pickup and a rustic maple star in the headstock.
“Hi Aaron.
The instrument arrived safely today and it’s my dream uke. Sounds beautiful and I can’t wait for work to be over to enjoy it more.
Thanks again and have happy, safe, holidays.
- M. D.
”
Western Red Cedar is my current favorite top wood for ukulele. It is light and rather soft, but quite strong when quartersawn. This Cedar is from an old wooden hot tub that I got from the Rebuild-It center and is very old. The Dogwood back and sides are from the Carpenter Ant stash. The grafted Pistachio is from California Orchards.
“Scout 643 made it to New Jersey! The Scout Camp Ukulele is beyond expectations! Beautiful Woods in combination with spot on Craftsmanship! Can’t believe it is made of Scraps! The Dogwood, Pistachio, and Red Cedar is a good fit for a Waiting List Luthier’s Choice Instrument. If anyone is hesitant to be on the waiting list, don’t be. Trust and Faith will reward you with a chance ukulele you probably wouldn’t have ordered- but are beaming from the unboxing of your new 4 Stringed Friend to get acquainted with and grow closer as the two of you become familiar with each other… Happy Holidays Keim Family! And a prosperous and healthy New Year to come!
- D. D.”