This ukulele is a good representation of what I do:
1) Local woods, harvested and milled by me.
2) Simple aesthetic with interesting wood grain.
3) Easy playability and good intonation.
4) Loud and rich voice with nice sustain.
The root of this project was a banjo uke I made for myself last year that used a 10” vintage rim. I really liked it and folks started to ask for it after hearing me play it. This one is all Walnut from trees I’ve milled and I really like the look of just one species of wood. The 10” rim seems to have a little more air and resonance behind the notes and looks and feels proportional to me. Can’t wait to get it in your hands, Louise, and Happy Birthday!
FYI- I have parts set aside for a Maple one this winter, drop me a line if you are interested.
This is my second instrument for my Kingdom Era Ukulele project, made possible by a grant from Mortise & Tenon magazine. For this project I went to Hawaii and studied instruments from the 1880-1890’s, built by the three original Portuguese builders. This instrument, the Rajao, is the larger five string ancestor of the ukulele. I used only appropriate hand tools, traditional methods and the same materials as the original builders for this instrument. It is constructed with hot hide glue and finished with shellac and wax. I hope in the future to build more instruments inspired by this design for customers. It has been fun, interesting, challenging and humbling to learn about this subject and I can’t wait to do keep going. Thanks to Mortise & Tenon, Shawn from the Honoka’upu collection and the Bishop Museum for their support.
This instrument is for Evan, who has been sending me boards of salvaged Western Red Cedar for a few years now. This is the water tank cedar from Vashon Island that many of you are familiar with. The second wood is some old Douglas Fir, also from Vashon Island that I used for back, sides and neck. The rest is maple, with a little amber stain to make it look old and glow a bit. Every Cedar top I have used from this stash has sounded great and this one is no exception. The whole instrument growls and purrs in my lap, with a loud attack and warm sustain.
Maple is the first wood I ever built banjo ukes from and I still love the sound. Bright and loud but also precise and sweet. This extra curly western big leaf Maple is from the estate of luthier John Sullivan. The small pieces passed through a few different hands till they got to me, perfect for these little banjos, The gray/green Pistachio is from California orchards and presents a nice contrast to the Maple. Big leaf Maple is softer than eastern Maple, which I think makes a softer and more balanced tone.
Wow- this one really has autumn vibes. Break out the decorative gourds! The top is a single piece of salvaged Western Red Cedar and the back is some Cherry from the Carpenter Ant stash in Portland. Both have little marks and natural flaws that give them character. The neck is some Douglas Fir, salvaged from a floor joist. The fretboard/headplate/bridge are Jatoba, a South American wood I salvage from old flooring scraps. Some bright maple binding and a Santo style headstock add some visual flare. It sounds nice too, rich and warm with a dusty texture. I think I’ll go rake some leaves and put a sweater on.
This is an instrument for a friend and patron of ours who already has an alto ukulele made of Sycamore. This time she wanted a brighter sound, so we chose Spruce and Koa for the main woods. She also asked for a quilt square inlay, which was a fun challenge to piece together. I looked at quilts and barn hexes from the part of Pennsylvania that the Keim family first settled for inspiration. We chose Jatoba for the fretboard/headplate/bridge, which is a dense wood salvaged from flooring scraps. Some curly Maple binding ties it together. The Koa is from our friend Bart’s mill in Hawaii. We will donate to plant more native Hawaiian trees here.
As many of you know, I don’t use much tropical wood. When I do, it’s either salvaged wood or wood from a trusted sustainable source. Even though Mango is a common ukulele wood and we used it a lot at Mya-Moe, it just hasn’t been available under the above conditions to me. This summer, Perry and Dani brought me some end tables that were basically blocks of mango wood made from tree trunks. I split them, sawed them and found many ukulele sets and some neck blanks. I figured I should do a test and remind myself what it sounds like. I think it’s warmer than Myrtle but brighter than Koa, with a sweet and traditional voice that sounds familiar to me. I paired it with a Pistachio fretboard, headplate, bridge and rosette. Some curly Maple binding wraps it up. I have plenty of this, including curly, spalted and Mastergrade sets, so drop me a line if you want it on your next uke. This is a stock instrument, available for $1900 in a hard shell case plus shipping. I can switch it to low g or add a pickup if you are interested. Click here to purchase.
Koa is an uncommon wood for banjos, but I have a stash of flat and rift sawn Koa from the Carpenter Ant stash that makes perfect banjo parts. It was originally milled for clock cases and has had a lot of time to dry and season. Combined with Pistachio from California orchards, it makes a nice banjo uke. Cheerful, bright and sweet with good sustain. This one has a simple Beansprout leaf inlay with some wood burned details from Nicole. Maybe we should offer this on other instruments? Like all of our Koa builds, we will donate to plant more native Hawaiian forests here.
I’ve been saving this fancy Myrtle which I inherited from a guitar maker for many years. Well, it’s time for this board to make music, so here we are! I also used Myrtle for fretboard and head plate, which I think is a nice look. The neck is some old salvaged Fir with really nice grain as well. I bound it in curly Maple and chose a Maple bridge to match. I strung it with a special string set, so it can be tuned gcea. This gives the normal uke tuning a deeper tone due to the larger baritone body. Of course, it can be strung for dgbe as well if that is what you prefer. It is available here for $2200 plus shipping, and includes a hard shell case. A K&K pickup can be added for $150.
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Port Orford Cedar is a Northwest wood I handle all the time. I am used to all the different types, grain patterns, the curl, even specific trees I have worked from over the years. When I lit this one up for photography yesterday I was still blown away by the top. I finally took the time to appreciate its amazing grain, curl and natural beauty marks. And the sound! Rich, full, bright, detailed and expressive. I also made the neck from curly POC, with some walnut stripes and a carbon fiber rod inside for strength. All the walnut is from a grafted Walnut stump I got from Zena Forest Products a few years ago. The POC came from my neighbor, a retired flute builder. This instrument also has a 1.5” nut width and a K&K pickup.
This project had lots of fun little details to keep me on my toes, but by the end I couldn’t be happier with it. It just feels, looks and sounds incredible. The 12” rim has a brass tone ring and is made of Mesquite and Texas Ebony with a Pistachio cap on it. The neck is Walnut and Pistachio, with 20 frets and 4 spikes. It has a Fiberskyn head, Hawktail tailpiece, brass arm rest and Baggs pickup. I think the Mesquite rim adds a lot of bass and sustain to the sound. The Mesquite and Texas Ebony come from a retired builder. The Walnut is from a retired furniture maker and the Pistachio is from California orchards.
Cherry keeps impressing me lately. It is plenty loud, but also textured, mellow and rich. This 11” cherry rim has a wood tone ring, a synthetic head and non steel strings. It’s a good all around combination that I can’t complain about. The 20” scale neck is short enough to be comfortable and light weight, but long enough to hold the G tuning well and look proportionate to the 11” rim. The Cherry and Walnut neck is all wood salvaged from the Carpenter Ant stash in Portland. The Pistachio fretboard, headplate and trim comes from California orchards.
I say “no” to more woods than I say “yes” to. When I find a new wood, I want it to be domestic, sustainable, affordable, look good, easy to work and sound good. No wood gets a perfect score, of course. One thing that often happens is that I salvage a few boards from somewhere and I find inspiration within them. Maybe I can never find or afford a board like this again, but I’m willing to work with it as I salvage it. Lots of my Mahogany is like this.
In this case, I pulled a long, wide board of perfectly quarter sawn Poplar from the Carpenter Ant stash. Poplar is a fast growing, easily workable hardwood from North America. You can even get it at Home Depot! I used it for back and sides on this uke, even finding it to be a bit curly. I paired it with a curly Port Orford Cedar top and neck, salvaged from a retired flute maker and local Walnut for everything else. It is light, responsive, loud and rich.
I work hard to limit the number of woods that I use. This helps with the consistency and identity of my work, but also helps with the labor of checking for sustainability and yield. But, there are still some ukes that contain a combination that surprises me. In this case, the Juniper is from Western Oregon and came from Chris at The Dee Mill. It is sort of between Cedar and Spruce in hardness and tone. The Chinquapin is a west coast wood that behaves like a mix of Oak and Mahogany. Put all that together for a bright but earthy sound, with some grit below the sweetness. I like it. The neck is some Port Orford Cedar and the rest is local Walnut. I am really proud of this one and can’t wait to pass it on.
Koa for a banjo? Why not? It’s a nice medium density hardwood, looks awesome and has a dark but vibrant sound. This Koa was imported to make clocks decades ago and has been waiting to be a banjo! I paired it with some Pistachio from California orchards that has some interesting beauty marks and a similar color palette. Open g tuning, goat skin head and brass arm rest finish it off. As always, I will donate to plant some future Koa trees to pay it forward.
This is the 3rd of four matching ukes inspired by a wood salvage mission to a boat shop in Tacoma last year. The redwood top and mahogany back/sides/neck were all rescued on the same day. It is wrapped up in my random layout rope binding and features some crazy pistachio from California orchards. The sound is rich and warm but also punchy and detailed. I have enough for one more, drop me a line and I can build it for you.
I was inspired by some salvaged Mahogany I had from slicing up our Tacoma boat shop slab to make this little scout ukulele. I think a Cedar neck and some local Walnut accents compliment it nicely. It is a loud little instrument, but also soft and sweet when needed. This scout is ready to head out into the world! It includes a well padded Kala soft shell case
I was just explaining to my son how certain things go in and out of style (Crocs, fidget spinners, Pokémon) while other things seem to be…classic. (Levi’s, Tolkien, Miles Davis) I think Spruce and Mahogany is pretty darn classic. It makes me think of the thousands of 20th century American guitars made by Martin, Gibson, etc…and the countless songs strummed on them. I paired these two woods with some simple Pistachio and some rope binding. It has a low g and a pickup too. I love it. The Mahogany is salvaged from a boat shop in Tacoma, the Englemann Spruce is from a luthier’s estate sale and the Pistachio is from California orchards.