Pineapple Concert Ukulele

This Pineapple Concert Ukulele is a classic re-design of the standard shape.  Mike has his tenor and he has his Koa but really wanted something different. Sooooo,  after some deliberation he decided on this set of Oregon Tiger Stripe Myrtle Wood for his pineapple concert ukulele build–he really fell for the black flames on the back–I’m going to call this one the Harley Davidson.

I took a liking to Oregon Myrtle Wood a long time ago because of its use by Breedlove Guitars.  Myrtle seems to closely match Koa in sound, the variety of appearances is amazing and it is not an endangered species.

For the neck I decided on Oregon Port Orford Cedar.  This wood is light in weight, strong and is also becoming more popular with some custom shops according to my supplier.   Even though this is a Concert ukulele with a standard scale and tension, I still embed a passive carbon truss rod in the neck to prevent bowing and twisting.  Mike also requested a wide neck with more thickness to match his very large hands.  The string spread is wider at the nut.  I think we could have even made it wider than the 1 1/2″.

I used Black Palm for the accent areas withwhite/black maple purfling and the amplification is by Mi-Si.  The fret board and neck are African Ebony.

This instrument packs a bit of a punch.  Partly due to the woods and bracing, but also due to the fact that the volume of this instrument might almost equal a standard tenor.  Mike’s only had it for a week and he has already posted 5 times on Instagram. Guess he likes it!