Swiss Moon Spruce and Pomelle Bubinga Baritone Ukulele

Last year I got my hands on some unusual woods:  Swiss Moon Spruce and some Blonde Pomelle Bubinga.  This is the Swiss Moon Spruce and Pomelle Bubinga Baritone Ukulele for Joseph.

Here’s the link for the story on the Swiss Moon Spruce.  Very interesting for sure and definitely worth a watch.  In my opinion the wood is less dense and less stiff than than most spruces and so had to be treated with more care than usual.  Tonally, I think the Swiss Moon would be similar to a torrified spruce or a float sitka spruce.

The Blond Pomelle Bubinga from Africa is an entirely different story.  Bubinga usually is reddish brown and somewhat dense.  This wood is sap wood and closer to the exterior of the tree and so had not developed that color as yet and is less dense than the standard.  I can only imagine the size of this tree.  Some of my wood sets have a touch of the red in them so the transition can be seen.  And the pomelle figure–wow!  I don’t expect to see any more of this look ever.

The build took forever for a variety of reasons, and my utmost compliments to Joseph who was the most patient of clients.

I added a Mi-si pickup and the instrument has a combination of Romero Soprano/Concert flourocarbon strings with brass wound “D” and a Thomastik Cf27 steel wound “G”.    I  believe a heavier “B”/”E” can be used but this combination definitely works until I find something better.

I’ve got a Swiss Moon and Pomelle Bubinga tenor pineapple ukulele in the works.  It will be interesting to see how that compares with the Swiss Moon Spruce and Pomelle Bubinga Baritone Ukulele.

This is 2019, so expect to see some new builds with a combination of tonewood tops and unique back and sides.