Five will get you ten!
OK! Long Beach Mike ordered a new Hula Hips Tenor Ukulele.
Ummm! That dark look.
He made specific requests regarding the wood to be used (he likes the dark look) and we negotiated the dimensions of the instrument–notably the neck width and depth and string offset at the nut. Oh, I forgot, this is a five string. Since we were going BIG, I thought that the instrument could use some additional volume so I opted for an increase in the overall depth of the instrument of 1/8 inches–doesn’t sound like much, but when added up it makes a difference–plus, it is a wide body.
Also of note: the sound board is curly Hawaiian Koa
Curly Hawaiian Koa Sound Board
and the body is Koa’s cuz–Tasmanian Blackwood with a curly Koa back strip.
Really, really old Tasmanian Blackwood
To keep that dark look we used Oregon Black Walnut for the neck and India Rosewood for binding. The accent wood is Vanuatu Maidour Burl.
Vanuatu Burl heal graft
Amplification is by Mi-Si. Strings are GHS Flourocarbon with the “G” an octave separation. I made another bridge slotted for a double low “G”as well–might be really interesting.
This instrument has amazing sustain and volume, the octave “G” was captivating, and oooh, I wish I could sing.
Taimane, eat your heart out!
After a couple of weeks of playing Mike wrote: “This is a beautiful sounding strummer. . . Uke that sounds “larger than life” . . . yet doesn’t overdo it like an 8 string. I can’t think of anything I’d change on it.” Thanks for the warm fuzzys Mike.
Maidou Burl/Gotoh Tuners
