Killer Whale Koa Tenor Ukulele

 

I always have some broken sets of wood that can be difficult to use.   And, I just received this cool little Killer Whale inlay but wasn’t sure what to do with it.  The Killer Whale Koa Tenor Ukulele became the answer.

Killer Whale Koa Tenor Ukulele

Killer Whale Koa Tenor Ukulele

The koa sides are from Kauai.  The koa back is from the Big Island of Hawaii.  Not exactly the same curl but the color was close and the sides–oh yes!  I don’t get a lot of calling for Sitka Spruce tops but I do have a few in stock that I think are pretty nice.    I couldn’t resist using this vertical scratch bear claw top on this instrument.  Besides, I didn’t have a koa orphan top that would go with this combination of back and sides.

Killer Whale Koa Tenor Ukulele

Big Island Koa

The little killer goes on the tongue of the ebony fret board.  I have resisted fret board inlays for a long time just because of the time factor, but I am slowly getting drawn into the game.  No challenge to Chuck Moore (Moore Bettah Ukulele) for sure. I figure that if I keep it conservative that it won’t change build costs substantially and it also adds a bit of “fun” to the appearance.

Killer Whale Koa Tenor Ukulele

Killer Whale Inlay

 

The instrument also sports some new accent wood–Asian Satan Wood Burl.

Killer Whale Koa Tenor Ukulele

Asian Satan Wood Burl

In addition, I used a new colored purfling strip which I am calling Sea Foam Green.  It wasn’t meant to shout green, green, green.  I do like the subtle color.  And here, again, the green in the purfling alters the color spectrum of the  “blue” paua abalone favoring more of the green hues.

Killer Whale Koa Tenor Ukulele

Vertical Scratch Bear Claw Spruce

This Killer Whale Koa Tenor Ukulele is now at Hale Ukulele in San Diego.   I like the sound of this instrument.  It is bright and spunky.  Definitely not killing me softly.