Black Limba Tenor Ukulele

African Black Limba is not as highly respected as an acoustic instrument wood as it is for electrics.  However, I have used this wood for over 10 years and have always been pleased with the sound of these instruments.  It may be a little low density for guitars but it really shines with ukuleles.  This Black Limba Tenor Ukulele is fairly representative of the look of the wood with browns and blacks in a variety of patterns.    Sometimes, if lucky, I’ll get some wood that has been attacked by beetles and the result leaves attractive and unusual orange and black streaks in the wood.  My only complaint is that the curing/drying processes these last few years seems to have been pushed too hard making the wood somewhat brittle and difficult to bend.

I used Black Limba for all major componets of the build including the neck, while the bracing and internals are standard using Canadian Sitka Spruce and Spanish Cedar.

The purfling is a classic herringbone pattern in blacks and whites while the binding is India Rosewood with black/red fiber accent.  The accent wood is Indonesian Black Palm and the finger board and bridge are Ebony species.

This instrument did not make it out of the shop and I understand the new owner is playing it with enthusiasm.

Black is back.  I was never that fond of Orange anyway!