Ambrosia Super Tenor Ukulele

Here’s a bit of an experiment.  I really like working  with Ambrosia Maple.  It bends well, finishes well; but, it’s a tough look to match tops with.  So far, I think the grey-brown ancient sitka tops have looked the best.  This Ambrosia Super Tenor Ukulele has a curly koa top.  I tried this koa top because of the amount of similar coloring in this maple set.

ambrosia super tenor ukulele

Curly koa soundboard.

Basically, I am trying out some different combinations just for the fun of it.  For example, here I used Ambrosia Maple for the fret board and bridge.

ambrosia super tenor ukulele

 Blue and white purfling accents.

 

The neck is the standard Honduran Mahogany with a laminate of curly maple and lacewood.

Paisley blond bubinga backstrap.

I also tried white and blue purfling accents to see how that combination might look on future builds.

The black spots on the back are beetle holes.  I call this the good, the bad and the ugly.  The colors and drippy appearances in the wood only occur after beetle and subsequent water contamination.  No beetle holes=no ambrosia maple.  This set didn’t have too many holes.  This is a salvage wood.  Working with natures artifacts are a challenge and a beauty.

ambrosia super tenor ukulele

Beautiful curly ambrosia maple.

For awhile Ambrosia Maple didn’t seem to be available.  It’s a back east wood and I think that west coast suppliers weren’t interested or it just wasn’t available.  Lately (and fortunately) that scenario has changed and one of my local suppliers (Tropical Hardwoods) has been keeping this product in stock when it’s available.  Now, getting the curly stuff is another problem.

It’s a bit different, but very distinctive.  I think you could spot this puppy in a crowd a mile away.

Hey, Mele Kalikimaka ya’ll!