Quilt Maple Super Tenor Ukulele - Sold at Hale Ukulele

Currently for sale with hard case for $1575.

Tired of the same old Koa thing? Here’s a new build that I’m pretty excited about. This is a Quilt Maple Super Tenor Ukulele. No stain, just natural–it’s all about the wood!

Light spalt accents on the quilt maple back.

Maple has long been used as the back and side material of choice in jazz quitars and bowed instruments. Taylor Guitars recently introduced a line of maple acoustic instruments because maple may be the material of choice as exotic wood supplies become more scarce.

Quilt Maple and Austrian Spruce.

I have heard that the quilt and curl in maple is not that prevalent– maybe one in 3000 trees? I understand there are efforts underway now to try and improve the yield of this exotic look.

Good as gold.

Well, I don’t think you can beat the appearance. This set of maple came from my friend Vince at Pacific Coast Woods. He always has an eye for the exotic and this slightly spalted, curly maple is no exception.

The neck is also from Vince and came from the same log so the color match is perfect. The curl is just the same wood cut “vertical grain” as opposed to “flat” for quilt.

Curly neck, quilt back and sides from the same log.

For the fret board and bridge I am using a piece of Goncalo Alves (alias Tigerwood) that I have had in my stash for more than 15 years. I think it works perfectly with the gold and warm tones of the back and sides. The accent wood is Asian Camphor Burl. Red/black purfling is the complimentary color.

The sound board is Austrian Red Spruce from Hearne Hardwoods. I’m not shying away from these lower density Carpathian Spruce tops because they provide a traditional look and are easy to play. In my opinion, this top is comparable to Swiss Moon Spruce.