Fretless Ukulele Revolution - Sold
It’s been awhile, but I have been at it. I must admit, though, that I’m not sure if this form of information is still relevant. Just a comment because it seems that most prefer briefer forms of communication and information portals.
Here’s a new “Big Baritone” that was a special request from a former client. This is the Fretless Ukulele Revolution.
No frets m’lady.
It’s All About The Woods
Body: Curly, burly Oregon Myrtle. Love it or hate it, this is a class tone wood. Very similar to Koa in density, workability, and tonality. The “looks” of the wood are as varied as Koa and, like Koa, all of this wood is from fallen trees.
Curly, burly Oregon Myrtle wood.
Sound Board: This is Alaskan “float” Sitka Spruce with some serious Teredo Worm damage. Yes, this was part of the request. Nothing like a few extra sound ports.
Binding: Masur Birch with maple/black purfling.
Masur Birch binding.
Fret Board and Bridge: Ebony species. The fret board is radiused and THERE ARE NO FRETS! This is fretless. The fret markers are actually thin maple strips glued into the fret slots as “cheater” markers. It’s hard enough playing fretless without some form of orientation for sure. The scale is 20″. That’s a clean look for sure.
No frets, just fret markers.
Neck: Honduran mahogany with carbon truss rod.
Accent Woods: Masur Birch.
The Rest Of The Build
Strings: Oasis linear for baritone but no wound strings.
Gotoh 501’s.
Nut and Saddle: unbleached bone.
Tuners: Gotoh 501 mini for ukulele.
Amplification: Mi-Si.
Case: Crossrock ABS.
And
Well, I can’t play fretless for sure, but I didn’t really have enough time to experiment. My client loves it: the scale length, the sound, playability, and the appearance. Well, I guess that’s perfect. I thought the “D” string could have used an Uke Logic but the client said no. It plays great without amplification but when turned on it sounds “really good”–so slinky and well “sexy”. The Fretless Ukulele Revolution is a new world for sure.
