Snake Wood And Cedar Custom Ukulele - For Sale $1650
It’s a ssssnaky thing this super tenor Snake Wood And Cedar Custom Ukulele.
Western red cedar sound board.
Let The Woods Speak For Themselves
Body: Snake Wood. For years I’ve avoided the heavier and denser woods like Ebonies, Rosewoods , Zircote, and Snake Wood, etc.. This is partially due to the fact that some of these woods are just impossible to find; and, I felt that the reflective nature of the woods wouldn’t be appropriate or perform well for the ukulele. I guess that has changed since I’ve built so many uke’s in the last few years with these woods. Snake Wood is a classic. It was very popular for binding and accents, sometimes fret boards and bridges, about 15 years ago but pretty much disappeared from the marketplace until recently when a few sets became available at Elite Tonewoods. I must say this is right up there with black and white (pale moon) ebony in the difficult to work category. It’s chipy and splity. Well, I did wrestle this set to completion. Since the wood is so scarce I believe that this is the only one I will build?
Snake wood body.
Sound Board: Western Red Cedar. This is a classic wood for classical guitars and performs very well for steel string as well. It’s warmth blends very well with the reflective qualities of the snake wood. Or, in other words, the woods balance very well.
Snake wood and koa.
Neck: Central American Mahogany. Carbon truss rod and sanded epoxy finish.
Fret Board and Bridge: radiused Brazilian Rosewood.
Brazilian rosewood finger board and bridge.
Accent Woods and Binding: Hawaiian curly Koa. Very simple maple/black purfling since the woods look great together.
The Rest Of The Build
Strings: Romero, low “G”.
Nut and Saddle: unbleached bone.
Curly Koa binding and accents.
Tuners: Gotoh UPT.
Case: Crossrock ABS.
And
I guess I’ve been bitten by the snake? This one has got good balance and warmth–at least, it sounds good to my ear. The curly koa binding really compliments the snake wood as well. A classic!
