I still love Koa. Who doesn’t? But, custom ukulele builders are continuing to explore the appearances and tonal possibilities of instruments made with alternative domestic woods. Here is another Port Orford Cedar and Claro Walnut combo–the Domestic Woods Super Tenor Ukulele. The Woods The soundboard is Port Orford Cedar. This stump salvage wood has the […]
Black and tan, this is the African Queen Super Tenor Ukulele. The Woods I’ve had this super cool set of West African Ebony for about 6 years or so. It came from the old Allied Luthiers in NorCal and is a broken guitar set. I love having suppliers keeping me in mind for these rarities. […]
This is the latest out of the shop, a Hawaiian Concert Cutie Ukulele–with an Icelandic flair. The Woods It is build with Koa. Koa, and more Koa. It’s a long neck concert with a Tasmanian Blackwood neck. This blackwood is bit on the curly side; and, is it hard to shape–at least this particular stock. […]
Got a request for another 100 year old Pier Piling instrument. It seems that a lot of individuals have some attachment to San Diego History and the Navy. Here’s a 5 String Super Tenor Ukulele with that special wood as a sound board. These pier piling builds are turning out to be challenging for sure. […]
I felt the need to have at least one Koa Pineapple Ukulele on stock since I’ve made a lot in Mango lately. Here’s the Koa Tenor Pineapple Ukulele Madness just finished. Yes, all Koa. I even added a curly blond sapwood Koa for the binding with green and black fiber as accents. The accent woods […]
Pat is the lead for San Diego group The Stray Cat’s and this is his new instrument–the Stray Cat Special Ukulele. The Koa for this ukulele was picked not so much for it’s color or grain but for the extreme chatoyance of it’s curly figure. It’s a chameleon for sure since in some indirect light […]
Here’s the latest new instrument, the Dark Star Concert Ukulele. This is a long neck or tenor scaled instrument with a concert sized body. I’ve horded this beautiful set of curly Koa from Hearne Hardwoods for a few years now and finally made a decision on how to utilize it. I’ve been motivated by […]
The Macassar Sinker Redwood Pineapple Ukulele is the result of a request for an alternative wood instrument. First you got yer Sinker Redwood Soundboard. Yup, the stripey look is pretty normal for this water aged wood. Just try and count the growth rings in this set! For back and sides the request was for this […]
Guess I’m still in my guitar mode. Here’s a new instrument with a lot of red woods, a guitar “J” shape and a guitar-like look. This is the Red Woods Tenor Ukulele. It’s my super tenor model. The Sound Board is the darkest piece of Sinker Redwood, that I have yet to come across. Now […]
Here’s the latest to get strings, the Denim Walnut Tenor Ukulele. This is a standard tenor shape. I am using mostly domestic woods for this build inspired by my Port Orford Cedar and Claro Walnut Ukulele . The Sound Board is Denim Spruce from Alaska Specialty Woods. I love these naturally colored salvage woods. No […]
