Entries by Kimo Ukulele

Holiday Fare at Hale

Holiday Fare at Hale Ukulele in San Diego.  Here’s a picture of instruments that I hope will be finished and delivered to Hale Ukulele around the first of December.  Just a teaser!  Got some new Koa ukes in super tenor, pineapple and long neck concert shapes.  There’s another Ambrosia Maple super tenor with Ancient (3000 […]

Luna Moth Tenor Ukulele

This is a Koa and Swiss Spruce super tenor ukulele. The new owner wanted something special for the head stock so we ordered up a luna moth by inlay artist Craig Lavin.  We’re calling it the Luna Moth Tenor Ukulele. The Swiss Spruce and Koa combination was by request.  The client wanted a one-of-a-kind compression […]

Tassy Concert Ukulele

This Tassy Concert Ukulele went to Hale Ukulele a couple of weeks ago. Tasmanian Blackwood, until recently, is scarce and difficult to get here in the USA.  There is some currently available at Hearne Hardwoods in Pennsylvania.  My sets were imported by Gilmer Hardwoods in Oregon over 20 years ago.  I do not know if […]

Swiss Moon and Koa Ukulele

By request, I built this Swiss Moon and Koa Ukulele for San Diego ukulele instructor and musician Kev. Kev has written more than a few instructional books on ukulele playing and alternative tuning.  He’s quite talented. I’ve told the back story on the Swiss Moon spruce before, but it would be best to visit the […]

Curly Myrtle and Bear Super Tenor Ukulele

Another super tenor ukulele!  I received a few sets of spectacular Oregon Myrtle wood from my supplier Vince at Pacific Coast Woods late last year.  This is a Curly Myrtle and Bear Super Tenor Ukulele. Oregon Myrtle, like Hawaiian Koa, has many different and sometimes bizarre appearances.  These particular sets are curly, have sapwood, have […]

Koa and Bearclaw Standard Tenor Ukulele

This is a Koa and Bearclaw Standard Tenor Ukulele.  The first Koa and Bearclaw Tenor I built this year was a Super Tenor shape.   I posted pictures of that instrument here. This set of koa is from my personal stash but I decided I had more than enough interesting and exotic sets to last for […]

Mango Tenor Pineapple Ukulele

It’s mango time again.  This new Mango Tenor Pineapple Ukulele is now at Hale Ukulele in San Diego. This ukulele is made out of some of my older sets of mango.  There’s a little bit of black, grey and mustard yellow mixed with a bit of curl.  It seems that no two sets of mango […]

Myrtle and Walnut Tenor Ukulele

This alternative wood ukulele is now at Hale Ukulele in San Diego.   The Myrtle and Walnut Tenor Ukulele uses some of my favorite non-Hawaiian woods:  Oregon Myrtle and Oregon Bastogne Walnut.   Myrtle is unique to southern Oregon or Northern California while Bastogne Walnut is found primarily in Oregon’s Willamette valley.  Both exhibit great color variations […]

Jaguar Scratch Mahogany Guilele

Guilele or maybe just a parlor size classical guitar? Here’s my first 6 string baritone ukulele–the Jaguar Scratch Mahogany Guilele. The back sides of this instrument are made from a special set of Honduran Mahogany with a figure that has been described as jaguar scratch–the Honduran version of bearclaw figure.  Some vendors  also describe it […]

Cutaway Koa Super Tenor Ukulele

Len from Hawaii, talked me into making a cutaway ukulele for him.  Here’s the result, the Cutaway Koa Super Tenor Ukulele. Len picked this particular set of Koa wood for his instrument–compression curl with Koa blonds and reddish browns. In addition the the red heart abalone back strip I also made the lower bout graft […]