I’ve been adding lower bout “heal grafts” to my instruments since I first started building. Now I know that this has nothing to do with sound or construction quality, but it is one of the things that you would expect to see on a custom acoustic instrument and it definitely adds a more custom and […]
Karen fell in love with the Limba. She requested that the instrument not have too many frills, but concentrate on the beauty of the wood–beetle holes included. So here we go: African Black Limba body and neck, Ebony binding, radiused Ebony finger board and bridge, Vanuatu Maidou burl accents, LMI gold evo frets, Gotoh 4:1 […]
No I’m not talking surf dude! I got my hands on some killer Redwood top sets and there are no two alike; and, each one really is killer! I didn’t know what to pair this wood with so my first endeavor was to go with the tried and true California Claro Walnut. I didn’t want to […]
In the old days (????) this type of Koa might have been common place. Now days it is a rarity to have the privilage to work with this type of wood. This Hawaiian tenor ukulele exhibits Koa with perfect Cut–meaning quarter sawn or vertical sawn and little out run; great Color–there are three distinct colors to this […]
For some odd reason there seems to be a renewed interest in double sound hole and asymmetric sound hole instruments. After the rapid sale of the last double puka tenor, I quickly got to work on another. This instrument is a new Koa wood for me. I liked the look and am more than […]
No rules, but some basic principles to follow. My mentor, John Greven, has stated in some of his articles that the premise for bracing may have been more for strength rather than sound. This subject could be debated for ions and I am sure that there would be no consensus or clear answers. I’m definitely […]
Here’s another custom ukulele with Koa from the island of Maui. You don’t get Koa from Maui often, and I consider myself lucky to have found this. I have used a Koa and curly Maple laminate neck. Since it is so difficult to find solid woods of the proper dimensions for one piece necks, I […]
I need to write Jimmy Buffett and give him these words–could be the making of a great song. Here is a new instrument made from Mexican Palo Escrito (a genuine rosewood). This is one of those “off the grid” woods that hasn’t been over harvested and provides great potential in this industry. I topped the […]
I haven’t been able to keep one of these instruments for too long. After the last sold, I started a new one and decided to keep it a little more conservative–meaning, no beetle holes. Here is that effort. Of course the body is solid Black Limba, but the neck is also Limba. Accents are Vanuatu […]
Missed my weekly update so here is a midweek showing of a new Koa Tenor. I’m using a new urethane finish and it has a little tint like lacquer. The instrument is all Koa. I have used curly maple binding to accent and have a koa/curly maple/koa neck to match. Accents are curly maple as […]
