Being a sucker for any new and different wood, I couldn’t resist this recent offering from Luthier’s Mercantile. It is called Tigrillo. I don’t know a whole lot more about the wood other than LMI reports that it is from Peru and is responsibly harvested and maintained. The wood has a vertical tiger-like stripe and […]
I’m sure every luthier has a certain time in the build process that he enjoys the most. For me, this would be after the instrument body comes out of the mold and at the first application of sealer. If I could just quit at this moment it would be perfect. It is at this […]
Hey You all! Nothing new but reworking old ideas. This under-the-bridge string knot I copied from Nahenahe Ukulele of Maui over 20 years ago. Don’t let anybody tell you it’s something new and different. I see that a lot of custom builders are starting to use this technique for stringing newer instruments. There are […]
As in Baritone, that is. Uncle Bob has been eyeing this Oregon Bastogne Black Walnut for most of a year now. He finally pulled the trigger, but wanted a baritone instead of the usual tenor. He wanted the instrument to be straight-forward without a lot of bling, so we didn’t do a back strip and […]
This tenor ukulele was purchased by Olukai (www.olukai.com) as part of it’s contribution for this year’s Surf Industry Manufacturers Association annual Waterman”s Ball (www.sima.com)l silent auction. I was pleased to collaborate with ocean artist Wade Koniakowsky (www.koniakowsky.com) this year to provide a tenor ukulele showcasing our art. This ukulele is fabricated from premium curly Tasmanian […]
Bonnie’s ukulele has a Koa back and side but with an Australian Lacewood sound board. The lacewood kicks–a unique composite of hard and soft wood that really has unique sound capabilities. Binding is East India Rosewood with black/white/black purfling. She requested a butterfly inlay on the head stock and this is what we came up […]
Here’s a revitalization of my original Hula Hips tenor pattern now over 12 years old. Based on the original Martin Tenor but with a wider lower bout at 10.25 inches. I have modernized by changing the depth of the instrument and moving sound hole up making for a larger sound board. Kanani wanted something different […]
I am truly stoked! Ocean artist Wade Koniakowsky (www.koniakowsky.com) and I have been brainstorming some new concepts. We now have the ability to laser print any image to the sound board of an ukulele. I have been wanting to do this for over 6 years. Just think, this is the ultimate customization for your new […]
Up and comer Jonah Price gets his hands on his newly strung up cut-a-way koa tenor. Jonah dictated the dimension of this instrument and also designed his fret board logo. He also requested a whale inlay for head stock and accepted my design for a humpback whale in black and white mother-of-pearl. These photos are […]
This tenor ukulele sports one of my favorite wood combinations: Oregon Black Walnut back and sides with Hawaiian Koa Sound board. Skyler asked for an instrument with a mellow, full sound and this combination of wood usually prdovides that result. He also requested Petroglyph style Honu on head stock so I inlayed both head stock […]
