Kaleidoscope Mango
Actually this is heavily spalted, curly Hawaiian Mango. This appearance comes with decomposition of the wood. Spalting can be a highly desirable characteristic because of the unique appearances it can create; but, too much of a good…
Puka Paradise
Just another day in puka paradise! Not a highly figured koa, but nice. Double puka's seem to work as well as the side concert sound hole design, although I can only speculate as to why. I used Hawaiian Mango for binding accented with…
Mini-me Myrtle!
Here's a killer piece of curly Oregon Myrtle--it really glows! Of course, my supplier only has one set for top only and only big enough for a soprano or concert. I had to have it! I have used this wood as the sound board on a concert…
Got Bear!
Here's a new completion: tenor Koa ukulele (see Cut, Color and Curl post) with a nice bear claw Sitka Spruce top with Paua Abalone purfling. Accents are Vanuatu Maidou burl--love the burl. Binding is curly maple and that theme is replicated…
Curly Maple and Curly Redwood
Freshly glued up here's another unusual combination: Old growth curly redwood sound board, curly spalted maple back and sides. All accents are curly Hawaiian Koa. The neck is also curly maple with internal carbon fiber truss rod. The…
Bonzer!
This amber/golden wood is Narra (a pterocarpus species) from northern Australia and Southeast Asia. It is rarely seen here in the US and even more rare to be used for a musical instrument. The tap tone is very similar to rosewood…
Smokin’!
Here's another all Oregon Myrtle tenor ukulele. I wasn't too sure what this would look like because of the darker blushes in the wood. Once I got sealer on the instrument, I was pleasantly surprised with the result. I especially like…
Who are you calling a Heal?
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…
Limba Love
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…
California Curl
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…
