Presently the most popular instrument built in my shop is the Tenor, followed by my Hula Hips Tenor (a wide body tenor), Baritone, Concert and lastly the Soprano. It is possible to follow this demand on my website blog where I have posted most of the instruments made in the last few years as they leave the shop.
Most of these instruments can be made into various shapes, ie. Pineapple or cuta-a-way and single sound hole, concert side sound hole, asymmetric sound hole or double “puka” sound hole designs.
All instruments are now made with 14 frets to the body and scale lengths are standardized for the particular instrument being constructed.
Solid woods are used for all construction. The carbon fiber truss rod is standard in all necks. Presently a modified “X” brace is used in all instruments. Wood accents are used at the lower bout, the neck heal, and the back of the peg head. Each wood is individually “voiced” to showcase it’s particular sound.
Neck shape and width is standard 1 3/8″ at the nut and 1/7/8″ at the 14th fret which gives the artist plenty of room on the fret board with standard string spacing. Custom neck shape and width is available at no additional charge. Total neck thickness is a very comfortable 5/8 inches from nut to heal.
More and more techniques and materials are becoming available for personal customization of your instrument. These techniques are not limited to the classic inlay of pearl; but now reconstituted stone, thin pearl or abalone laminates, laser cuts, and picture reproduction either by flat-bed printers or laser dot, and even hand painted art can be used to obtain new visual appearances without substantial alteration to sound quality.