Posts
Ron Seno
Ron Seno takes a break from a recent gig in San Diego to show off his Myrtle Ukulele (see blog post "Oh Myrtle"). You go Ron!
Sassy Sassafras
This wood is Tasmanian Black Heart Sassafras. I've been looking for some to use on an ukulele for some time and scored this piece from an unmatched guitar set. The spalting (dark colored wood) is created by a fungus, giving very piece…
Tribal Gecko
Here's a Hawaiian Koa tenor ukulele with my "Tribal Gecko" laser cut on the back of the instrument. The laser cut is pretty subtle since the laser did not burn this particular Koa as much as in other projects. The instrument is bound…
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…
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…
She’s a real cutie, a Mexican beauty. . . . .
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…
