Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

This one has had the a fair bit of bling added to it, along with a new bracing pattern that I'm working on. Honduran Rosewood body, fret board, head plate and bridge. Neck is Qld. Maple. Scratch plate is some burl that I got from Tim Spittle quite some time ago. Top is the off cut from the recent style 5 zircote guitar you can see in the gallery as well.

The top was incredibly stiff and was thinned down to 1.6mm. Uses a CF bridge patch and 5 short fan braces.

Finish is Mirotone 3220 gloss over WEST Systems epoxy.

Very classy Allen - I love the headstock in particular. I am a big fan of slotted headstocks on guitars, and they look just as nice on Ukes.

What was the binding around the headstock done with. It appears to be bent around the corners rather than mitered - is that correct ?

Nice Job Allen, I'm also thinking the slotted headstock gives it a bit of class, looks a little more 'finished' to me as opposed to just posts, for some reason. Is that pickguard a bit of Mr Spittles York Gum burl? I got a few bits of this for headstocks & am quite excited at using it looking at your results!

has the sound opened up over the last few weeks?

It's getting there slowly. Nice and mellow tone which surprises me for a spruce top.

That really is a very beautiful ukulele Allen.

I'm impressed and feel it is tasteful - not too bling at all. Makes me feel my current latest efforts might be a bit too much Obviously that slot head jig you bought has been worth the investment given the recent results.

Two questions if you don't mind -

You appear to be using a pin style bridge more than the tie nowadays... Is this with respect to time/labour saving or is it a tone/structure driven choice garnered from some poor past experience?

Also, what size and brand of fretwire are you using on these now?

The reason I ask the second question is twofold. I have just found a limitation on my fret tang nippers - they don't like small wire. They simply want to bend the whole fret end as opposed to trim the tang. The indentation that provides support to the fret crown is too large for it and the slop allows the wire to roll and bend. Frustrating and I'll have to file them back by hand if I want that effect.

Also, the recent fret bender I purchased in the "Buy, Swap and Sell" section, works well enough from the couple of small tests run on larger wire - I've not had a full job to run on it yet. But again, falls short when bending the uke/mando size - it is not happening. This was my fear in purchasing it and the style it uses. With no groove for the crowns to stay aligned and the drive wheel being a softer material, It simply rolls the wire over onto its side mid feed and bends it sideways... Some funky shapes come out but erm, not what I was aiming for... Still a worthwhile purchase if it does a better job at the large stuff.

Thanks,

Jeremy.

Bridge style is driven more by customer choice than anything else. All the recent commissions have asked for a pin bridge.

I'm mostly using the StewMac wire for ukes. It's #764, though this uke has some Gold EVO on it. It's a bit larger profile, and is just on the edge of being too big for a tenor. Way too big for the smaller style ukes.

Don't even bother trying to use fret tang nippers on the uke wire. Just won't work. I've found that the quickest way is to use my end cutters and nipping out the piece in 2 quick cuts, then a dress with a file if necessary.

I've got the StewMac fret bender and it works fine on this small wire.

Beautiful uke, and beautiful photos too!

Sooooo elegant !!! you make these often ugly instruments look amazing Allen !!!
huge fan of the slotted headstock and pickguard all class !!!

Cheers,

Christian.

That's surely a sweet one, Allen! Are you planning on attending this year's GAL gathering?

It's a long way for me to attend GAL and I've got a uke building class right about the same time, as well as ongoing classes in my shed. So while I'd love to go, and visit my parents up the road in BC I'm not going to make it this time around.

Who's going to jam with me on Steve James tunes if not you? We'll miss you - but it's good that you're busy!

I had my friend Bosko play a couple of my ukes today in order to get some sound samples played by someone that is a heck of a lot better player than I would ever dream of being. They were done very impromptu after his work at the Kuranda Markets. He did an admirable job in the adverse conditions of an underground parking lot.


youtu.be/

yep, allen my friend that is a stunning guitar with looks but it sounds bloody awesome. any thoughts on amplifying something that pretty sounding, and if so how much would that alter the sound?
The burl pick guard is great and the instrument is a credit to your hard work and selflessness with teaching the art to others. Great job im impressed.
Regards Andrew

Thanks Andrew. I've not tried to amplify a uke yet. I've got K&K's and MiSi pickups on the shelf in case anyone wants them, but it adds $$$ to the build so don't put them in on spec. Micheal Connor has put some in his ukes and finds that they all have to have a pre-amp to get them to sound anything like they should, no matter what the manufacturer says.

Bosko doesn't use any pickups in his instruments but instead uses a very nice condenser microphone and some pretty amazing Bose stacks.

Nice work on the uke Allen.

Very classy work Allen, she looks like an exotic wooden toffee apple just dipped and still all wet and shiny and what can we say about Bosko's impromptu performance other than brilliant!

Cheers

Kim

I love a bound fretboard. great looking instrument