Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

This is the first Bass Uke I've built and is a commission for a lady in New Zealand.

Never having built one before there was some serious research into the design and dimensions, because as you can see, those strings aren't like anything you would have come across before. As well there was a pretty tight deadline as it had to be ready to go after the Cairns Uke Festival, and that left me with scant time especially when I didn't have tuners or strings for this instrument on hand.

Parts of the build are pretty straight forward, but others were a best guess. I couldn't find out anywhere what the total tension on these strings are when up to pitch. I was fortunate enough to get a response from Owen Holt who designed this type of instrument and got the compensation numbers from him. And while the strings do make a bit of volume on there own, this instrument absolutely must be amplified.

Body - Tiger Myrtle
Top - Western Red Cedar
Neck - Spanish Cedar
Head Plate and Back Graft - Tiger Myrtle
Fret Board and Bridge - Gidgee
Rosette - Spalted Maple
Tuners - Hipshot Ultralites
Strings - Pahoehoe
Pickup - K&K Twin Spot Internal
Finish - Mirotone 3220 Gloss over Boat Coat Epoxy

Jeepers Allen - thats a bit different. Stunning finish as always.
What is Ukezilla's the scale length?

It's a 20" Scale length just like a standard Baritone ukulele. These strings are for a scale of 20 - 21" and are tuned as a standard bass. They are polyurethane and very soft and rubbery. Action needs to be quite high but you really don't notice that at all. Getting them up to pitch is probably the hardest part of the exercise.

As I don't have an ear for the notes a bass is tuned to it was a real trial and trial again and again. You have to stretch them out to very close to the right note and then do a wrap on the tuning post. Otherwise you end up running out of post as the strings are just so thick and stretch so much.

You're killing me with what's coming out of your shop of late Allen Yet another stunner & one "The lady from New Zealand" will absolutely be proud to own I'm sure (I know I would).
The strings reminded me of the Ashbory bass with it's silicon strings.

Another very nice uke Allen, those strings look huge. ( ukezilla really fits ) How do you manage to get so many instuments done so quick? Do you sleep at all?
Wayne

Ummm.....not much.

First time that I've had to drill a hole for a string that was almost as large as a tuner hole.

And those tuners require a 14mm one. That's pretty freaky when you've not done one before.

The "lady from NZ" will absolutely love it. So far I've managed to keep it a surprise. Don't know how she missed the deposit on the Mastercard bill but she did.
Fantastic work, Allen. It's a masterpiece. Looking forward to seeing you at the Uke Fest.
Miguel

By far the best looking bass uke I have seen till now.
Keep on rockin' Allen!

Allen wrote: I was fortunate enough to get a response from Owen Holt who designed this type of instrument and got the compensation numbers from him.

Can you elaborate on those specs, Allen?

And do you have an 'inside' shot showing how you anchored the pickup pads?

And as an aside, Aquila have released a new range of strings for the U-Bass called 'Thundergut'.

Cheers

John Maddison wrote:And as an aside, Aquila have released a new range of strings for the U-Bass called 'Thundergut'.

Cheers

That's what I call my partner after a feed of onions! Wonder if I could get done for breaking any copyrights?

I still enjoy looking at this beauty everytime I'm in the gallery.

John Maddison wrote:

Allen wrote: I was fortunate enough to get a response from Owen Holt who designed this type of instrument and got the compensation numbers from him.

Can you elaborate on those specs, Allen?

And do you have an 'inside' shot showing how you anchored the pickup pads?

Cheers

1/8" on the G string and 1/4" on the low E string. So setting the front of the saddle 1/8" longer than the scale length and using a 1/8" saddle puts you right in line with what his recommendations are. He uses 4 to 4.5mm relief at the 12th and at least 1mm at the nut. These strings are just so soft and pliable that you don't even think about that much relief.

And Owen uses the K&K for his pickups, so I contacted them directly about where to place them. They said either right under the saddle, or just in front at each end of the saddle. As the sound hole is too small for me to get my hand in after the fact, I put the pickup in prior to gluing on the back. And I always use panel pins in the saddle slot to stop the bridge from moving while clamping up, so putting them right under it wasn't going to work for fear of drilling into one or both of them.

Absolutely beautiful timbers Allen. Very tasteful combinations.
I'm going to have to get more inventive with my rosettes I think

Good info & pic Allen, much appreciated!

Was it pricing or performance that influenced your decision to go with a 2-pad pickup in favour of the 3-pad Mini Western K & K?

So have you worked out how the tension compares with a standard baritone?

And while we're on a roll with questions Allen ... how DID you manage to thread the poly strings up through the soundboard/bridge holes, given they come already fitted with tie-off anchors?

I asked K&K which would be the best choice, and that was their recommendation. And as far as I can tell, it's what Owen uses as well. Good enough for me to not second guess. I've used the K&K's without preamp on other instruments and they work fine. I just have a small amp for testing pickups and certainly not suited to a bass, so I don't know if you had a bass amp how they would preform, but with my little amp I'd think a preamp would be the go.

I still really don't have any idea what the tension on these things would be. I made the top to hold up to normal Baritone string tension as my best guess. Knowing full well that a bass doesn't put out enough volume without being amplified anyway. I don't see any distortion or stress on the top, so it's fair to say that tension may be similar or even less. I'm thinking less at this point.

Holes in the bridge have to be drilled a tad larger than the relaxed state of the string. When stretched they narrow up a fair bit. It's actually very easy to string them up. Instructions come on the package. Thread a needle and drop it down the string hole and fish it out the sound hole. Poke the needle into the end of the string and then carefully pull it up and through. Works a treat and is a hell of a lot better than cutting a hole in the back of a uke for an inspection plate like Kala does.

WOW this is another ripper, much to be happy with here Allen !!!
The rosette really pops on the WRC, the shape is really elegant, beautifully finished as always,
the choice of woods great, how you managed to use those telephone cables for strings just amazes me

@ Nick and other Kiwis out there we need to get out act together, we are looking very average indeed on here.

Cheers,
Christian.

christian wrote:@ Nick and other Kiwis out there we need to get our act together, we are looking very average indeed on here.

Cheers,
Christian.

I'm working on it Christian But I'll struggle to get it up to Allen's standard...he's setting the bar extremely high!

Once again, great ukes Alan - truly spectacular - one of these years I'm coming over to take one of your uke courses.

Speaking personally, I'd take being considered average on this forum as a compliment!

And Nick, engineers can do anything.... but they are especially good at eating pizza and (cos we can multi-task).

Richard, now you're mixing metaphores, er... threads...er, well you know....

Sadly, I'm only an Economist and Biologist by training, so your egineering gobbledy gook goes right over my head....

Anyway, I'm going for a lie down....my head hurts....

But, as always, Allen your work is inspiring....

Got a pizza oven, and it's going to get a bit of a work out while we drink some beer durning the uke course when Micheal is up. You fellows might just fit in.

My my...

That's a flashy instrument. Tiger Myrtle is extravagant at any time, but the dark top with the pale rosette is flash indeed.

I've seen a few before, but I've got to say the concept of a "bass" uke is a bit... at odds? Well, who am I to judge if the demand is there.

Off topic, did you build the pizza oven or find one to buy pre-fab? Looking at building one myself at present... (yeah in all my spare time )

Need something to keep me warm on the sub-zero nights I am experiencing.

Jeremy.

Bass ukes are an oddity to be sure. I had been meaning to build one for a couple of years, but never got around to it. Was great that I got pushed into doing on. Now I've got to do another to send off to the USA.

On to pizza ovens. After a talk with Micheal who has built his own big brick one, and his recommendation not to go that route for several reasons, we did a lot of research and settled on a Koala Oven. They are very heavy duty, and work a treat. The beauty of them over a conventional pizza oven is that they are very hot in 15 to 20 minutes and only take a few pieces of hard wood to get there. A conventional pizza oven will take about 4 hours or more if it has got damp. Takes a very long time to drive the wet out of them, and as that is happening they stay too cold to cook a pizza.

Ours is like the one in the middle of the top right image.

So Karen can come home at 5:30 and say "lets have a pizza" and we could be eating by 6 easily. When hot a pizza is done in a few minutes.

The "lady from NZ" has visited Cairns and is now the proud owner of Ukezilla. It is truly an amazingly beautiful instrument and draws praise from everyone who sees it.
This is of course good for me too. Happy wife, happy life.
Not only does Allen make a damned fine ukulele, he is also an accomplished maker of pizzas and a genuinely nice guy.
It's actually a bit annoying that so many positive qualities should be concentrated in one person.
Miguel

lauburu wrote:This is of course good for me too. Happy wife, happy life.

You should be charging extra Allen for 'marriage fullfilment services'
Glad you are one happy man Miguel, you chose wisely getting Allen to make this.