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New Ukes completed - photos and recording
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Author:  Todd Rose [ Mon May 04, 2015 10:38 am ]
Post subject:  New Ukes completed - photos and recording
Hi Folks,

I've been working on a batch of new ukes and an octave guitar lately. I posted a pic of one on the ukulele board, but I thought I'd post over here, too. Three of the four ukes are done -- two tenor scale and one concert scale. Here are two pics of the concert scale one. Curly maple/Honduras rosewood (including tuner buttons made by Burton LeGeyt). You can see more pics of this one and the other two completed ones, as well as a photo album with lots of construction pics, on my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/luthipoeticmus ... bytoddrose

Image

Image

I'll get a sound clip of one of these up on my soundcloud page soon. I'll also post again when the octave guitar is done.

Thanks for looking!
Author:  David Newton [ Mon May 04, 2015 11:27 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos
What can I say Todd, but awesome creativity!
Author:  Quine [ Mon May 04, 2015 11:43 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos
Very cool design....and some very tasty wood selections
Author:  johnparchem [ Mon May 04, 2015 12:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos
Nice design and great craftsmanship.
Author:  Hesh [ Mon May 04, 2015 12:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos
I really like them Todd - great design and excellent craftsmanship as well - good going!
Author:  Chris Pile [ Mon May 04, 2015 2:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos
Me likee!
Author:  Kevin Mason [ Mon May 04, 2015 6:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos
Imaginative and beautifully executed. But I have to say, I am not taken with the idea of having to tune with my plucking hand. I do think there is a reason why virtually every stringed instrument is designed so that you pluck (or bow) with one hand and adjust the pegs or tuners with the other. Or have I missed something?
Author:  Todd Rose [ Mon May 04, 2015 7:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos
kmason wrote:
Imaginative and beautifully executed.


Thanks!

kmason wrote:
But I have to say, I am not taken with the idea of having to tune with my plucking hand. I do think there is a reason why virtually every stringed instrument is designed so that you pluck (or bow) with one hand and adjust the pegs or tuners with the other. Or have I missed something?


I just spent 15 minutes typing a reply to this, and somehow it just disappeared. gaah

Abridged version: If you tune by ear and fret while tuning, comparing intervals from string to string, tuning with your non-fretting hand is actually an advantage. The bottom line IMO, though, is that it's really not a big deal either way. You get used to it.

The real reason I did it like this is that I found it to be an elegant way to achieve a key part of the design: to have the strings pass through the bridge and continue along very nearly the same plane to their anchor points at the butt end, so that there is virtually no stress exerted on the top by string tension (an essential part of the whole design concept and the resulting sound). The string holes are drilled through the "tie block" portion of the bridge at an angle, so that the strings break downward over the saddle, but then emerge from the back of the bridge at the same elevation at which they cross the saddle. Thus, there's no torque on the bridge. Behind the bridge, the strings then continue with only a *very* slight downward slope to the tuning posts, so there's only a very slight downward load on the bridge.

I could have done this with an appropriately designed tailpiece, but I like the way this solution works both functionally and aesthetically.
Author:  Todd Rose [ Mon May 04, 2015 7:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos
Thanks, everybody, for your kind words!

Hesh, I love your Spock quote.
Author:  Todd Rose [ Mon May 04, 2015 9:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos
Here's a sound clip I just made of one of these ukes. A sweet lullaby written many years ago by my friend John Shaw. Recorded in my bedroom on a Zoom H2, no fancy mics, no signal processing, just a bare-bones recording full of all the flaws of my singing and playing. :) I hope it gives you some idea of the sound of the uke.

https://soundcloud.com/todd-rose/sleep-new-uke-recording
Author:  Colin North [ Tue May 05, 2015 4:56 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos
Your design seems to combine the artistic and practical in a very impressive way Todd.
Not only that, it sounds great!
Thanks for sharing.
Author:  Todd Rose [ Tue May 05, 2015 5:50 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos
Thanks, Colin!

One other thing I wanted to mention about the tuners on the "tailstock": several players have commented that this makes the instrument balance very nicely for playing, and I agree.

The recording I posted, by the way, was made on one with a tenor scale. There's not really a big difference in the sound between the two. You can hear the longer scale length in what I would describe as more "definition" in the notes, which is nice, but the "softer" (I don't mean quieter, but "softer") quality of the concert scale uke is very nice in its own way, too. I prefer the longer scale for playability.
Author:  douglas ingram [ Tue May 05, 2015 10:11 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos and recording
I've never had any great motivation to make a uke, but I could get behind something like this...if I ever got around to making a uke!
Author:  Pat Hawley [ Tue May 05, 2015 4:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos and recording
Thanks for sharing the sound clip Todd. The uke and your voice sound great.
Pat
Author:  johnparchem [ Tue May 05, 2015 5:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos and recording
That is a sweet sounding uke! Nice recording as well. Makes me wonder what are the elements that make a ukulele sound like a ukulele. The design is an amazing deconstruction of a ukulele.
Author:  Todd Rose [ Tue May 05, 2015 8:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos and recording
Thanks, guys!
Author:  WaddyThomson [ Tue May 05, 2015 10:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos and recording
That's a way cool uke, Todd! Outstanding design. And the truth is that most violin players have a fine tuner at the tail, anyway, in addition to the pegs in the headstock.
Author:  DannyV [ Tue May 05, 2015 10:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos and recording
Well that's just crazy Todd. What were you thinking. It doesn't look anything like a uke.

Of course I'm kidding buddy. I don't know where to begin with the many subtle and not so subtle design details. Curious about a couple of things. How did you bend the rims and keep them so evenly round? It looks like it's been turned! I guess that big sound hole in the back is to make for a big sound for the player? Very cool!
Author:  SteveSmith [ Wed May 06, 2015 6:55 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos and recording
I'm not a big fan of headless instruments (how the heck do you hang them up?) but I appreciate the design and excellent build quality of this one. If you add two little holes to the soundboard it would be a great smiley face. Pretty darn cool Todd.
Author:  Todd Rose [ Wed May 06, 2015 7:07 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos and recording
Thanks again, everyone!

Danny, I have a very clever trick for the rims. I buy laminated maple tubes. They're mostly used by drum makers. I did glue the rosewood veneer on. That turned out to be challenging and problematic. I plan to avoid doing that in the future, even though these came out looking pretty good.

The hole in the back is covered by the player's body. It's really just an access hole for attaching, removing, and adjusting the neck, as well as installing a pickup or whatever else you might want to do in there. The side holes are the sound holes. However, it is possible to get some cool wah effects by moving the uke in and out a bit from your body while playing -- not something most players will likely make much use of, though.
Author:  Todd Rose [ Wed May 06, 2015 7:17 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos and recording
SteveSmith wrote:
I'm not a big fan of headless instruments (how the heck do you hang them up?) but I appreciate the design and excellent build quality of this one. If you add two little holes to the soundboard it would be a great smiley face. Pretty darn cool Todd.


Thanks, Steve! These ukes, admittedly, do not lend themselves to being hung or put on a stand. But, as you can see, I put strap buttons on them. Using a strap frees up your right arm for less encumbered playing, rather than using it to hold the uke to your body, as uke players usually do (ukes are really too small to let them rest all the way down on the lap; it's possible, but that makes for an awkward playing position). With a strap on there, you can hang the uke by the strap, on a stand or on the wall or wherever. Not the most elegant solution, I suppose, but it works.
Author:  SteveSmith [ Wed May 06, 2015 8:59 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New Ukes completed - photos and recording
Todd Rose wrote:
SteveSmith wrote:
I'm not a big fan of headless instruments (how the heck do you hang them up?) but I appreciate the design and excellent build quality of this one. If you add two little holes to the soundboard it would be a great smiley face. Pretty darn cool Todd.


Thanks, Steve! These ukes, admittedly, do not lend themselves to being hung or put on a stand. But, as you can see, I put strap buttons on them. Using a strap frees up your right arm for less encumbered playing, rather than using it to hold the uke to your body, as uke players usually do (ukes are really too small to let them rest all the way down on the lap; it's possible, but that makes for an awkward playing position). With a strap on there, you can hang the uke by the strap, on a stand or on the wall or wherever. Not the most elegant solution, I suppose, but it works.


The main thing, of course, is how do they sound? And the one on your recording sounds very nice!
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