Official Luthiers Forum!

I don't normally post builds, but since I VERY rarely do hardwood tops, I thought I'd share one that's following my recent direction of "simple", but not necessarily easy.

And here's a sample vid.
https://vimeo.com/175416845

Lovely golden hues! Well done on the uke, too!

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Gorgeous ukulele. That Koa is stunning
I'm not sure I'd call anything with a bound headstock "simple". That's just tastefully understated

Nice tone! Do you know how the audio was recorded?

_________________
Pat

Thanks guys.

Pat, Andrew records it "dry", in a room, nothing special other than his mic, which I believe is a good condensor. You may be able to see it if uou search Vimeo for Hawaii Music Supply.

Ukulele Friend also does good audio samples, with the vid shot in the studio.

You know, it took me a LONG LONG time to figure out how to effectively, accurately bind the headstock and fretboard, when there is no gap because the nut is in the fretboard.

Suffice to say, besides the bwb purfling miter, I need to "make" the headstock binding go "into" the fretboard binding. I'm getting better at pulling off that joint.

Update on the recordings: Stereo pair of Shoeps CMC6.

Wonderful looking ukulele. Inspiring for me; your choice of trim woods, your bridge design, your head stock design and the attention to detail throughout really set your work off.

_________________
http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Thanks John. "Inspiring" is a heavy word, much appreciated.

And I recently redid my bridge to a much simpler design, without negative effects as the footprint is a little larger than what I used to do.

I know Andrew does a good job of showing the wood with his pics, and not highlighting the glare. Oddly enough, in not showing the glare, the images don't show how much work was done to gloss the finish. I think the vid shows it a little, but even then, you can't really tell.

Just realized, and nobody asked, but here are the specs:
Top/back/sides. Koa
Neck Spanish Cedar, Mortise & Tenon bolt on, Carbon Fiber Rod
Binding Rosewood
Bridge. Rosewood
Fretboard. Milo
Markers. Mother of Pearl
Rosette. Paua Abalone
Nut/Saddle. Tusq
Tuning Machines Hipshot closed geared
Finish Cardinal Gloss Lacquer
Strings. Savarez Alliance Normal Tension

Beautiful instrument! The rosewood binding looks great with the koa and I like your headstock shape. I've never seen a nut arrangement like that before. Is the piece of milo north of the nut a piece that's separate from the fretboard, or is the nut sitting in a recess in the fretboard?

It sounds great in the video and the audio quality is excellent. I looked up the mics and those are way more than I could justify, but they sure do record a nice sound.

_________________
Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Jay, you actually have seen a nut like that, more than likely - Fender.

There was a small discussion on the Underground about what this "solves" from a finishing perspective when the nut ends up between the fretboard and headstock veneer.

Truth be told, I didn't want to copy Fender, but oddly enough, most people don't make the connection. And the discussion was small because anyone who finishes an instrument where the nut goes in between the fretboard and headstock immediately knows the pro's of doing it like this.

Yours is the 2nd comment on binding, yet its the first time I've used Rosewood; I usually use Milo, or Koa (mostly). I have more that maybe I'll have to keep using.

Ok, you got me there. I just went and looked at my Strat and sure enough....

I blame my failure to recognize it on the fact that on yours the nut ends are inset from the edges of the fretboard and the binding is visible from the top where it passes the nut. Even on Fender necks that are bound, the nut goes all the way to the edge.

_________________
Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

I was just about to comment the reason mine may look different because I run the binding on the outside.

If you do the "math", it has standard string spacing. This means the fretboard is actually wider than "standard" by about 1/8" (binding is about 1/16"). Yet, most comments about playability is "easy" and usually never anything about the width. In fact, I've had a few players try to figure out what makes it so easy to play. Fun stuff!