Ukuleles
Uke Gallery
= Ukulele Serial #1 ===
I built this soprano ukulele as a present for my wife. Shortly after receiving it, she restrung it to be tuned like a fiddle. She’s a fiddler, and was following a recommendation to use a uke tuned like a fiddle to help learn to think chordally. A mandolin would do too, but a uke is more friendly, portable, and easier on the fingers.
Features include:
- Four strings with standard soprano scale
- Koa back and sides
- Cedar top
- Mahogany neck
- Ebony fingerboard
- Koa headstock veneer
- Mother of pearl fingerboard inlays
- Hand etched and cut mother of pearl hummingbird inlays on bridge
- Shellac/wax finish
![Front view of ukulele serial number 1](../../images/ukuleles/gallery/uke1-front.jpg)
![Right side of Ukulele serival number 1](../../images/ukuleles/gallery/uke1-right-side.jpg)
![Back of ukulele serial 1](../../images/ukuleles/gallery/uke1-back.jpg)
![close up of the hummingbird inlay on the bridge](../../images/ukuleles/gallery/uke1-inlay.jpg)
![Side view of the neck of uke number 1](../../images/ukuleles/gallery/uke1-neck.jpg)
= Ukulele Serial #2 ===
This instrument was inspired by a Manuel Nunez soprano uke from my childhood, but is not a copy. Although I built it for my own satisfaction, I played it only a few days before someone fell in love with it and I accepted their purchase offer.
Features include:
- Four strings with standard soprano scale
- Koa back and sides
- Spruce top
- Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and bridge
- Mahogany neck
- Koa headstock veneer
- Rosewood binding
- Mother of pearl fingerboard inlays
- Gloss finish
![Front view of Ukulele serial number 2](../../images/ukuleles/gallery/uke2-front.jpg)
![Side view of body and neck of Uke number 2](../../images/ukuleles/gallery/uke2-side-heel.jpg)
![Back of Uke number 2](../../images/ukuleles/gallery/uke2-back.jpg)
= Ukulele Serial #3 & #4 ===
These two soprano ukes have quite a story. My friend Scot's dad was a high-school shop instructor. Scot's a woodworker too, and one of his earliest memories is of making birdhouses with his dad. His dad's wishes were to have his ashes buried at sea, so Scot made a lovely box from walnut, padauk, and birdseye maple scraps to contain the ashes til the sea burial could be done.
Afterwards, Scot asked me to use the wood to make a ukulele. By adding some mahogany I'd inherited from my dad's stock (who was also a woodworker) I had enough wood to make two ukes. But since the walnut salvaged from the box was too short for a standard soprano ukulele body, I designed a shorter, squatter body shape. Also, in tribute to Scot's dad, I inlaid hummingbirds on the headstocks.
I am honored and delighted to have been asked to make these ukuleles, and I had a lot of fun making them.
Features include:
- Four strings with standard soprano scale
- Walnut back, top, and sides
- Mahogany neck
- Padauk fingerboard
- Walnut headstock veneer
- Mother of pearl headstock, rosette, and fingerboard inlays
- Rosewood binding
- Glossy lacquer finish by Addam Stark of Santa Cruz
![Photo of the front of ukulele 3](../../images/ukuleles/gallery/uke3-front.jpg)
![Photo of the back of ukulele 3](../../images/ukuleles/gallery/uke3-back.jpg)
![Photo of the headstock of uke 3 with hummingbird inlay](../../images/ukuleles/gallery/uke3-head.jpg)
![Photo of the front of ukulele 4](../../images/ukuleles/gallery/uke4-front.jpg)
![Photo of the back of uke 4](../../images/ukuleles/gallery/uke4-back.jpg)
![Photo of the headstock of uke 4 with hummingbird inlay](../../images/ukuleles/gallery/uke4-head.jpg)