Getting my first true custom uke!

I've been playing for a few years now and in my time I have had the good fortune to play ukuleles that I have no business getting my hands on. I'll never play like Jake, or likely better than most on this forum, but I LOVE playing the uke. The one thing I have yet to have done was to have a true custom uke built for me. I have bought custom ukes second hand, but I've never gone through the process.

A while back I heard about this 2850 year old Sitka and it caught my attention. It has this unique gray color from having been buried in the mud in Alaska for who knows how long, and several luthiers have built ukes and guitars from it. I have two Spruce top ukes and they sound great, so I thought one day that this might make a nice (different) custom top. The wood supplier hadn't had any in stock for quite some time, so when I saw more was available I bought enough for two tops.

Meanwhile, about a year and a half ago, I met a local luthier through Craigslist. This guy has been building guitars for over 13 years and decided to try a uke, he was basically looking to get it in the hands of a player to get some feedback so he sold it at a great price. I replied to the ad and went to meet him. I was really impressed with the tone, though as any guitar builder's first attempt is likely to have, it had its flaws. We talked about those flaws and he built some more ukes, and they were markedly better. I was super impressed!

Anyway, I decided to have him build me two ukes from this ancient Sikta. The first one is currently under construction. It will have Cocobolo back and sides and it is now taking shape. I think it looks pretty darn good and I can't wait to try it out. It will still be several weeks until it is done, but I thought I would share some progress pictures.




Any advice for a first-time custom buyer? Any mistakes you made or something you wish you had done differently?

What fabulous news Tigeralum2001! Those ukuleles sound very special, 2850 year old Spruce! I'm sure they'll be absolutely wonderful. Congratulations on your first custom ukuleles!

Nice CJ....

just tell him what binding/purfling and headstock(slotted would be my choice)tuners you want.....
how about a Cocobolo backstrap and faceplate(or Ebony)....and binding on the fretboard too...

what kind of fretboard are you asking for?

then get out of his way and let him do his thing...good luck.....

Congrats CJ. That is some nice looking cocobolo. It will be interesting to see how it looks with that ancient spruce.

As for advice on your build, after choosing what woods will be used I always defer to the builder for their expertise and suggestions. I would tell him what your preference is for neck thickness and profile.

Good luck and keep us updated with pics!

Gorgeous cocobolo, can't wait to see it finished. I love the sound of even average cocobolo and spruce ukes, your's will likely sound amazing.

A couple of people have PMed me about the builder. His name is Byron Barnes and his shop is called BB Strings - http://www.bbstrings.com/

Being from Northern California, he has an affinity for using local woods but he will build with "exotic" woods when asked. The first uke listed is the first one he built and includes a short video with sound sample.

Congratulations, CJ.

Advice: get the guitar-maker to thin that topwood down to a whisper. He's right there--if it dishes, he can fix it for you. Thick topwood is a uke killer. Especially since you are familiar with resonant, thin-walled and loud ukes, like your Sceptre (maybe let him gauge the Sceptre for topwood thickness with a micrometer?).

No advice here. Just wanted to say how beautiful the woods are. It will be stunning.

I googled the wood you mentioned. Wow. This is going to make an incredible and unique instrument. It's almost a denim color, very beautiful.

Congratulations. I am very excited for you. Keep us updated with its progress!

Well, now I know why you were selling some of your instruments...

It sounds like you have a winner coming! Best of luck with it!

I would let him build it the way he knows how and patiently wait for it to be done. Suggest wood and playing style and leave the technical stuff to him. I cant wait to see the finished product keep us up to date.

Congradz CJ...excited for you. Please keep us update ...would like to see the ancient spruce top the cocobolo is gorgeous :drool:!!!

I'm drooling for something with that ancient spruce. :drool: Looking forward to seeing pics of yours finished!

All my ukes are customs. For me, it's all about the feel of the neck; thin, slightly radiused, low action. I have used only three builders and all know their stuff so as far as thin soundboards etc., they already know about it. I may make suggestions on tuners and woods but usually heed their advice.

Congrats. it's going to be a fun instrument and one of many customs I recon.

Hey CJ, congratulations.

Hope to see it soon

As for advice, I would talk to him about little things that he might not think about coming from the guitar world . . . like clearance around the peghead to make certain chords. I've noticed that a few ukes I've played from first time builders or even the build class I took that the people don't take into account the way you need to position your hand for chords like a G7 for instance. Peghead's too large, or the nuts are too sharp etc.

No advice, but that bookmatched wood looks amazing, and using really old spruce, awesome.

Looking forward to seeing the build, may I ask you to get LOTS of photos and post them please?

What are you going to use for the neck, fingerboard, and bridge?

Oh, and what size?

Congratulations! Those woods are beautiful.

I like what Gary said. I once played an ukulele made by a guitar builder and there was something about the angle of the peghead that made it a little cumbersome to make a few of the chord shapes on the first and second frets. By and large, though, I find that good builders know what they're doing and think about stuff like this when they design something they've never built before. Your custom is going to be great!

Great design CJ! That ancient sitka has always fascinated me, and I swear Cocobolo may be the prettiest rosewood out there. Heard the ancient sitka sounds good, just like regular sitka. Allen McFarlen has built a few ukes with that kind of top. They looked great!

Looking forward to your next build update.

Wow, thats awsome!