Custom uke owners, when did you decide to buy a custom uke?

At what point did you decide a custom uke was for you? Was it after owning a "K" uke? Was it your first uke?? Also, how did you choose your luthier when there many amazing ones to choose from?

Currently I don't own a "K" uke or a custom uke (best uke i own is a pono pro classic). I've tried many "K" ukes at the local shop and I would love to own one, but I also see myself wanting a custom uke more and more. Hoping some of your comments will help me decide my next purchase

Mine was a 50th b-day present to myself. I've never bought myself anything that expensive in something I have so little skill.

What really sold me on the idea was taking Rick's build class. I knew I wanted something special built by this man. He's a living legend!

At the time I owned a KoAloha concert. It was lovely. But.....then I became acquainted with Chuck Moore's work. Holy cow!! I fell in love. Hard. The rest is history. I have had my ukulele for 4 years now. I was very lucky to get one before the "list to get on the list" started.

I bought a custom uke when what I wanted at the time (soprano with more than 16 frets) didn't exist off the shelf. Then I fell in love with another uke (Kamaka Ohta-San) and - well, my wants/needs changed. My experience with customs is fairly limited, but as the owner of several Kamakas, if you would "love" to own a "K" uke I'd highly recommend going that route. I'm a big fan of "try before you buy" - with a custom, you just never really know what you're getting - or in my case, even if you really want what you *think* you want! And, with some exceptions (Moore Bettah comes to mind), K brands hold their value a lot better than customs, should you change your mind and want to re-home it.

I have been fortunate enough to have a number of very nice ukuleles. Some of them were stunningly beautiful, others sounded amazing. But I didn't have any one ukulele that was a perfect union of both sound and beauty. So for about five years I desperately wanted a Moore Bettah. I was lucky enough to get one, and it is the perfect ukulele for me. I love that it was made just for me -- by the hands of one incredible luthier and artist. I adore the way it sounds, love the way it feels (it is easier to play and more comfortable than any other uke I have ever played) and nobody else in the world has one that looks like mine. I haven't touched another ukulele since the day I got it and it is my most prized possession in the world. (I would have said my cat is my most prized possession, but let's be honest, he owns me not the other way around).

For many the biggest obstacle is budget... get the best you can possibly afford... I consider K brands premimum ukes...pretty good off the rack but not made personally for you
of course an upgrade is a custom...you most times get what you want... in sound, comfort and looks... Like Stacy said, Chuck moore is probally the best custom builder in the world now
and is highly sought after.. I treasure playing and owning mine as I am so fortunate... he builds on a limited basis and does all the fine work by himself... so certainly it is not easy
getting one. Good Luck in whatever you choose to get, happy strummings
PS if possible play the uke before you buy one and see if you like it in the tone, comfort and playability.. off the rack ukes has one good thing, you can play them all and choose the best one for your liking...

I value what you say mm Stan...why not a DeVine?

Although all my current ukes are 'custom', only one was commissioned by me. I decided to buy that one after I had sold a National Resophonic guitar for enough to fund my new BP ML Tenor.

If you are a beginning player I do not suggest ordering a custom until you have been playing at least at a year so that you know what you like in an ukulele. Customs cost a lot of $ especially if you get into the larger sizes. Starting with a Pono is a good choice as it is a reasonably priced well made uke. I don't know what part of California you live in but it would be a good idea to talk/visit some local ukulele makers. John Kinnard is a great builder he is in the So. Cal area. Tony Graziano, Da Silva and Pohaku are in the No. Cal area.

mariegan7 said:

If you are a beginning player I do not suggest ordering a custom until you have been playing at least at a year so that you know what you like in an ukulele. Customs cost a lot of $ especially if you get into the larger sizes. Starting with a Pono is a good choice as it is a reasonably priced well made uke. I don't know what part of California you live in but it would be a good idea to talk/visit some local ukulele makers. John Kinnard is a great builder he is in the So. Cal area. Tony Graziano, Da Silva and Pohaku are in the No. Cal area.

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i started playing ukulele when i was 54 yr old, this just a hobby, and i said to myself i wont buy an expensive uke unless i am a professional player, now i still considered myself as a beginner and i have bought 7 ukes, and one them worth $1000.

I am 57 years old and have only been playing for 6 months so I am not good enough to deserve one but...........I have passion enough to have one. I actually own a Pete Howlett koa tenor bought used off the marketplace. This was after playing for only 2 months and I knew I had found a lifetime affair with the ukulele. That uke opened my eyes to a light responsive build with beautiful koa. Buying used is a great way to start out. Excellent deals from solid established members right here.

I have two other customs on order. One maker I was able to play a couple of his instruments and the second I am going on reputation and great feedback from owners right here on UU!!!

Andu said:

At what point did you decide a custom uke was for you? Was it after owning a "K" uke? Was it your first uke?? Also, how did you choose your luthier when there many amazing ones to choose from?

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I commissioned customs because I could not get what I want from production ukes. Reason is the same as janeray. I chose the luthiers based on their designs as listed on their websites, their customers' feedback, their instruments sound based youtube videos and soundcloud audio, their helpfulness in answering my questions and, of course, my budget.

Andu said:

Currently I don't own a "K" uke or a custom uke (best uke i own is a pono pro classic). I've tried many "K" ukes at the local shop and I would love to own one, but I also see myself wanting a custom uke more and more. Hoping some of your comments will help me decide my next purchase

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Before you commission your first uke, play as many ukes as possible. The purpose is for you to find out what kind of tone you like, and what are the features of the uke that enhances your playing experience. For example, some like deep tones and others like bright tones, some like clear tones and others like warm tones. Some like thick necks and others like slim necks, some like flat fretboards and others like radiused fretboards, some like narrow fretboards and others like wide fretboards, some like 4-strings and others like 5-, 6-, and 8-strings, etc.

With custom ukes, the uke is tailored to fit you, in terms of sound, playability and looks, but with production ukes, you have to make do with whatever that is already made, and there are many players who do find that well-constructed production ukes already meet all their needs and wants.

Within six months of playing a uke, I went for a custom. At the time the most money I spent was for a Kala cedar top tenor cutaway, $360 (I traded in 3 lesser ukes, so it actually cost $190). Then I saw Daniel's (nongdam) Selmer Maccaferri gypsy jazz style uke, which I always admired as a guitar, but wasn't ready to spend $2000.

After a bit of unsuccessful research of North American luthiers, I knew that Bruce Wei in Vietnam did custom, so I contacted him. He was the only one who immediately sent me a basic drawing of what he would build, for a cost of $750 shipped. I went for it. It came out beautifully, but the bone string holder on the tailpiece cracked and I just received the replacement (all metal), so now I'll be able to play and I'm anticipating it opening up, it's a bit dull (hopefully the top is not too thick to allow that).

Then I got caught up and had him make me a glossy black mandolele (being finished) and a u-bass (being shipped).

To my wife and me, it was kind of a journey: From a cheap piece in a local store to a laminated Kala, then an all solid Pono, then we got hooked on the K-Brands, trying one of each, and finally we wanted one from a renowned luthier. We love them all pretty equally, exactly for their differences in looks and sound and feel. They are all unique and special to us, and exploring their strengths and differences is part of the fun to us.

This is my custom uke story.

My custom uke was a birthday gift to myself few months ago.

The reason I bought this custom uke, is that a single uke has all features I desire. Its kind of like finding the right partner. Although I didn't order those features, I was buying a finished product. This was still an amazing coincidence, that I would order the exact same features. It become my life-time ukulele now, I bring it to everywhere.

Mine is a Gary Gill and I just got it about a month ago! And I finally took the plunge after 4 1/2 years!

I am surrounded by ukuleles at all times and I love them all for different reasons, and I have had a few that I have been sad about saying goodbye to them wishing I could keep them, but financial reason have kept me back for some time. I just kept waiting until the builder, the sound, and the time felt right. And I love the Breedlove builds and had picked out some woods for a custom line. So I thought one of the Sinker Redwood/ Ebony builds had my name on it. But alas, their ukulele program is on hold, therefore my woods are bring re-shelved.

So I continued gigging with my first ukulele, a Kala Spruce Spalted Maple. Until the right one came around.

Then I got my first 2 Gary Gill ukuleles in my shop and fell in love with the sound. I love a full, rich, big sounding ukulele personally. So I asked for his next round of builds to make one for me. I gave him very little to go on other than I liked contrast and wanted something different. And I said I liked the dark body and light fretboard and that if he wanted to play around with a more complicated rosette I would love something that stood out. Then I just trusted it would be awesome! So I guess that was when I decided to get a custom, when I found the sound and feel that I knew I would love forever with a builder who I felt like was my style and also "got" my style. I love this uke so much and take it everywhere with me! And it is "different" and I am a quirky gal, so the different look really fits! Wanna see? Even if you don't I will show you cause I love showing it off! Hehe! (Sorry the pics are so big, I don't know how to make them smaller)



It looks good on stage too!

As a professional musician (meaning, someone that makes a substantial amount of their yearly income from gigging), I know that most of the instruments off the shelf won't live up to my demands, so after buying a Riptide Tenor ukulele in March of 2011 and playing out with it for a couple of months (and realizing that I was going to stick with playing the mighty uke), I immediately decided to start looking for a custom builder for an instrument. After looking at many websites and contacting a couple of builders, I settled upon Jerry at Boat Paddle. His design aesthetic and correspondence sealed the deal for me.

Best uke I've played.

kohanmike said:

Within six months of playing a uke, I went for a custom. At the time the most money I spent was for a Kala cedar top tenor cutaway, $360 (I traded in 3 lesser ukes, so it actually cost $190). Then I saw Daniel's (nongdam) Selmer Maccaferri gypsy jazz style uke, which I always admired as a guitar, but wasn't ready to spend $2000.

After a bit of unsuccessful research of North American luthiers, I knew that Bruce Wei in Vietnam did custom, so I contacted him. He was the only one who immediately sent me a basic drawing of what he would build, for a cost of $750 shipped. I went for it. It came out beautifully, but the bone string holder on the tailpiece cracked and I just received the replacement (all metal), so now I'll be able to play and I'm anticipating it opening up, it's a bit dull (hopefully the top is not too thick to allow that).

Then I got caught up and had him make me a glossy black mandolele (being finished) and a u-bass (being shipped).

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After performing for the first few times with an ukulele, that was when I knew I wasn't going to give it up. Upon seeing the hefty (only in my case) price tags on most custom ukes, I opted for the (as some would say) riskier option of BruceWeiArt customs as well. After seeing Kohanmike's post about his Gypsy Jazz uke, it sold me and I have since been waiting for it to finish.

On a side note, tell us how it goes when you receive the ukes! Mine is almost done as well.

I'm a committed musician, so I'm not afraid to spend a couple bucks on a quality instrument. I've never really felt the need for a custom build, as I feel luthiers understand their craft far better than I do, and tend to come up with cleverer ideas for designs than I could anyway. However, a couple years back I absolutely fell in love with the Martin 3K design. However, most 3Ks were/are sopranos, and that's not my preferred size. A very small number of concert 3Ks were made, but I've never seen one and I imagine if I found one, it would go at an incredible price premium. Shortly after that, forum member MattyDee announced his custom from Dave Talsma, which I though was beautiful and sounded wonderful. I investigated Talsma, and discovered that he has made a lot of historical replicas at very high quality, including concert-sized 3Ks and 3Ms. I spoke with him about what I wanted and decided he was the right guy, and flash forward about one year, and I have a gorgeous 3K concert that is exactly what I wanted!

I decided to buy custom so I could know who built my ukulele and also select the wood combination and appointments of my choice. It was also important to me to support good people pursuing their dream and their craft because the instrument has their spirit in it. This forum highly influenced all my custom choices as I was able to learn about so many fine builders.

I had a particularly wonderful experience visiting Jerry Hoffman several times at his New Haven, MO shop for Boat Paddle ukuleles. This was a 200-mile drive for me each way from Overland Park, KS. I was interested in Jerry's new D-style and M-style tenors. But on my first visit, Jerry let me play his wife Janelle's ML-tenor and I fell in love with it. I commissioned one in highly figured golden Beeswing Mahogany and it turned out even better than I expected.