Bao
Well-known member
It's been a little longer than expected but it has finally arrived!
Bruce said it would take a month but I knew that one month was too good to be true - afterall, he has his own life to live. Overall, it took around 3 months to make and come to me. Which still isn't that long if you think about it. Onto the uke: (See links below)
1. https://33.media.tumblr.com/272dafbedacce61c3662993f08bd3b20/tumblr_newkfrhb9F1r2vi0io2_1280.jpg
2. https://33.media.tumblr.com/a08b680de4968e3ae052b358f76cf83f/tumblr_newkfrhb9F1r2vi0io3_1280.jpg
3. https://38.media.tumblr.com/392501a9da4100ec2b5f219b9c1c2a6d/tumblr_newkfrhb9F1r2vi0io4_1280.jpg
4.https://38.media.tumblr.com/c6af75333a721b4ecf6fcbc2aa396618/tumblr_newkfrhb9F1r2vi0io5_1280.jpg
5. https://33.media.tumblr.com/3a97de218cce77f182861411622af761/tumblr_newkfrhb9F1r2vi0io6_1280.jpg
6. https://31.media.tumblr.com/3609e797d46cd568868a26c1a39e5245/tumblr_newkfrhb9F1r2vi0io7_1280.jpg
7. https://38.media.tumblr.com/e82206caa06bd2755d8992cd34b82f22/tumblr_newkfrhb9F1r2vi0io8_1280.jpg
The specs:
Front back and side - Solid Koa
Binding - Curly maple
Headstock head plate, fretboard and bridge - Ebony
Scale - 17 inch tenor
My opinion:
Aesthetically: It looks amazing. I looked really closely everywhere and I couldn't find a flaw made by him as of yet. Unfortunately, I stupidly let my uke fall off my lap while I was tuning it so there's a bit of a lacquer scratch there (I was such an idiot). The koa he used is nice. It's not as curly as one of those big name builders can get but I think it's adequate. The body seems to be smaller than my Lanikai SMP. I always noticed that Lanikai ukes had larger bodies than other brands though.
Soundwise: The sound is nice, full bodied, and loud given the body size. It definitely matches up to my lanikai. I put Ko'olau golds on it which makes it nice, warm but not as punchy. The sustain on this uke is good but not as good as my Lanikai. Though, it's not a really fair comparison since my lanikai has had 4 years to open up. I'm sure that given time, it will be MUCH better than the lanikai seeing as how it sounds nice already.
Downsides:
The tuners have plastic black buttons on it so it doesn't feel as expensive. But that was my fault since I forgot to state that I wanted wooden buttons. That can be changed anyway.
The sound is a little too warm with not as much punch. That's probably because I decided to buy ko'olau golds instead though. A string change will fix that up.
Sound sample:
Uploaded with my iphone so I'm not sure how well the sound quality will play out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j85uCwOH_3A&list=UUUjAzI_J0AiuileGcKYXwkA
Will it stand the test of time?
That, I'm not sure of. But I get the feeling that this uke will be one of the ones that last.
Was it worth it?
Yes, I would very much say it was. It cost me 700 dollars but I think it's 700 dollars well spent.
Bruce said it would take a month but I knew that one month was too good to be true - afterall, he has his own life to live. Overall, it took around 3 months to make and come to me. Which still isn't that long if you think about it. Onto the uke: (See links below)
1. https://33.media.tumblr.com/272dafbedacce61c3662993f08bd3b20/tumblr_newkfrhb9F1r2vi0io2_1280.jpg
2. https://33.media.tumblr.com/a08b680de4968e3ae052b358f76cf83f/tumblr_newkfrhb9F1r2vi0io3_1280.jpg
3. https://38.media.tumblr.com/392501a9da4100ec2b5f219b9c1c2a6d/tumblr_newkfrhb9F1r2vi0io4_1280.jpg
4.https://38.media.tumblr.com/c6af75333a721b4ecf6fcbc2aa396618/tumblr_newkfrhb9F1r2vi0io5_1280.jpg
5. https://33.media.tumblr.com/3a97de218cce77f182861411622af761/tumblr_newkfrhb9F1r2vi0io6_1280.jpg
6. https://31.media.tumblr.com/3609e797d46cd568868a26c1a39e5245/tumblr_newkfrhb9F1r2vi0io7_1280.jpg
7. https://38.media.tumblr.com/e82206caa06bd2755d8992cd34b82f22/tumblr_newkfrhb9F1r2vi0io8_1280.jpg
The specs:
Front back and side - Solid Koa
Binding - Curly maple
Headstock head plate, fretboard and bridge - Ebony
Scale - 17 inch tenor
My opinion:
Aesthetically: It looks amazing. I looked really closely everywhere and I couldn't find a flaw made by him as of yet. Unfortunately, I stupidly let my uke fall off my lap while I was tuning it so there's a bit of a lacquer scratch there (I was such an idiot). The koa he used is nice. It's not as curly as one of those big name builders can get but I think it's adequate. The body seems to be smaller than my Lanikai SMP. I always noticed that Lanikai ukes had larger bodies than other brands though.
Soundwise: The sound is nice, full bodied, and loud given the body size. It definitely matches up to my lanikai. I put Ko'olau golds on it which makes it nice, warm but not as punchy. The sustain on this uke is good but not as good as my Lanikai. Though, it's not a really fair comparison since my lanikai has had 4 years to open up. I'm sure that given time, it will be MUCH better than the lanikai seeing as how it sounds nice already.
Downsides:
The tuners have plastic black buttons on it so it doesn't feel as expensive. But that was my fault since I forgot to state that I wanted wooden buttons. That can be changed anyway.
The sound is a little too warm with not as much punch. That's probably because I decided to buy ko'olau golds instead though. A string change will fix that up.
Sound sample:
Uploaded with my iphone so I'm not sure how well the sound quality will play out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j85uCwOH_3A&list=UUUjAzI_J0AiuileGcKYXwkA
Will it stand the test of time?
That, I'm not sure of. But I get the feeling that this uke will be one of the ones that last.
Was it worth it?
Yes, I would very much say it was. It cost me 700 dollars but I think it's 700 dollars well spent.
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