Creole Style Ukulele Build

S. Beane · Dec 28, 2014

Hey All!,

I recently finished a ukulele inspired by a Creole Guitar. It is walnut sides, two piece back with a sitka top. I used a bass tail piece. It sounds sweet too. The case was built from mostly trash find materials and fabrics.

Let me know what you think.

Regards,

S. Beane

Titchtheclown · Dec 28, 2014

Nicely done. I love these folk apparently not but actually extremely traditional bodies.

jcalkin · Dec 28, 2014

Nice. Looks like a plainer version of my True Companion travel guitars.

jwieties · Dec 28, 2014

The uke is cool.
The case is spectacular!

resoman · Dec 28, 2014

Reminds me of a Balalaika. How does it sound, any samples??

IamNoMan · Dec 28, 2014

Hey S.Beane: An impressive looking machine. Did you design this for Creole/cajun music? Many of the folk I know who play this kind of music tune between 5c. and 14c. lower than conventional. If you are targeting that market it might make sense to optimize the sound characteristics of your ukes with this in mind.

Nickie · Dec 28, 2014

Nice job! Did you do the case too?
I really like the tailpiece! Very unique!

jcalkin · Dec 28, 2014

You're closing in on a building style I used long ago to avoid bending sides. First pic is a pair of guitars built similarly to your uke. The second is a mando-that-could-be-a-tenor-uke that is just an expansion of the same idea. The design puts full-size guitars with reach of folks who can't be bothered with bending sides, making molds, and all the other cool torture that luthiers struggle to learn. The secret is that they sound just as good as the instruments you would recognize, which I'm sure your uke taught you.

S. Beane · Dec 29, 2014

Thanks so much for your positive remarks. Here's a quick video so you can get the sound of it:

I saw the picture of the Creole Ladies guitar and was also attracted to the straight sides to avoid bends. I primarily use hand tools and up to this point have made cigar box guitars. The case was made by me also, it's a "Toe Pincher" coffin. It was a fun project and is my second uke. Here's a pic of the first, a tiny 8 inch scale with case:

and a coffin case made for my old Tenor Banjo:

rudy · Dec 29, 2014

Nice job, S. Bean.

There are many folks that hold back from building curved body shapes because of the difficulty of side bending. I recently posted a instrument idea that demonstrates making bodies with curved sides. I demonstrate the basics of the idea on my website (link below) but the newer "how-to" will feature an even simpler technique for the curved body shapes requiring no forms, no heat bending, and no internal bracing. I'm hoping to get that done in the next couple of weeks.

http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?102842-Simple-uke-construction-idea

resoman · Dec 29, 2014

Very Cool and the song made me smile too!

ksquine · Jan 2, 2015

Sounds pretty nice. I always love a good MOTS headstock overlay!!

S. Beane · Jan 11, 2015

resoman said:
Very Cool and the song made me smile too!

Aww Thanks, and Happy New Year!

tinkeranything · May 25, 2015

This is fantastic! I have been working with flat. What a nice sound, sophisticated look and great build quality! Flat sides really opens things up for so many builders who don't want to make jigs for bending wood.

I'm working on a laser cut ukulele kit that is somewhat similar in shape.

Creole Style Ukulele Build

S. Beane

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