NUD........Webber tenor......who??????

I am the proud owner of a new custom tenor ukulele made by David Webber of Webber Guitars. David is a world renowned acoustic guitar builder out of Vancouver Canada. He has been building guitars for over 25 years and is highly regarded in the acoustic guitar circles and forums.

A bit of a funny story as to how I happened to purchase this. I have stated here on this site before that due to an issue with my left hand ukuleles with a radius fretboard make barr chords possible for me so those are the only ukes I am purchasing at the moment. I had heard of Webber on this site due to member Patrick Madsen repeatedly saying that his Webber baritone was a stellar instrument and he held it in as high a regard as his Moore Bettah tenor. I know member bobmyer had one he really loved as well.

An internet search showed Bluedog Guitars, a retailer in Vancouver sold them. I noticed the baritone was listed as having a radius but the tenor did not. I emailed David asking if his tenors had a radius and he said no. This was back in February and later that day I purchased a Mya Moe sycamore tenor, which of course has a radius and I was very happy. The next day David emailed me a picture of two tenors he was building, the necks were not attatched or fretted and he said it would be easy to radius the fretboard at this point. Oh no..........just bought sometime real nice.......damn........ok do it.

It has an Englman spruce top, cocobolo back and sides, honduras mahogany neck with tobbacco burst finish, curly maple end graft, headstock logo and heel cap, curly koa binding with fine BWB rosette and purfing.

More pics and details

There are a number of interesting touches that only a seasoned luthier would think of doing. One is the binding edges have been rounded over. This makes for very comfortable playing as there are no sharp edges to dig into you. The body is high gloss but the neck is a satin. This is brilliant because it is so slick and effortless to move around on. Sam13 was over to my house and played it for a while and said how he loved the smoothness of the neck and I had not told him it was satin. The tobacco burst on the neck darkens nicely to blend in well with the body colour. The fretboard is rosewood but it is bound with ebony. The silver side dot makers jump out because of the contrast, there are no fretboard makers.

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Just Wow Dave! What a great looking instrument. The satin on the neck sounds like a great idea. I think I may ask Beau Hannam to do my Players model like that.

So I guess the most important part, how does it sound and how does it play. The sound is very well balanced, even and lively. It has a sweet voice with no sharp brash highs or trebles. It has good volume and a ton of head room. When strummed hard I can't believe how much louder it is than my Pono. The cocobolo combined with a well arch formed back projects really well, intonation is perfect and the notes up the neck ring out like crazy clear. Ask sam13 as he was playing barr chord on 7th, 9th and 12th fret, he was in love. Another build detail, check out the bridge. The strings go through a hole on an angle and there is a counter bored hole that the knot tucks up into. Very neat looking and very clever.

Last details, bit and pieces. It is a large bodied tenor very much like a Pono pro classic. It is on the heavy side, the cocobolo contributes to this as does the size. The neck is DEEP as in deeper than a Pono neck. The same depth as my Gretsch neck which is baseball bat deep. There are only 13 frets to the body, this might bother some but I like the extra space between fret wires because of this. I happen to like everything about this instrument, the flawless workmanship, thoughtful details and mostly the great sound, that trumps everything for me.

Some pics of my Pono and Webber side by side for size comparisons.

I have named her KK as in Kim Kardashian because of the large lower bout.


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Beautiful instrument. Have fun with it.

Very pretty uke Dave. Gorgeous body shape, just love the waist and proportions.

Hippie Dribble said:

Very pretty uke Dave. Gorgeous body shape, just love the waist and proportions.

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Thanks John. David makes a round body guitar, his own design. He proportioned his ukulele bodies after that shape.

@hollisdwyer and Phuufme thank you for your replies

Congratulations Dave! Thanks for the great review!

It sure is gorgeous, can't wait to hear a sound sample!

That is gorgeous. I love satin finishes to make it easier to play, but gloss looks so pretty...

Wow, Dave! Congratulations on this beautiful instrument. Awesome piece of Cocobolo, nice body shape. Would love to hear it. I bet it's a bomb!

A friend of mine has a Webber guitar that is without a doubt one of the best guitars I've ever played. I was unaware he made ukes.

Hmmmm...

Oh my, that is absolutely gorgeous! Congratulations!

Congratulations Dave! I knew it was going to be good but dang, KK has really a special quality. I'm sure David will be getting a lot of inquiries on his exceptional instruments. I have the first baritone he made. His wife wanted one so he figured he'd make 5. I'm glad he did. I asked if he was ever going to make a tenor; he said he was thinking about it but wasn't interested at the time. I'm glad he changed his mind.

Boy, I thought my UAS was over but after seeing this, I'm a hankering to .....

Congratulations DUD! OMG, KK is quite the beauty. The figuring on the back and sides and oh the shininess of the varnish. You must bring your new gal to the Rooster.

Yes, KK is a tremendous Uke. Who doesn't like a bigger lower bout ... (cue the music)

I got a chance to play it several times and can attest that it is lovely.

Engelmann Spruce top is bright with warmth, the cocobolo back and sides help colour the tone and offer wonderful sustain. Playing jazz chordal melodies on this is a dream. Crisp clean chords, it will only get better and DuD is a lucky guy.

I also should mention that Webber's skill as a luthier and choice of finish and appointments is top notch. If anyone is considering looking at one of his Ukes, I can recommend it without reservation.

The neck is a little thicker than a Pono neck, but the satin finish as Dave says makes it slide along without effort.

DUD.......WOW...that is even better looking than the Engelmann/Cocobollo that was on Blue Dogs site awhile back. I like the way the sap wood detail is carried to match at the heel. Also, I must have Gotoh UPTL tuners on my next ukulele. David is only 4.5 hours from where I live so road trip to check out in order. Congratulations. Fit & finish on this ukulele looks excellent. I really like the round body shape. Can't wait to hear a sound sample.

That is absolutely beautiful

Beautiful Uke. Is the lower bout larger than most Ukes, or is it just the picture? The colors are brilliant.

I would think that bigger lower bout would give more volume. This make sense that it is louder than your Pono. The design looks like it accentuates the bass. Have you tried a low G on it?

It is a very beautiful ukulele. I know some people do not like the thicker necks. I find them comfortable. I wear a large size glove, so my hands are not huge. I find too thin of neck uncomfortable. I can play my Pono for hours. I attribute this to the neck.