sam13
Well-known member
Hello All,
I am very pleased to share my latest purchase.
As previously posted, I had the very good fortune (along with my good friend DownUpDave) to meet with Luis Feu de Mesquita. As luck would have we live in the same city just outside of Toronto, ON, Canada.
I put a deposit on a custom Ukulele with Luis many moons ago, and sat patiently. I decided to bother him as little as possible and didn't drop in to visit the Uke in construction, because time spent with me was time taken away from him and his family.
Bella has been completed (Luis encourages us to name the Uke as it helps shape the over all look perhaps?) and I couldn't be happier. To recap.
Details of Bella:
Tenor
Top: Sinker Redwood
Back and Sides: Malaysian Blackwood (Macassar Ebony Family)
Cutaway
Grand Bouche (large mouth sound hole)
Rosette and Binding: Curly Koa
Sound Port
Laskin Armrest: Curly Koa
Radius Neck (of course … Sam I am, I am the Radius man … and you know it!)
Wider neck 1.5 inches at the nut (the neck does look wide, but I am 6’5” and have big hands so … it is perfect for me)
O Fret Bone Nut and Saddle
LR Baggs 5.0 pick up installed
Strings: South Coast HML RW
The Sinker Redwood Tone is just like Luis and Andrew Kitakis (HMS) said: Somewhere between Cedar and Spruce. Warmth and Brightness.
I find it the tone centred, clear, warm with brightness. The sustain is wonderful ... just awesome for the lush jazz chords.
The Action is less than .2 mm at the nut as it is a fretless Uke. I was unsure about it, but Luis is the master so I went with his suggestion and yeah, with a radius ... it plays with effortless pressure when barring ... this is butter!
The tone all the way up the neck is even, and clean ... full.
The sound port is the new standard for me (unless I buy used), is so great. What a gift to get that extra feed back from your Ukulele!
Due to the nature of the wood, I have been trying to get a nice set of pictures to share ... but while taking photos ... the finish produces a reflection so forgive me.
A quick note regarding Luis:
He is a wonderful, caring, sincere and thoughtful gentleman.
No inch of this or any Ukulele goes un-noticed nor untouched. His attention to detail is impeccable. I would definitely consider another Uke.
He is looking at Baritones, and another UU member is getting a 19" scale Tenor neck.
Also, while picking up Bella he showed off some other Ukes he had finished and one was with a traditional Uke shaped but Spanish guitar accents. It was beautiful.
If anyone is interested in a LFdM, contact Andrew Kitakis at HMS as he is the distributor world wide.
I am very pleased to share my latest purchase.
As previously posted, I had the very good fortune (along with my good friend DownUpDave) to meet with Luis Feu de Mesquita. As luck would have we live in the same city just outside of Toronto, ON, Canada.
I put a deposit on a custom Ukulele with Luis many moons ago, and sat patiently. I decided to bother him as little as possible and didn't drop in to visit the Uke in construction, because time spent with me was time taken away from him and his family.
Bella has been completed (Luis encourages us to name the Uke as it helps shape the over all look perhaps?) and I couldn't be happier. To recap.
Details of Bella:
Tenor
Top: Sinker Redwood
Back and Sides: Malaysian Blackwood (Macassar Ebony Family)
Cutaway
Grand Bouche (large mouth sound hole)
Rosette and Binding: Curly Koa
Sound Port
Laskin Armrest: Curly Koa
Radius Neck (of course … Sam I am, I am the Radius man … and you know it!)
Wider neck 1.5 inches at the nut (the neck does look wide, but I am 6’5” and have big hands so … it is perfect for me)
O Fret Bone Nut and Saddle
LR Baggs 5.0 pick up installed
Strings: South Coast HML RW
The Sinker Redwood Tone is just like Luis and Andrew Kitakis (HMS) said: Somewhere between Cedar and Spruce. Warmth and Brightness.
I find it the tone centred, clear, warm with brightness. The sustain is wonderful ... just awesome for the lush jazz chords.
The Action is less than .2 mm at the nut as it is a fretless Uke. I was unsure about it, but Luis is the master so I went with his suggestion and yeah, with a radius ... it plays with effortless pressure when barring ... this is butter!
The tone all the way up the neck is even, and clean ... full.
The sound port is the new standard for me (unless I buy used), is so great. What a gift to get that extra feed back from your Ukulele!
Due to the nature of the wood, I have been trying to get a nice set of pictures to share ... but while taking photos ... the finish produces a reflection so forgive me.
A quick note regarding Luis:
He is a wonderful, caring, sincere and thoughtful gentleman.
No inch of this or any Ukulele goes un-noticed nor untouched. His attention to detail is impeccable. I would definitely consider another Uke.
He is looking at Baritones, and another UU member is getting a 19" scale Tenor neck.
Also, while picking up Bella he showed off some other Ukes he had finished and one was with a traditional Uke shaped but Spanish guitar accents. It was beautiful.
If anyone is interested in a LFdM, contact Andrew Kitakis at HMS as he is the distributor world wide.
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