FS: New Concert Cigar Box Uke by Black Bear

Here is a new concert size cigar box ukulele made from an old redwood Ben Bey cigar
box. These boxes have a unique sound that makes a great mellow sounding uke unlike
any other. The top is thinned and properly braced for the best possible volume and
sustain. The original inside foil label has been retained for a colorful uke. The
neck is made of Mango wood and has a truss rod for life long durability and
strength. The fingerboard dots are white plastic, side dots are included. The head
plate, finger board and bridge are all rosewood. The frets are larger than standard
for easy playing and there are 18 total, all clear of the body. The playing scale
length is 15". It has a bone nut and ebony bridge saddle. The friction tuners are
chrome Grover brand with cream colored knobs. It has Worth BM brand strings. The
finish is nitrocellulose lacquer. The playing action is easy and the intonation is
accurate. Your complete satisfaction is guaranteed. No case but I will double box
for safe shipping. Made in the USA. $25 shipping in the USA lower 48 states. Payment
by money order, personal check or bank draft only, no Paypal. Email me if you need
more information. Thanks for looking.


$450

Stunning work of art, as usual. Never had the pleasure of playing a Black Bear, but to me they are dream instruments.

And for such a unique, quality, handcrafted ukulele, that is a steal.

Thanks for the kind words. It always amazes me how good these redwood boxes sound.

Griffis said:

Stunning work of art, as usual. Never had the pleasure of playing a Black Bear, but to me they are dream instruments.

And for such a unique, quality, handcrafted ukulele, that is a steal.

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This great sounding and playing uke is still for sale.

New lower price for a unique and great sounding uke.

Duane's work is outstanding. Haven't seen the Cigar Box, but his ULO's are a lot of fun.

Well, there does not seem to be much of a market right now for this fine playing and unique uke, so I am going to let it fade away until it disappears into the great unsold. People tell me the the uke craze is strong, but that is not what I am experiencing like for those who make ukes and sell them in the open market. Perhaps it is better for the imports, (cheap and plentiful) than it is for the luthiers like myself. At any rate, this uke may be available in the future even though it is not listed here. Just drop me a line. Thanks.

This is my all time favorite uke...I'm famous at the Reno uke fest for carrying this uke around. The volume and playability of the uke is fantastic. This ukulele is not a toy!

BlackBearUkes said:

People tell me the the uke craze is strong, but that is not what I am experiencing like for those who make ukes and sell them in the open market. Perhaps it is better for the imports, (cheap and plentiful) than it is for the luthiers like myself.

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I wonder if it's just the domestic market? Being in Europe, importing a uke from the US is currently prohibitive because of the strong US dollar. You're also not taking PayPal, which seems to be an increasingly preferred payment option for many. The only reason I have one of your wonderful ukes is because someone imported it and I bought it off of them. I wish we had more builders like you in Europe (price/quality ratio - your ukes are both outstanding and far more affordable than what other professional luthiers of your caliber ask).

This cigar box uke looks very intriguing! If it was offered locally, I'd snatch it up.

I would also suggest a sound sample of some sort would help out ... it doesn't need to be HMS quality either.

I have seen some samples dealers use on YouTube, and they sell a lot of Ukes but the videos are that great.

That's a very cool uke and I'm sure it's top shelf quality and sound. You're looking at a very specific buyer for this fine instrument, it's kind of a novelty and although I think it's awesome, I can't have that much $$'s invested in a novelty.

You'll find the right buyer, just have to be patient. Try ebay? A much larger market share...

The market is ridiculously soft right now. Very nice ukes are selling for less than I've seen in the 12 years that I've been paying attention (or they're languishing on the market at very reasonable prices. I think it's the glut of cheap imports, coupled with the natural "wave" cycle these things tend to follow. I have a lot of ukes I'd like to list, but the soft market has deterred me.
And I think calling this uke a "novelty" does it a great disservice.

These ukes do have that novelty appeal, but having sold over 100 of these cigar box ukes, they do sound very good and play excellent. I wouldn't be making them just for their novelty if they didn't have a unique sound quality.

UkerDanno said:

That's a very cool uke and I'm sure it's top shelf quality and sound. You're looking at a very specific buyer for this fine instrument, it's kind of a novelty and although I think it's awesome, I can't have that much $$'s invested in a novelty.

You'll find the right buyer, just have to be patient. Try ebay? A much larger market share...

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