NUD: Custom Aaron Oya Maple & Spruce Tenor

New to me, Custom Aaron Oya Maple/Spruce Tenor. Also my first NUD post.



Quilted Maple with Sitka Spruce Soundboard
Matching Quilted Maple Neck
Neck & Headstock is one piece
Fretboard and Bridge are Musician-Grade Cocobolo
Binding and End Graft are Hawaiian Curly Koa
Rosette is Abalone with Ebony & Maple Perfling
Paua Shell Vine Fretboard Inlay with Leaf Position Markers at 4, 7 & 10 frets.
Flower and Leaf Inlay at the 12th Fret.
Tusq Nut and Saddle
Gold Gotoh Closed-Gear Tuners

You would expect a maple-bodied and spruce-topped tenor to have a loud, very forward and brash sound with tons of sustain. This ukulele speaks with a more tamed voice. It’s warmer than expected, yet has a nice clarity with excellent resonance and sustain. There is plenty of projection, but it’s not in-your-face or overwhelming. It has a unique tone unlike any maple & spruce tenor I have ever heard. And that is what drew me to her.

I’m not usually into bling and a lot of decoration on my instruments. But Aaron has used a deft hand with the inlays. They are delicate and functional and don’t shout, “Here I am!” as so many shell inlays do. I absolutely love the rosette. It too is modest, yet one of the prettiest abalone rosettes I have ever seen. Lovely use of the materials, and it doesn’t compete with the fretboard inlays but compliments them. Truly exceptional work that I have quickly grown to admire.

The neck is a really nice thickness. A flattened “D” shape. Somewhat similar to that of a MyaMoe tenor. 1-7/16” nut with 1-1/8’ from A to G strings. That makes it very comfortable to play. The heel is in two parts, with a maple endcap as well.

The cons: The Fender-esque headstock shape takes some getting used to. I like the gentle curves and the rounded-bevel top and sides. But there is no damn place to clip on a tuner! I can hang a D’Addario micro tuner underneath, but anything else hangs on by its fingernails and will pop off if I forget to remove it.

There are a couple of nicks and dings in the glossy lacquer finish. A rough spot on the binding and the binding's ends aren’t quite centered. The lacquer on the bridge has a couple of bare spots where it has come off the cocobolo wood.

Small annoyances, that a person with OCD might not be able to cope with. They seem very minor to me, for such a wonderfully-crafted instrument.

Aaron Oya does not label his instruments. He does sign his name to the upper cross-brace. It’s visible through the sound hole. But, he does not date it. Shawn Yacavone at UkuleleFriend.com estimates that the ukulele is 5 years old, based upon what the original owner told him. He believes it is one of Arron’s earlier pieces.

Here is a Vimeo link that was posted by Ukulele Friend of this instrument being played by Neal Chin: https://vimeo.com/312430441

I wasn’t looking for another ukulele. Honest. In fact, I had sworn to myself that I wouldn’t buy another one until the Fall. Yet I kept going back to look at the listing photos. Then, after Shawn posted the video, I was hooked. After listening several times, I pulled the trigger. And I am so pleased that I did.

PS: I have to give a shout-out to Chaundra and Brad at Iluak Instrument Fittings for my Strap Pins. I asked for some dark cocobolo with abalone dots pins—if they had them, to match the fretboard and bridge. They replied that if I didn’t mind waiting an extra day, Brad would make me a set from some dark cocobolo wood they had in their stock. Chaudra found two matching abalone dots to use for the inlays. I think they look like they are OEM and are just perfect finishing touches on my Oya tenor.

Now I have to find the perfect strap...

Cheers!

More Photos of Oya Maple & Spruce Tenor:



One more follows...

A crowning touch to a beautifully made instrument:



At risk of repeating myself: I have to give a shout-out to Chaundra and Brad at Iluak Instrument Fittings for my Strap Pins. I asked for some dark cocobolo with abalone dots pins—if they had them, to match the fretboard and bridge. They replied that if I didn’t mind waiting an extra day, Brad would make me a set from some dark cocobolo wood they had in their stock. Chaudra found two matching abalone dots to use for the inlays. I think they look like they are OEM and are just perfect finishing touches on my Oya tenor. Thank you for your help and great customer service.

PPS: In case you are interested. The photos are .JPEG format. Reduced in size to 7" high. The height and width are linked together to keep the proportions correct. The resolution was reduced to 100 dpi. I didn't check their file sizes. I used Photoshop on a Mac to crop and adjust the photos.

Congrats on a very nice acquisition!

I know that many people would agree with your generalization that, "You would expect a maple-bodied and spruce-topped tenor to have a loud, very forward and brash sound with tons of sustain." But it always raises the hair on the back of neck because out of the 60+ ukes I've owned, some of the warmest, most beautifully toned ukes have been spruce/maple (e.g., Hive, Kinnard, Collings, Pepe Romero).

Wow, she is indeed a beauty! I love the Fender-esque headstock, though I see your dilemma about where to clip on your tuner!

Congrats! Absolutely a lovely ukulele. Enjoy!

Congratulations. It is gorgeous.

You could try clipping the tuner to one of the tuning pegs. That has worked for me in the past. Yes, you might have to relocate it from one peg to another occasionally, but that's a fairly quick and easy thing to do, and only necessary if that particular string is out of tune.
Jan D.

Jan D said:

You could try clipping the tuner to one of the tuning pegs. That has worked for me in the past. Yes, you might have to relocate it from one peg to another occasionally, but that's a fairly quick and easy thing to do, and only necessary if that particular string is out of tune.
Jan D.

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Never thought of that. I'll have to try it. Thanks for the suggestion.

Ukulele Eddie said:

Congrats on a very nice acquisition!

I know that many people would agree with your generalization that, "You would expect a maple-bodied and spruce-topped tenor to have a loud, very forward and brash sound with tons of sustain." But it always raises the hair on the back of neck because out of the 60+ ukes I've owned, some of the warmest, most beautifully toned ukes have been spruce/maple (e.g., Hive, Kinnard, Collings, Pepe Romero).

Click to expand...

Agreed. As with all generalizations, there are exceptions and sometimes a complete refutation of the premise. I have played Maple-bodied ukes with spruce or cedar tops and some verified the reputation of maple being very bright and loud, and some that were warm and quite lovely and balanced. Of course the strings have a strong effect on the sound. As do the details of the build.

Congratulations! Just wonderful figure in the Maple.

I have an Iriguchi with Birdseye maple soundboard and a poplar back. I found the sound to be warm and velvety unlike the thin punchy sound most attribute to maple. Such a pleasant surprise. In any case, congrats with your acquisition. Enjoy!

That's a beauty. I'm surprised that Fender doesn't have a patent on that headstock design.

Congratulations Ken, what a wonderful instrument and a wonderful review. Speaking of wonderful you own one or two CDs don't you.

I agree with you on the rosette, pure class, as well as the vine. I am glad you posted a second picture of the vine as it really is a work of art. I too have been pleasantly surprised to find spruce and maple tenors are usually as not brash sounding at all. At least from good custom builders. Enjoy it as I know you will.