It started with a question in the Luthier's forum...
( http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15164 )
And now it's a real ukulele, built by Brad Donaldson of Oregon, a most talented luthier.
The rest of the pics are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amyknitty/sets/72157622031541872/
The key feature is, of course, the concave back. It's designed to be more comfortable to hold and less slippy for female players, but in passing it around at my uke jam this past Wednesday, every single person, male or female, said they found it extremely comfortable to hold -- moreso than their own ukes. (I'm not exaggerating. I was surprised to hear this from the guys too!) The concave back also seemed to help the sound resonate front AND back -- especially with the male players, since the back of the uke wasn't compressed against their chest.
Because Brad was building this uke just for me, he also adjusted the fretboard width/scale to suit my small hands. The nut is the same width as my sopranino, and the scale is 14" (more soprano than concert). The body is concert-sized.
Video is here ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vmi4pr2BM-k ) -- that's a good friend playing her for me, so you could hear what she sounds like in the hands of a skilled player. I don't do her justice yet, despite my deep love.
Because everyone who touched her at the uke jam wanted to know pricing, here it is: $400 for a basic soprano, $450 for a basic concert (Brad calls mine a basic concert model...awfully spiffy for a basic model, eh?). Koa will be $50-100 more depending on the amount of figure. The model name is "Amy". (Eee!)
I love everything about this uke and feel really honored (and excited) to have the first one Brad built! I just wanted to share my excitement with y'all.
( http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15164 )
And now it's a real ukulele, built by Brad Donaldson of Oregon, a most talented luthier.
The rest of the pics are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amyknitty/sets/72157622031541872/
The key feature is, of course, the concave back. It's designed to be more comfortable to hold and less slippy for female players, but in passing it around at my uke jam this past Wednesday, every single person, male or female, said they found it extremely comfortable to hold -- moreso than their own ukes. (I'm not exaggerating. I was surprised to hear this from the guys too!) The concave back also seemed to help the sound resonate front AND back -- especially with the male players, since the back of the uke wasn't compressed against their chest.
Because Brad was building this uke just for me, he also adjusted the fretboard width/scale to suit my small hands. The nut is the same width as my sopranino, and the scale is 14" (more soprano than concert). The body is concert-sized.
Video is here ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vmi4pr2BM-k ) -- that's a good friend playing her for me, so you could hear what she sounds like in the hands of a skilled player. I don't do her justice yet, despite my deep love.
Because everyone who touched her at the uke jam wanted to know pricing, here it is: $400 for a basic soprano, $450 for a basic concert (Brad calls mine a basic concert model...awfully spiffy for a basic model, eh?). Koa will be $50-100 more depending on the amount of figure. The model name is "Amy". (Eee!)
I love everything about this uke and feel really honored (and excited) to have the first one Brad built! I just wanted to share my excitement with y'all.
