australian Luthiers/uke builders

keithy351

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hey does anyone know any good ukulele builders in australia, ive seen a few, most wont touch any other wood other then australian timber which in my opion is ok if its a guitar but not a ukulele
 
Scott Wise is probably the best, he works with blackwood which exactly like koa. His ukes are among the lightest and most responsive I have heard. And they look fabulous. He has a website and he is in WA.
cheers fergs
 
scott wise is about 45 mintues from where i live, this i gotta check out thanks
 
Hey Pippin, unfortunately, Maton does not currently make any ukuleles and does not intend to do so in the future; they can barely keep up with demand for their guitars at the moment.

There was a luthier's conference in WA a few months ago (Playmakers as part of the Perth Festival) and I would keep an eye out for another one of those as many ukulele builders showed off their ukes there. There are quite a few builders in Australia and many use whatever wood you like. Many Australians simply like to get a uke built by an Australian with Australian timbers.

Don't discount Australian timbers; we have some beautiful wood here!
 
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Scott Wise makes superb ukes.

I have a Scott Wise concert and I absolutely love it! If you want to get some idea what they sound like, do a youtube search on 'Scott Wise ukulele' and you will find a couple of videos I have posted playing mine.

Another Australian luthier who makes great ukes is Jim Williams.
 
I highly recommend Allen McFarlen http://www.brguitars.com/ in Cairns. His ukes are just wonderful.

I don't personally know Allen, but he is an active member and contributor to the UU community. Check him out in the Luthiers Lounge, he is a very knowledgeable builder and seems to be an all-around good guy.
 
I highly recommend Allen McFarlen http://www.brguitars.com/ in Cairns. His ukes are just wonderful.
:agree: Seen some great looking ukes from Allen. Has a good rep overall and participates here a lot. Gotta give him extra credit for that IMHO . Scott and Jim Williams also seem to have a good reputation however I haven't
Heard their instruments yet. Will do the you tube thing I guess :)
 
Well, one of the best luthiers I have seen is Isaac Ware.

Isaac has restored both my Gretch ukes and has done all my maintance over a number of years.

You can see some of his work on his facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Isaac-Ware-Lutherie/166963453909

I have seen two tenors that he has made and they are yummy!
 
maton

Maton is now manufacturing ukuleles. Music City Cairns is getting the first batch and is eagerly awaiting them. I will post once they come in.
 
To the comment about local timber not being good for ukes, Seems like Blackwood would be an awesome for back and sides. I assume spruce is available for a top wood. I'm a Koa a bigot so if that is what you are after, that I understand ;)
 
As I've been mentioned in this thread by others I'll chime in. Thanks Rick, Jake and Tack.

I build in a variety of woods. Some Australian, some not. I've got a very large inventory on hand. Most of my work now are custom builds where you get the choice. If I don't have it in stock, then it's usually not that difficult to source if you know who to ask.
 
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