Help with plan and wood suggestions.

JMendel · Apr 21, 2010

I've been building octave mandolins ( http://jmendelfrets.com/ ) & open back banjos (and various other instruments) for a while now, and have received and order for a concert uke from a customer. I've built a few soprano ukes for fun, but this is a real order and I want to build the best uke I can. The customer is giving me a pretty free hand in the design & choice of woods, we don't want to be way out in left field, but aren't totally tied to tradition, either. I would appreciate any suggestions that any of you might have in regard to the choices of wood for the top, back & sides and some combinations that have had good results and some good plans to check out before I get started. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Joe

thistle3585 · Apr 21, 2010

Joe,
My wife has two concerts built by the same builder, David Gill, using the same specs. One is curly rosewood top and back with walnut sides and one is mahogany back and sides with a red spruce top. Both have mahogany necks. The spruce top is a bit warmer in tone than the rosewood, and I would describe the rosewood as being a bit crisper with more sustain and volume. I attribute the tonal difference to the difference in the top wood then I do the back and sides. The luthier also built an all mahogany concert and I can't tell any difference between the rosewood and mahogany instruments. I am currently building one that is all curly redwood with a mahogany neck, so it will be interesting to see the outcome.

By the way, your use of the H brace on your OM convinced me to try it too and all I can say is WOW. I don't think I'll ever use an X brace again.

Andrew

JMendel · Apr 21, 2010

Andrew,
Thanks for the info. Interesting that the rosewood and mahogany ones sound so similar. I'm debating on whether to use a softwood or hardwood for the top. I agree the top wood lends more to the sound than the back & sides, I tend to think of the back & sides as the seasoning and the top as the steak. I have quite a bit of mahogany on hand, but was thinking about black walnut for the b & s, too. Or maybe granadillo, which I like a lot.
I still use an X-brace in my octaves, but may try the H sometime soon. The H went into a mandocello, at the suggestion of Graham MacDonald. It does seem like a very good bracing system, especially when there is a lot of string tension to deal with.
Joe

Bradford · Apr 21, 2010

Joe, I would strongly recommend that you use woods that that you have used before and are familiar with. Because you don't have a lot of experience building ukes, throwing in unfamiliar woods is not a good recipe for success. Koa, for instance, is a wonderful wood for ukes, but is so variable from piece to piece, that it takes a lot of experience with it to use it well. I think a spruce top, bearclaw is nice, with mahogany, maple, or myrtle sides and back are good combinations to consider.

Brad

JMendel · Apr 22, 2010

Thanks Brad, I am thinking along the same lines, go with what I know. It will probably be adi or sitka for the top, and black walnut or granadillo for the back & sides. Maybe I'll make one of each and let Joe (the customer) chose which he likes better.
Joe

Moore Bettah Ukuleles · Apr 22, 2010

Exactly what I was thinking Joe. If you're not familiar with a particular model, build a couple of them and let the customer decide.
Personally, I've worked with koa for so long I am very reluctant to build with anything else. You develop a "sense" for the woods you are most familiar with. I'd trust trust that. Just remember with a concert uke you've only got about 30 pounds or so of string pull. Not much compared to the mandos you're used to building.
Good luck

Janko · Apr 22, 2010

JMendel said:
. I would appreciate any suggestions that any of you might have in regard to the choices of wood for the top, back & sides and some combinations that have had good results and some good plans to check out before I get started. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Joe

I would suggest you first watch this video of Pete showing one of his beautiful Ukes. He tells you everything about it, wood type and all. It sounds awesome. It can give you a good idea. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3hV...72C667B8A&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1

Moore Bettah Ukuleles · Apr 22, 2010

Janko said:
I would suggest you first watch this video of Pete showing one of his beautiful Ukes. He tells you everything about it, wood type and all. It sounds awesome. It can give you a good idea. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3hV...72C667B8A&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1

Wow, Pete's gotten younger and a lot more handsome!

Janko · Apr 22, 2010

Moore Bettah Ukuleles said:
Wow, Pete's gotten younger and a lot more handsome!

Sorry!
I would suggest you first watch this video of Dominator showing one of his beautiful Ukes. He tells you everything about it, wood type and all. It sounds awesome. It can give you a good idea. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3hVk...x=0&playnext=1

So who's Pete? and if it isn't Pete why did I call him Pete? and if it isn't Pete then who is it?

JMendel · Apr 24, 2010

Great video. I have decided to go with what I'm familiar with. I am considering building two with black walnut back & sides, one with an adi top and one with sitka, and the same with granadillo back & sides. I'll keep you posted on how it's going. The necks will all be maple with a mahogany center stripe, because I have a lot of it, & it seems to work very well. Thanks for the advice.
Joe

JMendel · Jul 1, 2010

I've decided to go with sitka tops & two granadillo back & sides & two with mahogany back & sides. Here are some pictures of the progress. I may go with all mahogany necks, though.
All of your help is greatly appreciated.

JMendel · Jul 4, 2010

The pores are filled, almost ready to start spraying the finish.

JMendel · Jul 18, 2010

I got them set up today. They are sounding good after a little time under tension. Thanks for the advice.
Here are the tenors.

JMendel · Jul 18, 2010

And here are the concerts.

Vic D · Jul 19, 2010

Janko "I would suggest you first watch this video of Pete showing one of his beautiful Ukes. He tells you everything about it, wood type and all. It sounds awesome. It can give you a good idea."

Just watched the vid... love that tone. Wonderful. But when I click on your second link I get the error "The URL contained a malformed video ID. "

Dominator... you rock.

Vic D · Jul 19, 2010

Jmendal. I thought about that type of heal for my ukes but I'm fraid to cuz I dunno what effects it would have on volume/sustain/. The current uke I'm finishing I actually went the other way and made the heal as slim as I dared to. I like the look of the heal, it's what I had in mind not only for aesthetics but for like joint integrity. How do they sound, sustain volume all around?

JMendel · Jul 20, 2010

I'm pleased with the sound, the mahogany ones have a bright & punchy sound, the granadillo ones are a little darker sounding. The volume is pretty good, though I will try to lighten things up just a little more on the next ones to try to get a bit more out of them. I didn't get to spend much time playing them, I shipped them today, so I can't give a super detailed account of them. They do play very well. I modified the headstock shape from my octave mandolins down to uke size & like the look, and the strings pull through the nut pretty straight, so it is a functional design. I used a bolt & threaded insert to attach the neck, that's the biggest reason for the heel shape, besides that, it's a shape that appeals to me.

JMendel · Jul 22, 2010

The mahogany tenor was played onstage tonight at, of all places, Camp Bluegrass in Levelland, TX, by Beth Mead. I haven't heard how it went yet, but I thought that was kind of cool.

Help with plan and wood suggestions.

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