Moore Bettah Ukuleles
Well-known member
One of Dave G's recent posts reminds me of how many ukulele/guitar builders started off by building dulcimers.
I built my first stringed instrument (I still don't know what it was) when I was about 9 or 10 years old from a dresser drawer, a stick for the neck, nails for frets, fishing line and bolts for tuners. No plans, no sound, no nuthin'!
Ten years later I built a dulcimer from a kit. It was a real nice instrument. I still have it. (Too cute; rainbows and clouds in the sound holes. Well, it WAS the 60s.)
Ten years later I built the first of a few dozen ukes out of coconuts (still afraid to built that body!) Spruce tops glued on to single, double and triple coconuts. Hand carved ivory friction tuners! I only know of one that is still around, hopefully the rest have found their way to the land fill.
Then came the Kamaka-in-a-box, a real basket case I was challenged to repair and my first look into a "real" ukulele. I think I re-glued it using fiber glass cloth. When I was finished it sounded like the drawer instrument I built when I was ten.
This was in during the pre-Internet days so when I got my first Stew Mac catalog in the mail my world was rocked! You can learn a lot about building by studying a good catalog.
It's fun to think about those early days. So, what got you guys started?
I built my first stringed instrument (I still don't know what it was) when I was about 9 or 10 years old from a dresser drawer, a stick for the neck, nails for frets, fishing line and bolts for tuners. No plans, no sound, no nuthin'!
Ten years later I built a dulcimer from a kit. It was a real nice instrument. I still have it. (Too cute; rainbows and clouds in the sound holes. Well, it WAS the 60s.)
Ten years later I built the first of a few dozen ukes out of coconuts (still afraid to built that body!) Spruce tops glued on to single, double and triple coconuts. Hand carved ivory friction tuners! I only know of one that is still around, hopefully the rest have found their way to the land fill.
Then came the Kamaka-in-a-box, a real basket case I was challenged to repair and my first look into a "real" ukulele. I think I re-glued it using fiber glass cloth. When I was finished it sounded like the drawer instrument I built when I was ten.
This was in during the pre-Internet days so when I got my first Stew Mac catalog in the mail my world was rocked! You can learn a lot about building by studying a good catalog.
It's fun to think about those early days. So, what got you guys started?