custom uke makers that you recommend?

NukeDOC

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so ive got this wild hair up my butt again. im in NEED of a totally custom uke for myself. something that just screams "THIS IS MY UKULELE". my kala project was great. and i love that uke. but its still not "mine". and anyone can get a similar kala or lanikai and do the same thing that i did with a little bit of elbow grease, some technical know-how (good with your hands), and an incredible amount of patience.

but now i want my own. i realize this is going to be an expensive journey. but in the long run, i think its going to be worth it.

so yous guys wid da custom ukes out there... where did you get em? and how much did it cost you (major factor - poor is me)? and how satisfied are you with their work?
 
so ive got this wild hair up my butt again. im in NEED of a totally custom uke for myself. something that just screams "THIS IS MY UKULELE". my kala project was great. and i love that uke. but its still not "mine". and anyone can get a similar kala or lanikai and do the same thing that i did with a little bit of elbow grease, some technical know-how (good with your hands), and an incredible amount of patience.

but now i want my own. i realize this is going to be an expensive journey. but in the long run, i think its going to be worth it.

so yous guys wid da custom ukes out there... where did you get em? and how much did it cost you (major factor - poor is me)? and how satisfied are you with their work?
Nuke, I'm looking forward to this thread...cause I would like one too! Thanks for posting it...e....
 
well ive kinda narrowed it down to three:

da silva here in cali
kanile'a
g string

i am leaning more toward g string at the moment... but i still havent gotten a hard quote for the specs that i requested.

does anyone here... anyone... have any say about any of these companies??

im sure any of these companies will make a uke that sounds great. but im worried about:
1. customer service
2. workmanship (attention to detail)
3. price
4. pride in their product
 
Just to let you know, G-strings have a very bright and in my opinion almost "dead" sound. I was originally leaning towards the G-string when I bought my first quality 'ukulele, but I decided on a Kamaka instead and I’m very glad I did. Be sure you try a few different brands before you buy – just to get an idea of how companies build the ‘ukuleles and how they sound. Give Koaloha a shot as well; I heard from David Kamakahi that they do customs.

Thought I would throw that out there…
 
thanks. i dont mind having more to choose from at the moment.

according to the kamaka site, they arent currently taking orders for custom ukes.

ive been intrigued with the koaloha ukes, but im not sure how the crowned headstock would look slotted (classical style)

there was one luthier on the east coast that looked like he had some quality work. but as of the time of his latest pricing guide, his earliest start date for a custom uke is scheduled for mid 2010.

man these quotes that im getting... im basically looking at about $2500 to get the uke that i want made the way i want it.

need to go donate blood now. maybe a kidney while im at it.
 
If you can swing a Dasilva uke.. thats what I'd go for.
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I have one from Dennis Lake (Pomahina Jazz cutaway) http://www.konaweb.com/mahina/ .. that took around 14 months for delivery.

one from William King, http://www.chantus.com/notes/ , took about 6 months.

a Glyph, http://www.glyphukulele.com/.. it took about 2 yrs exactly.. now his waitlist is 3+ yrs. (I think this is the one you mentioned nuke, mid-2010 build date.. delivery date closer to 2011 :eek: )

another one from King due anyday now, been 7 months and counting..

I got an email a couple of weeks ago from Dave Talsma http://www.davetalsma.com/index.htm , he is gathering up his build list, so nows maybe a good time to contact him? if you're interested..

I'm very satisfied with those builders and the ukes they built for me. Someday I'll have a Dasilva.. someday I'll have a Talsma, and someday (maybe sooner..) I'll have a DOMINATOR Uke too.. yes, I'm sick, and have uke sickness, I need help. I'm not in denial, I have a problem.
 
Holy crap JTY, looks like you've got ukes from all the best luthiers out there. If you could only have one, which one would you keep??? I've got a King tenor and a Glyph mezzo-soprano on order and I'm getting pretty excited about the King. (I try to forget about the Glyph because it's so for away - 2010)
 
well ive kinda narrowed it down to three:

da silva here in cali
kanile'a
g string

i am leaning more toward g string at the moment... but i still havent gotten a hard quote for the specs that i requested.

does anyone here... anyone... have any say about any of these companies??

im sure any of these companies will make a uke that sounds great. but im worried about:
1. customer service
2. workmanship (attention to detail)
3. price
4. pride in their product
Nuke, here is an earlier blog that I did back a few months ago about my gstring uke...

I play a G-String Tenor Uke (high g). I recieved it as a surprise B-day present in August. The overall construction is very well made. However, there were (are) a few problems with this uke. 1. Although it is brand-new there are some dead spots on the neck. 2. More distrubing was the intonation for what is suppose to be a "professional" grade instrument. It was flat as you moved up the neck on all strings. This was not a "get a new set of strings" fix or issue. The bridge (from the factory) was not placed in it's correct and exact position on the body. To correct and compensate for this problem I had to re-set the saddle 1/8" closer to the neck. This involved re-routing a new slot (for the saddle) and filling the old slot with a slice of rosewood. Not fun, but it solved the intonation problems. Also, the factory installed pickup was not balanced volume wise from string to string. I had to correct this also. The steps I had to take to correct this $900 Gstring is unexceptable. In the future, my uke's will be played first before any purchase is made. I believe my next uke will be a custom or stock Kamaka tenor. Anyone having any intonation problems with Kamaka's?? Thanks, Ernie..
 
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Nuke, here is an earlier blog that I did back a few months ago about my gstring uke...

I play a G-String Tenor Uke (high g). I recieved it as a surprise B-day present in August. The overall construction is very well made. However, there were (are) a few problems with this uke. 1. Although it is brand-new there are some dead spots on the neck. 2. More distrubing was the intonation for what is suppose to be a "professional" grade instrument. It was flat as you moved up the neck on all strings. This was not a "get a new set of strings" fix or issue. The bridge (from the factory) was not placed in it's correct and exact position on the body. To correct and compensate for this problem I had to re-set the saddle 1/8" closer to the neck. This involved re-routing a new slot (for the saddle) and filling the old slot with a slice of rosewood. Not fun, but it solved the intonation problems. Also, the factory installed pickup was not balanced volume wise from string to string. I had to correct this also. The steps I had to take to correct this $900 Gstring is unexceptable. In the future, my uke's will be played first before any purchase is made. I believe my next uke will be a custom or stock Kamaka tenor. Anyone having any intonation problems with Kamaka's?? Thanks, Ernie..

wow :eek: good to know. i dont know if you realize how much your opinion matters to me at this point.

are there any others out there with experience with the glyph ukes (yeah JTY thats the one i was talking about) or da silva ukes? after going through this thread again, im now leaning toward those two luthiers. man this is a hard process. :(
 
How about these custom ukes by Chuck Moore..

http://moorebettahukes.com/FORSALE.html

They look very nice, but I don't know about the sound. Does anyone have any info on this?

wow, those are some beautiful looking ukes.

unfortunately, my main goal for this uke is not about looks. and though im sure his sound great, before i consider him, i would like to see what kind of reviews there are on his work.
 
Holy crap JTY, looks like you've got ukes from all the best luthiers out there. If you could only have one, which one would you keep??? I've got a King tenor and a Glyph mezzo-soprano on order and I'm getting pretty excited about the King. (I try to forget about the Glyph because it's so for away - 2010)
GX9901, ah thats a loaded question but honestly, I do spend more time with the Glyph long-scale mezzo.. The King Tenor http://www.chantus.com/notes/index.php?/archives/479-A-tenor-ukulele-in-koa-and-cypress.html is actually my son's. The new King is going to be a LS concert, Rosewood/Spruce top, slotted headstock, etc. I'm turning on more to the concert/soprano lately. Good choice on the mezzo.. you'll like it. If I may ask, what do you have planned for the King Tenor? Koa, LS ? William does such fine work and not hesitate to recommend him to anyone looking for a custom. My son's tenor is just a work of art and sounds very crisp, responsive, tonal, lightweight. for lack of a better description. Heres a clip of him playing it.. (sorry for the poor Q vid.:eek:) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HctthPxvQZE
 
GX9901, ah thats a loaded question but honestly, I do spend more time with the Glyph long-scale mezzo.. The King Tenor http://www.chantus.com/notes/index.php?/archives/479-A-tenor-ukulele-in-koa-and-cypress.html is actually my son's. The new King is going to be a LS concert, Rosewood/Spruce top, slotted headstock, etc. I'm turning on more to the concert/soprano lately. Good choice on the mezzo.. you'll like it. If I may ask, what do you have planned for the King Tenor? Koa, LS ? William does such fine work and not hesitate to recommend him to anyone looking for a custom. My son's tenor is just a work of art and sounds very crisp, responsive, tonal, lightweight. for lack of a better description. Heres a clip of him playing it.. (sorry for the poor Q vid.:eek:) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HctthPxvQZE

when i saw that video, i didnt realize that was your son. he's good! may i ask how much you ended up paying for one of the glyph ukes?
 
Heres a clip of him playing it.. (sorry for the poor Q vid.:eek:) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HctthPxvQZE

Wow Joel, I have to say that I think your son is more than good. I think he is Great!. It is so amazing how far these kids are coming theses days. They are learning so fast. It's pretty incredible the amount of impact one single ukulele player named Jake Shimabukuro has had on teens as well as adults all around the world.

It's pretty obvious your son is feeling the music. He's not just going through the motions of memorizing some tablature and I would guess he didn't need tabluature to put his arrangement together. I look forward to more videos of higher visual quality in the future. Thanks for sharing this one with us.
 
GX9901, ah thats a loaded question but honestly, I do spend more time with the Glyph long-scale mezzo.. The King Tenor http://www.chantus.com/notes/index.php?/archives/479-A-tenor-ukulele-in-koa-and-cypress.html is actually my son's. The new King is going to be a LS concert, Rosewood/Spruce top, slotted headstock, etc. I'm turning on more to the concert/soprano lately. Good choice on the mezzo.. you'll like it. If I may ask, what do you have planned for the King Tenor? Koa, LS ? William does such fine work and not hesitate to recommend him to anyone looking for a custom. My son's tenor is just a work of art and sounds very crisp, responsive, tonal, lightweight. for lack of a better description. Heres a clip of him playing it.. (sorry for the poor Q vid.:eek:) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HctthPxvQZE

Thanks for the feedback. My plan for the King uke is a LS tenor with spruce top and koa side/back and Mi-Si acoustic-trio pickup. I'll probably broadcast it at the various forums once I get it out of sheer excitment. LOL!

By the way, your son is great! You should take more videos of him (and yourself) playing ukes with better video quality. That way we could see great players playing great ukes! It would be such a treat!
 
I am a tenor player and towards the custom end I have an all koa KoaWorks, a Talsma koa with spruce top, an all mahogany Dominator (12th fret joint). All are wonderful. My experience is that you pretty much can not go wrong with an uke by one of the leading makers--the aforementioned as well as King, Means, Potts, Shimizu, Kitakis, Moore, etc. etc....they all are freakin' amazing builders. If you are looking for good sources for customs, MusicGuyMic and Shawn Yacavone have wonderful selections.
 
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Thanks guys, I passed on the good words to my son.. he's not really into the forums as of yet, but he figured out that Let's Dance by analyzing one of Jakes youtube vids over and over. I agree Dom, the positive influence Jake shows, and the impact of his music is unreal.. Dom, my son was floored to get props from you... stunned more like it, he has learned ALOT thru your tabs and tips, so that means alot to him (and me) coming from you.

Nuke, total came out to around 1200 .. as I was locked in his earlier 2005 pricing structure at the time I sent my initial deposit. BTW, theres a new Glyph LS Tenor right now for sale by a guy named Neal. This one ain't gonna last very long before someone snaps it up..! and what he is asking for it is a steal.. PERIOD!
http://www.fleamarketmusic.com/marketplace/default.asp ..its near the top of the page.

GX, that sounds great! LS tenor.. lots of room on the fretboard. Yeah, its so hard to stay self contained when a new uke shows up lol. I'll be sure to post up vids ..better quality ones, not cellphone cam blurry vids. :eek:
 
Thanks guys, I passed on the good words to my son.. he's not really into the forums as of yet, but he figured out that Let's Dance by analyzing one of Jakes youtube vids over and over. I agree Dom, the positive influence Jake shows, and the impact of his music is unreal.. Dom, my son was floored to get props from you... stunned more like it, he has learned ALOT thru your tabs and tips, so that means alot to him (and me) coming from you.

Nuke, total came out to around 1200 .. as I was locked in his earlier 2005 pricing structure at the time I sent my initial deposit. BTW, theres a new Glyph LS Tenor right now for sale by a guy named Neal. This one ain't gonna last very long before someone snaps it up..! and what he is asking for it is a steal.. PERIOD!
http://www.fleamarketmusic.com/marketplace/default.asp ..its near the top of the page.

GX, that sounds great! LS tenor.. lots of room on the fretboard. Yeah, its so hard to stay self contained when a new uke shows up lol. I'll be sure to post up vids ..better quality ones, not cellphone cam blurry vids. :eek:

you were right its gone already haha.
 
That long scale mahogany Glyph was a lovely thing--I got to caress it last week for several hours when Neal came over. One little warning about 18" scale: if you are into Jake or James Hill style music, some of the long five or even seven fret stretches on chords can be even more challenging than normal.
 
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