Little Plink
Active member
Hey people.
So, I've been contemplating a new uke. I have a very cheap soprano, but I'm one of those people who plays one instrument so much, and gets so well acquainted with it, I can coax a fairly decent sound out of any instrument, given enough time, and I've gotten very good with this one in the short year I've been playing, even though it's a piece of junk. Now, I want a custom tenor. I was going to buy a $500-ish production, all-koa tenor a few months ago, but instead went with a guitar that I'd been lusting for for a long while. Now, I'm getting really interested in tonewoods, and feel like I want to experiment with what a ukulele would sound like with woods other than trad. koa and Mahog. For a builder, I'm thinking Mike Pereira. I've heard fantastic things about him as a luthier and as a salesman, and it seems that for the work he does he has VERY reasonable prices.
Specs aren't the important thing, so I'll just have a brief overview of what I'm thinking about right now;
-Spruce Top
-Flamed Maple B/S
-K&K Onboard Pickup/Preamp
-Maple neck
-Cocobolo fingerboard (y?/n?)
-slotted headstock with cocobolo veneer.
-Koa binding (You know I had to have SOME on there.)
-Zebrawood rosette
-Cutaway (This is actually important to me, because I play in upper frets so much, so does anyone know if Mike will do this?)
-Cocobolo or zebrawood "Pick guard" (I hate the way spruce looks, and this is just a great way to spruce spruce up. Will Mike do this?)
My real purpose in making this post is to let all of you convince me not to buy this atrocity instead;
http://lanikaiukes.com/laniblog/ukuleles/exotic-series/szw-tca-tenor-size-ae-ukulele/
It's cheap and pretty and has a pickup and a cutaway and a slotted headstock and solid wood and I WANT IT. But I know it would never in a billion years match the quality of sound a custom has...
Still... If I get a custom, it'll be quite a while until I have the cash to order... This, I have the money for now?
Soooo... What do I do?
So, I've been contemplating a new uke. I have a very cheap soprano, but I'm one of those people who plays one instrument so much, and gets so well acquainted with it, I can coax a fairly decent sound out of any instrument, given enough time, and I've gotten very good with this one in the short year I've been playing, even though it's a piece of junk. Now, I want a custom tenor. I was going to buy a $500-ish production, all-koa tenor a few months ago, but instead went with a guitar that I'd been lusting for for a long while. Now, I'm getting really interested in tonewoods, and feel like I want to experiment with what a ukulele would sound like with woods other than trad. koa and Mahog. For a builder, I'm thinking Mike Pereira. I've heard fantastic things about him as a luthier and as a salesman, and it seems that for the work he does he has VERY reasonable prices.
Specs aren't the important thing, so I'll just have a brief overview of what I'm thinking about right now;
-Spruce Top
-Flamed Maple B/S
-K&K Onboard Pickup/Preamp
-Maple neck
-Cocobolo fingerboard (y?/n?)
-slotted headstock with cocobolo veneer.
-Koa binding (You know I had to have SOME on there.)
-Zebrawood rosette
-Cutaway (This is actually important to me, because I play in upper frets so much, so does anyone know if Mike will do this?)
-Cocobolo or zebrawood "Pick guard" (I hate the way spruce looks, and this is just a great way to spruce spruce up. Will Mike do this?)
My real purpose in making this post is to let all of you convince me not to buy this atrocity instead;
http://lanikaiukes.com/laniblog/ukuleles/exotic-series/szw-tca-tenor-size-ae-ukulele/
It's cheap and pretty and has a pickup and a cutaway and a slotted headstock and solid wood and I WANT IT. But I know it would never in a billion years match the quality of sound a custom has...
Still... If I get a custom, it'll be quite a while until I have the cash to order... This, I have the money for now?
Soooo... What do I do?