What Happened to Da Silva Ukulele?

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fountainpenkid

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Hi everyone!

I have not been on here for a while.....school gets in the way.

Anyway, I checked Mike DaSilva's website recently, and his last update was that he was in Hawaii. His website has had nothing new on it (that I can see) for months. Is he just taking a while to get settled in? Is there a new website?

Sorry if this has already been covered--just link me to the topic in which it was I guess......


Thanks!

Will
 
He's still in Berkeley, just saw him Saturday at the Actual Cafe in Oakland. I don't know the whole story of what happened with the Hawaii move.
 
He had said on his Facebook page that he was going to be updating his website after NAMM, but that was a while ago. He has teamed up with Takumi last I heard, and changed his logo.

I sent him a few e-mails over the past few months, but haven't had any replies.

I think Mike lives life at his own pace. I just hope all is well with him. I had the privilege of meeting him in person when I was in California last summer, and he is really a very kind person, and incredibly knowledgeable. It was really one of the high points of my uke-ing life. I learned so much in just a few hours.
 
Curious to know if anybody has advice on the best way to get in touch with Mike... I've sent a couple emails that seem to be going unanswered and I don't want to make a pest of myself, but I do want to find out if he's even an option for my longneck soprano.
 
I know that Mike had to cancel out of doing a uke building workshop at Elaine De Mann's Asilomar uke retreat. I was not able to jump in...too last minute and I'll be on the East Coast. I hope Mike's OK...he's a really good builder.
 
janeray1940 said:
Curious to know if anybody has advice on the best way to get in touch with Mike... I've sent a couple emails that seem to be going unanswered and I don't want to make a pest of myself, but I do want to find out if he's even an option for my longneck soprano.
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It sounds like something may have come up for Mike and he could be busy. However, the Berkeley Ukulele Club is still meeting at his studio. I'll see if I can ask anyone I know at the BUC to speak to Mike, if he's there, on your behalf. In the meantime, have you tried calling?
 
mds725 said:
It sounds like something may have come up for Mike and he could be busy. However, the Berkeley Ukulele Club is still meeting at his studio. I'll see if I can ask anyone I know at the BUC to speak to Mike, if he's there, on your behalf. In the meantime, have you tried calling?
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Not yet - I'm a bit... telephonically-challenged, but I'll give that a try before giving up. I'd really like to get his opinion about a 17-fret soprano scale length instrument before committing to the super soprano I'm discussing elsewhere - I know he builds his Martin replicas with 17 frets.
 
He was very unresponsive to my emails and calls when I wanted to commission a uke from him last year. I was going to have him put in a pick-up on another uke as well but due to the unresponsiveness, I found another incredible luthier who was more than happy to do the work on my uke and install the pickup. Don't take it personal, it's clearly not as many of us have experienced what you have.
 
did he have some secret hoard of money? ;) it just doesn't make sense how someone could dissapear for 6-7 months and still live in their house....especially if you are a uke maker..
 
fountainpenkid said:
did he have some secret hoard of money? ;) it just doesn't make sense how someone could dissapear for 6-7 months and still live in their house....especially if you are a uke maker..
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In Berkeley, CA, no less :)

I'm going to attempt phone contact later today... will report back if I succeed.

And yes, we all *could* see out another luthier... but I can't seem to find one who does what I would like (Martin copy). If anyone has any suggestions for someone who does EXACTLY that, please speak up. Thanks!
 
Hi Jane.

You might want to call Hitomi at Takumi. She may know what the best way to contact him would be. She was very helpful in helping me locate a LoPrinzi baritone when I was looking for one.
 
janeray1940 said:
but I can't seem to find one who does what I would like (Martin copy). If anyone has any suggestions for someone who does EXACTLY that, please speak up. Thanks!
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He's not accepting orders right now, but Tim Laughlin specializes in replicas of Martin ukuleles from the 1920s. He's the builder I would recommend. If you're not in a hurry, he would be worth contacting.
 
Tommy B said:
He's not accepting orders right now, but Tim Laughlin specializes in replicas of Martin ukuleles from the 1920s. He's the builder I would recommend. If you're not in a hurry, he would be worth contacting.
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Hey thanks, will look into this. I'm definitely willing to wait as long as it takes to get what I want, since what I want does not seem to exist :)
 
janeray1940 said:
In Berkeley, CA, no less :)

I'm going to attempt phone contact later today... will report back if I succeed.

And yes, we all *could* see out another luthier... but I can't seem to find one who does what I would like (Martin copy). If anyone has any suggestions for someone who does EXACTLY that, please speak up. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Ken Timms - you'll find him in the lounge.
 
It was his birthday... yesterday? Or the day before. He Facebooks a bit. I think that would be a better way to get in touch than e-mailing. I have had some contact with him on FB. Though there are still some questions floating out in the ether with no responses.
 
I just received my second Ken Timms uke (let the 1st one go, silly of me!). I dont think he does style 3's though, only 0,1 and 2's. I personally dont like extended frets on soprano but sounds like what you are looking for. As for the uke? Its great, I may even say the best soprano I have ever had and I have quite a few. Ill be doing a new Youtube video with it tomorrow so ill send you the link.
 
pulelehua said:
It was his birthday... yesterday? Or the day before. He Facebooks a bit. I think that would be a better way to get in touch than e-mailing. I have had some contact with him on FB. Though there are still some questions floating out in the ether with no responses.
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I've tried that too, several times. No reply. I don't want to scare him off so I'm trying not to be too persistent - I'd just like to find out if he's even an option before I start taking up the time of other luthiers.
 
Mopey said:
I just received my second Ken Timms uke (let the 1st one go, silly of me!). I dont think he does style 3's though, only 0,1 and 2's. I personally dont like extended frets on soprano but sounds like what you are looking for. As for the uke? Its great, I may even say the best soprano I have ever had and I have quite a few. Ill be doing a new Youtube video with it tomorrow so ill send you the link.
Click to expand...

The extended frets bit is critical here - otherwise I'd just stick with my HP-1. I play a lot of classical and there are a few songs I'd like to learn that need a couple more notes than the 16 frets (14 that I really consider playable) that my HP-1 offers.

I looked up Ken's ukes on YouTube and listened to a couple. They do look and sound great!
 
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