No 4 - Milo Spruce Grande Soprano

mketom

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
301
Reaction score
0
Location
st augustine fl
I was inspired by Gerard Guasch's recent mezzo soprano to build something a little bigger than my previous 3 sopranos. (I am working my way up to a tenor slowly...)

http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?62436-Latest-Mezzo-Soprano&highlight=mezzo. (Merci, Gerard for sharing your building plan!)

So this is what I am calling a Grande soprano. Mezzo-sized body with a concert scale neck. This milo is some "practice" wood given to me by Brett aka 'Tonewood' when I bought some wood from him recently. It is beautiful stuff!!! I can see why it was reserved for the Ali'i in Hawaii's past. The spruce top is Adirondack Red, fretboard, top binding and bridge are ebony, neck is spanish cedar, headstock is a milo scrap.

It sounds beautiful! Loud and bright compared to my previous builds. I made this for a friend but I can hardly bring myself to give it away now...
No4a.jpgNo4c.jpgNo4d.jpgNo4f.jpgNo4b.jpg
 
Last edited:
So pretty! Congratulations! Your friend is very lucky.
 
I think milo smells and sounds great. You need to avoid breathing the dust as it's an iritant but it left my basement smelling what could be described as "spicy" for a few minutes.

I'll let you ask Mr Google about AR spruce. It's making a comeback as a tonewood. ARS is what made old guitars from the 50's sound good. I got this top from a guy on eBay selling a fellow luthiers estate. It was cut in Virginia and marked in 10/89 so it is well aged and when tapped the 1/4" pieces sound like a glass plate.

Here's a look at my first rope rosette. (no Photoshopping, honest) The join at the top looked good so I truncated the fretboard where I was going to use a 'martin' tail to cover the seam if needed.
roperosette.jpg
 
Last edited:
Wow, mketom, this is such a great work.
Love all the details. Any chance that you can post a sound sample?
 
Very pretty...any chance at sound samples?
 
Milo is a wonderful looking and sounding tone wood. I played a Milo/koa combination on a tenor once that sounded quite wonderful. Based on your pics, I'm bookmarking your site. :)
 
Top Bottom