"Flabbergasted" doesn't begin to describe how I feel. Since taking up the ukulele a couple of years ago after a lapse of 40-plus years, I have regretted that we have been unable to find my mother's ukulele, which I recall clearly as a koa soprano that she got in the early 1950's. When I rolled in from work this afternoon, my wife handed me a Manuel Nunes soprano that she found in an upstairs closet. Neither of us remember how it got there but I recognize it as my grandmother's. She was from a kamaʻaina haole family and was living in Honolulu after the end of Nunes' career as a ukulele builder in the years after the First World War so I assume that she acquired it then. It is complete except for the pegs. The label reads:
It is in pretty good shape and looks as if it could be successfully strung up if the pegs were there. A couple of the brass frets must be reseated and there is a crack on the back that should be repaired.
I would like to figure out the best course of action to evaluate its condition and restore/preserve it properly. Any thoughts from the cognoscenti?
Manuel Nunes
Guitar Maker
and repairer
Bethel St., bet. Hotel & King Honolulu, T.H.
Guitar Maker
and repairer
Bethel St., bet. Hotel & King Honolulu, T.H.
It is in pretty good shape and looks as if it could be successfully strung up if the pegs were there. A couple of the brass frets must be reseated and there is a crack on the back that should be repaired.
I would like to figure out the best course of action to evaluate its condition and restore/preserve it properly. Any thoughts from the cognoscenti?
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