Uke builders...do you ever build for yourselves ?

And if so, any chance of some pictures/specs of the instruments you've built and kept for your personal collection ?

Apologies if this question has been asked before, but I haven't seen another post asking this question.

Oh yeah, another question:

If the answer to the above is "yes", an insight into how, why and out of what you chose to build your Uke/Guitar/Kazoo/whatever would be interesting.

If the answer is "no", your wishlist in terms of spec/materials, and reasoning behind your choices, if you were going to build one for yourself.

Cheers folks

Niq

And as a secondary point of interest to me, if any of the Uke "dealers" (Andrew, MGM, Mim, Mainland Mike etc) happen across this thread, what Ukes are in your personal collections ?

I just finished a tenor for myself I strung it up last night. It's Koa back and sides with a redwood top and a slotted headstock . The first slotted we have done. Ill try to post some pics when I get home

The only one I've kept of the 25 or so I have built is one I deemed my "experimental uke" in that it incorporated a number of elements I never had tried before, such as a new bracing pattern, rope purfling, a sound port, and one-piece koa top and back from a flitch that seemed less than stable when resawing. I wouldn't have tried these experiments on a commissioned instrument. It turned out reasonably well, and it is now my main player instead of the Kanile'a K2 I was trying to emulate. Here it is:

I have 5 that i've kept for myself and still play..Proto-types, "reject" but play well types , and the first one I ever built

Never - have a guitar I built when I lived in Ohio... it is well played and very much a Vintage Howlett. However, if I ever had the time or luxury of doing it I would have a soprano Shrine uke and a lovely little Vita Uke - my faves

I have kept 3 guitars, one from 1978 that my son uses, my Grand Concert "regular player" from about 6 years ago, and a Size-1 parlor guitar, just for around the Parlor, about 2 years old.
I have a Soprano uke too.
I'm always thinking about making myself something, but I don't need another.
I'm making a Les Paul Jr. electric, but my son will probably grab it, like he needs another.
If there were 100 hours in the day, I'd be in the shop 90 of them, I love to build.

When I started building, I acquired a few good instruments to study for design and construction. Mainly, I wanted to have reference points for what a good instrument should sound like. My stable of exemplars included various Kamakas, Kanile'as, Kolalohas and others that I've since sold. I haven't been able to let go of the Compass Rose and Collings tenors, a Koaloha Pikake concert and a Kamaka baritone (all of which are koa). For my own playing pleasure, I kept this tenor because I like its look and sound, which is significantly different from the CR and the Collings due mostly to the spruce top:

http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?65075-007-Bolivian-Rosewood-Tenor/page3

I may make an all-hardwood tenor and let the CR and Collings go.

This baritone is for me and will probably lead to selling the Kamaka:

http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?81244-Tineo-Baritone

The Tineo was chosen because it is beautiful and seemed to have excellent potential as a tonewood. Since it is pretty much unknown in the uke world, it made sense to give it a tryout on myself. I felt that a spruce top will give the sound that I am after. I'll know in another week or two.

I try, but they never seem to last. Someone always wants an instrument, and since I can't seem to keep any stock available, I relent and offer up one I thought I'd keep.....and thus I have nothing left. I suppose it's a good thing, as I can always build another, but their have been some that I'd just love to have kept.

My favourite top is Red Spruce. For the body it would be a toss up between some Australian Blackwood, or Honduran Rosewood. I love them both. Body size most likely would be baritone. I just really feel comfortable with that larger size, but tuned to C.

I keep the first of every body shape i build. This Maccaferri im building will be the exception

I still have my first 4 ukes, all I've finished to date. Too much other stuff going on. They are of spalted sycamore, mahogany, Java bishopwood/spruce, and butternut. All sopranos, though the body is probably large enough to be a concert. They were made as a batch and are now two years old. I've kept them around to see how they fare. Two developed a neck attachment problem---the single bolt was placed too high on the heel. The other two are fine, though the bolt is in the same place. They'll all get a second neck bolt when I get around to it. I have a bunch more in-progress, mostly to develop my construction process.
The mahogany one sounds the best, but I almost always play the sycamore one. The butternut guy is quiet. The Java bishopwood/spruce guy has been strung as a mandolin since I finished it. I play mandolin, but the string spacing on the uke is so different that I don't like it. Some day I'll restring it.
All are finished in MinWax wipe-on poly, the first coats sanded in. The mahogany looks fine. The butternut looks pretty good. The sycamore needs pre-filler, even though its a closed pore wood. The Bishopwood needs filler badly, and deserves a lacquer redo.
Pix of all are on my website, toward the end of "Recent Work".
Having them around has been very informative. The headstocks need to be reshaped to make room for some chords on the first fret. All are 2-fan braced w/ red spruce, which probably holds them back in tone and volume.
Next March I intend to cut back to a three-day week at H&D, which will give me a lot more time to build on my own. These first four will be brought up to snuff and disposed of, then I'll get on to some sort of production schedule, assuming there's still a market by then.

bluesuke said:

I just finished a tenor for myself I strung it up last night. It's Koa back and sides with a redwood top and a slotted headstock . The first slotted we have done. Ill try to post some pics when I get home

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Been following this one on FB, it's a great-looking instrument.