What would you spend on upgrading wood in a custom build?

Newportlocal said:

The hardest thing about my first custom was realizing how many different options there are on a uke and researching them. Why would you get a custom, and not pay to get what you want. When you have the custom in your hands you won't be sitting around thinking about the price. If I have to wait for Christmas bonuses or tax returns for a year or two that is fine. Many options add increased cost. Wood choices,bound fretboard,cut away,pick up,side sound port,slotted headstock,,size of the uke,inlay,better tuners,etc.,etc. Get the ukulele you dream of. You don't want to later regret not getting something done on it.

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nongdam said:

Good point Richard...the only problem is that UAS kicks in and we get more than one custom. Price does come into play when you sell it as sometimes the dream of a custom is actually better than the uke.

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equina said:

I upgraded my soundboard to Red Spruce and B/S to Macassar Ebony. I upgraded the woods to get the tone I want, not the looks. That said, I do like the natural look of both woods even in their plain straight-grained form.

If I were to get another custom, I would opt for only straight-grained wood for the soundboard as I understand that it is easiest to work with and is less prone to problems. Even if the luthier is highly skilled, I would prefer him to do a straightforward job than to take my chances.

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Patrick Madsen said:

For me, it's all about the action and feel of the neck. After that it's the type of sound I want anf finally how I want it t look. Actually I don't care how it looked as long as it played and sounded like I want. On my Griffin tenors, I have old growth tight grained(437lines to the inch) cedar which gives a nice mellow sound. One has Koa back and sides and seems brighter than the Cedar/ Walnut one. My Moore Bettah has Bearclaw Spruce with Milo back and sides. The Spruce is much brighter than cedar. Mahogany is wonderful for that old time bluesy sound.

I'm not sure if the back and side wood makes a big difference in sound. Some say it does others say it doesn't. The type of soundboard and bracing probably has more to do with the sound than back and side wood choice.

For me, my main needs are a fast, thin low actioned neck with a radiused fretboard. Either spruce or cedar for the sound board and am liking the side soundport. The rest I like to discuss with the luthier building the instruments. Some prefer to work with certain wood only with a particular style they prefer. Others will do the whole gamut of wood choice and style.

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