Brian W
Well-known member
Hey everyone. As some of you may know from my recent threads, I am in the market for a custom made soprano ukulele. At first I was considering a K brand, such as Koaloha or Kamaka, however I have budgeted myself between $750 and $850 for my new uke, and that price point, it puts me into the range of some of the custom builders out there; though that will exclude any fancy binding and inlays, which is OK by me. I have already contacted 8 different custom builders, and I have narrowed my search down to 4. They are Jerry Hoffmann at Boat Paddle, Raymond Rapozo at Island Ukulele, Al McWhorter at Sprucehouse Ukulele, and David Talsma at Talsma String Instruments. Each of the above mentioned builders can offer something unique to the whole process. The problem is that I have zero personal experience with any of their creations, though I have heard good things about Boat Paddle and Talsma, and it isn't like I am picking out a Fender or Gibson guitar that I can play at any chain music store. So before I send my deposit to whomever I end up picking, I was hoping for some feedback from the UU community. You all should know that I have gotten burned on more than one occasion purchasing an instrument site-unseen, which has made me a little apprehensive to do this again. But I really love playing the ukulele and would like, for the first time in my life, to have a say in the creation of an instrument that was made specially for me. Any thoughts on the above mentioned builders would be appreciated. If you wish to send me a PM instead, then please do so.