New (Vintage) Uke Day

R

RyanMFT

Guest
Lucky to have found a Rutan ukulele, made in Kansas City...a seldom seen vintage brand.

I was turned on to it by a friend, fellow collector, and UU member who truly embodies the aloha spirit.

Solid mahogany, white/black/white binding around soundboard, white binding on the back. Binding continues up the sides of the fret board, with a white/black/white matching nut. Similar in many ways to a Martin style 2. Plays beautifully, and I feel very lucky to have it.


[/URL[URL=http://s827.photobucket.com/user/RyanMFT_photos/media/Rutan%20Ukulele/e078480f0732b19c07a3389eaabe950e_zps2a1b9ecb.jpg.html]
 
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Gee Ryan, that is gorgeous. Congratulations mate. Man you have some vintage sweethearts in your collection. Just beautiful. :)
 
Wow, that's a sweetie. Congrats
 
Very nice, enjoy! Can you tell us more about it?
 
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I haven't yet been afflicted by vintage UAS, but I think this one is very nice and I like the fact that it is a rather obscure. Congrats!
 
Fantastic!
 
Thank you all for your comments.

Jon - thanks, this uke looks awfully good next to the custom Regal you sold to Tom, which I talked him out of!

Hbolte - not much info out there about John Rutan as a builder. Looks like he started in the mid 20's and there are rumors that his factory burned down by 1940 but I don't find any articles about that. Build is similar to Martin, but the width at the nut is closer to my Gibson. Neck is thin and fast. It is clearly built by experienced hands.

Eddie - Thanks, I have a thing for the more obscure, less celebrated builders/brands!
 
That looks like a really nice uke. Very similar to a Style 2 Martin. How does it sound?
 
Very nice! Condition looks to be spectacular. Great find.
 
Thanks!

Chris, it sounds good, balanced tone, punchy. Frets are very thin bar frets and need very little pressure on strings to fret cleanly. I've got Martin strings on it and they are just set telling in.
 
What a score ryan...you did not tell me it was that nice of a condition...holy moly you lucky guy... :)
 
mm stan said:
What a score ryan...you did not tell me it was that nice of a condition...holy moly you lucky guy... :)
Click to expand...

Thanks Stan, actually, I didn't know it was going to be in such great condition until it showed up. I spend a couple hours cleaning it, and it just turned out so much better than I hoped. Stop by my house any time you want to jam on it brother!
 
Hey Ryan! Congrats! It is a beauty and a super supe rare uke. Rutans are known to be some of the finest vintage ukes. Yours is a pretty rare model and it is the first time I see one of those. My guess is that you got the higher end model of all the Rutans.
Your collection is getting big and very valuable my friend.
Enjoy it!
 
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