New Compass Rose Day

Gillian

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I received my new Compass Rose microjumbo tenor today. Jayme, Ric k's office assistant named it "Wowee" for good reason.

I wanted something bold and Rick certainly delivered. Adi spruce top, bloodwood sides and back, flamed maple neck and ebony pinned bridge and fretboard. Red and black purfling and rosette. I wanted a slotted headstock but left it up to Rick to design it. He chose gorgeous Rubner tuners that have two tuners on a single base plate, saying they added strength to a slotted headstock, rather than individual tuners.

Yes, that red is the colour of the bloodwood. I'm told it won't change colour as much as rosewood or cocobolo as it ages. He also said it was a difficult wood to bend due to its density and hardness, but he and his assistant luthier Chris certainly succeeded. Wowee!
 

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Definitely a stunner. Nicely done!
 
More pictures.

I'll submit a sound sample when I've decided on the strings that I think sound best on Wowee.
 

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It's absolutely gorgeous! Congratulations!

Will you be bringing it to the Ukulele Festival of Northern California in Hayward this Sunday? If you do, I'll bring one of my Compass Rose jumbo baritones for you to check out.
 
It's absolutely gorgeous! Congratulations!

Will you be bringing it to the Ukulele Festival of Northern California in Hayward this Sunday? If you do, I'll bring one of my Compass Rose jumbo baritones for you to check out.

Hi Mark,

Yes, I'll bring my new CR. The weather forecast says sunny for Sunday's festival...in the 70s. An impromptu jam with our CRs will be fun in the sun. Gotta get Gary to join us.
 
WOWEE indeed! :drool:
Congrats on a one of a kind stunner. Please explain "micro jumbo tenor", not familiar with that.
 
That is just beautiful. I don't think I've ever seen a ukulele with bloodwood back and sides before. Any idea on it's closest match to more traditional woods?
 
Aloha Gillian,
Congrats, it looks amazing...I see you got the lion on the headstock which is new and the slotted headstock...wow wow happy strummings...you lucky gal :)
 
Awesome ukulele - congratulations.
 
That is just beautiful. I don't think I've ever seen a ukulele with bloodwood back and sides before. Any idea on it's closest match to more traditional woods?

Thank you.

I think the closest wood, colour-wise, might be rosewood. Rick and I looked at the various samples of bloodwood, which range from orange-red to a more crimson tone. What was an eye-opener for me is the lustre in the wood. Rather than being opaque, the bloodwood has a shimmer and depth to it, like that of koa. But unlike koa, its colour stays consistent no matter the direction of the light.
 
gorgeous instrument! I too, am curious what microjumbo means...seems like it would be a small/big tenor, which would just be a tenor?
 
Wowie is aptly named! Congratulations, he's gorgeous!
 
Dang, that is one gorgeous hunk of uke! What are the tonal properties of bloodwood? I'm sorry if it has already been mentioned on this thread, I must have missed it. That is a stunner.
 
Dang, that is one gorgeous hunk of uke! What are the tonal properties of bloodwood? I'm sorry if it has already been mentioned on this thread, I must have missed it. That is a stunner.

When Rick suggested bloodwood for the colour I was looking for, I'd never heard of it. I don't know what the tonal properties of bloodwood are, but luthiers look for dense woods to make the sides and back of a uke: maple, walnut, koa, mahogany, rosewood, cocobolo, and added to the list is now bloodwood. I'm going to guess that the more dense the wood, the better the sound waves will bounce back through the soundhole?

From my online research, the general consensus amongst woodworkers was that bloodwood can be quite hard to work with. It's density makes it more brittle than other tonewoods, making it harder to bend and not have it split. It has been used in strips for bindings/purflings, but I couldn't find any online images of it being used for major, wide areas like the sides, and especially a cutaway, in an acoustic instrument.
 
gorgeous instrument! I too, am curious what microjumbo means...seems like it would be a small/big tenor, which would just be a tenor?

The "jumbo" part comes from the shape of the body, which is like that of a jumbo guitar. Rick uses "mini," "nano," and, I believe, "micro" to distinguish among his concert, tenor, and now baritone ukuleles with jumbo shaped bodies, but I forget which size adjective goes with which scale.
 
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