Looking at an M. Nunes uke…what do you think?

KevinFL

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I'm looking at purchasing an M. Nunes uke to have it restored. It's being sold by a semi-local thrift shop and the shop person has given me what information he has, but it's not much. Basically cut and paste from online resources about Nunes. His photos aren't very good either, I've asked for some of the neck/back/fretboard, and he said he'll send them, but it may not be until Wednesday when the shop reopens.

I have to drive within an hour and a half of the place on Wednesday and was planning to go look at the uke then if I had a better idea of what shape it's in and what it needs to be restored.

From what I've found online, it's one of his more ornate models as it has the rope binding around both the sound hole and the edge of the body. It was distributed by Lyon & Healy according to the label inside, and it's the only Nunes I've been able to find a photo of with the extended fretboard.

It's got a good size crack in the soundboard. I don't know at this point if there are others on the back/sides. The tuners look to have been changed but whether it was reamed for this I don't know, there's also an eye hook screwed into the uke to run some cord through for a strap. I can't tell if the bridge has been reglued, replaced, or is just dirty.

The images aren't the best, but they're all I've got until I can get the uke in hand. And as far as I'm driving it's going to either be a buy or pass situation. I don't want to mull over it and have to repeat a long round trip. I'm primarily looking to buy it to restore an early uke to its intended playing condition. I'm not a collector but would love to have this one for the history behind it.

My question to you folks is…do you think the top crack looks easily repaired by a competent luthier, and is it worth the $270 plus repair costs to get it back to playing condition? I want it to be a functional piece of history. Something I can play and enjoy.

Your opinions are greatly appreciated as I'm heading up there in a couple days.

uke.jpg body.jpg headstock.jpg soundhole.jpg soundhole 2.jpg
 
Wow An Amazing find and a amazing price....It is Very rare and A deluxe model in pretty good condition.... cannot tell if the neck is straight but a
vintage ukulele in this condition is worth at least 4=5 times of the price at the very least....Like said it is in pretty good condition, and a refinish may hurt the value...
Get it looked at for sure by a qualified professional vintage person... I think cleaned up and polished this uke will look amazing as it is...good luck
 
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Hey Sherlockkayaker...good eyes! :)

I know that Lyon and Healy are collectible ukes too...but wonder if the seller just guessing what kind of uke it is by the looks of it...
but if it fooled MM Stan too wow!!

need a clearer picture of the label...but the price seems right
 
I don't know if Lyon and Healy ever built ukuleles. They surely had some commissioned by other builders (perhaps Harmony, Washburn, Leonardo Nunes?...). I have seen "Manuel Nunes" ukuleles made by Leo Nunes Ukulele O Hawaii in California, surely made after Manuel's death.

If this one was made by Leo's Daddy, it's a very rare find. I don't remember seeing an M. Nunes ukulele with that fretboard (a Taropatch, maybe).

Regardless, it's a very nice looking instrument. I'd be very interested if I were you, KevinV. The repairs can surely be made by an experienced luthier. Whether it's a Manuel Nunes or a "Manuel Nunes" made by________ (fill in the blank), it would be a beautiful instrument once restored. Worth the money to fix it up? If it was built by the master himself, certainly. If not, only you can decide if it's worth it. I have a very old ukulele (maybe collectible) I'm having restored that will never be worth the money I paid for it plus the restoration costs. Not even close. But, I'll love it just the same. But that's me.
 
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Mike(MGM) has a Lyon and Healy at HMS... I thought he said Lyon and Healy later on became Washburn...but I could be wrong
and you could be right...on the back of the headstock it says Washburn....so maybe Washburn did build it...
 
Those 2 top cracks are nothing to a good repairman. The fretboard looks wrong to me, but the photos just don't show enough.

If you aren't a collector and want a vintage uke to play, be warned. The vintage Hawaiian ukes can be all funky, frets out of place, bridge misplaced, neck wacky to the body, etc. Sometimes even after spending lots to restore, they are still wall-hangers. That is where most of the early ukes reside.

If it were me, I'd be running over there right now. $270 is nothing for a real Nunes, even if it is just to hang on the wall. Put on your poker face, point out all the "defects" and offer less.
 
I think it is a treasure. Can't wait to see how this one ends up and turns out.
 
Yes Len, I too think it might be comissioned by lyon and healy and a rare uke if it is.....paperwork labels especially old like this is very hard to fake...
Very much plausable to be authentic with the facts shown , given too it is a high end deluxe that can be sold for alot more back then...
 
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I just got back from getting the uke. It had more issues than I could tell from the photos provided.

The top has 4 cracks with the bridge lifting up. It looks like the lifting bridge caused 3 of the cracks. There is a small crack starting on the back where one of the seams on the lower bout meets. One of the tuners may be original, the other 3 aren't. The bridge looks like it may have been either reglued or replaced at some point. There may be a little twist to the neck.

I hope those are issues that can be resolved by a good luthier.

Now on to the good stuff.

It's definitely original and is an M. Nunes. It has the headstock logo which says "M. Nunes, Inventor, 1879, Hawaii" and has the crest above the word Hawaii. Inside, on the back, just below the neck block is what looks like a branding (from heat) that has either a hut or crown with a sliver of a sun or moon under it, a pair of crossed "somethings" and the words TABU, Made in Hawaii. There is a paper label that states "Made expressly for Lyon & Healy, Chicago, ILL, by M. Nunes & Sons, Inventor of the Ukulele and Taro Patch Fiddles in Honolulu in 1879, Manufacturers of Stringed Instruments, Guaranteed, Kapiolani Bldg., Alakea St., Honolulu, T.H.

All bits of wood rope binding around the sound hole and edge are intact. The flame in this koa is just crazy…not sure if I can capture it with the camera. The nut looks original, and before I slacked the strings to save the top any more trauma, all notes played cleanly without buzz all the way up the neck on all strings. The sides have no cracks. The first five frets have some seriously cool wear from being a loved uke by somebody at some time.

I love this thing!

When I saw the cracks in the top and the lifting bridge, I really didn't know, and still really don't, whether it can be repaired to playable again. I was bummed that I didn't see the other cracks in the photos provided. I didn't want to go home from a 5 hour round trip empty handed, but I wasn't confident in the uke. I decided to offer what I was willing to pay if this ends up being nothing more than an unrepairable wall hanger. I offered $100 and he accepted. He also threw in a 50's Harmony uke for another $20.

So, for now I'll clean and get some photos to post shortly. Then I'll start my hunt for a luthier that will take on the job. This is pretty cool.

Here's a few quick pics to whet your appetite…

DSC_0479.jpg DSC_0480.jpg DSC_0482.jpg
 
If that is a genuine M. Nunes, and it may well be, it is worth quite a bit. See here, KevinV!

http://ukulelefriend.com/ukes/1900s-manuel-nunes-ukulele-4/

The repairs you mention are nothing for a qualified luthier~! This may be the score of the century.:)

I'm still puzzled by the Kamaka-style extended fretboard (I see none online, even with an image search) and the mechanical tuners for such an old uke. Hmmm.

Wow, that was a long drive, but well worthwhile, Kevin.
 
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coolkayaker1;1529946 [url said:
http://www.easyukulele.com/manuel-nunes.html[/url]

I'm anxiously awaiting the verdict from RyanMFT or another expert! This could be a real find, especially at that price.

In the meantime, let's keep in mind that there's lots of information out there that is suspect at best. For example, I got a kick out of something that the quoted site says: "He [Manuel Nunes] came to Oahu in 1879 as a laborer and also worked as a manufacturer of machetes. He had skills as a guitar maker, however, and would eventually make Nunes Ukuleles." It seems plain from the context that whoever wrote this thinks that Nunes made large knives, as "machete" is a Spanish word for such. The author must have read in some other source that Nunes made machetes, which was a Portuguese name for the antecedent of the ukulele as well as the Spanish word for a large knife, and misinterpreted the statement in the source that he relied upon.

More to the point, here is what Jim Beloff has to say:

http://books.google.com/books?id=6o...EwAg#v=onepage&q=nunes lyon and healy&f=false

What he doesn't say is whether Lyon & Healy offered Hawaii-made M. Nunes ukes, Hawaii-made L. Nunes ukes, California-made L. Nunes ukes, or a combination of the above. On page 103 of The 'Ukulele by Tranquada and King, there is a facsimile of a Lyon & Healy ad said to be from 1915 featuring "Genuine Hawaiian" instruments made by "Leandro [should be "Leonardo," of course] Nunes of M. Nunes & Sons. By 1915, Leonardo was apparently on his own in Los Angeles, Id. at 168. Manuel apparently continued to make instruments in Honolulu until about 1917. Id. at 167.
 
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I wonder if there are fret slots underneath that fretboard? Almost looks like someone at sometime glued on a taller wider bridge and added a fretboard. And from the Kluson tuners, may have done it in the 40's? May have been an attempt to make it look and play more like a modern uke at that time.

Choose your restoration luthier carefully
 
I've removed the strings and tuners. I was happy to see that they didn't ream the holes to fit the 3 replacement geared tuners that were installed at some point.
 
I just got back from getting the uke. It had more issues than I could tell from the photos provided.

The top has 4 cracks with the bridge lifting up. It looks like the lifting bridge caused 3 of the cracks. There is a small crack starting on the back where one of the seams on the lower bout meets. One of the tuners may be original, the other 3 aren't. The bridge looks like it may have been either reglued or replaced at some point. There may be a little twist to the neck.

I hope those are issues that can be resolved by a good luthier.

Now on to the good stuff.

It's definitely original and is an M. Nunes. It has the headstock logo which says "M. Nunes, Inventor, 1879, Hawaii" and has the crest above the word Hawaii. Inside, on the back, just below the neck block is what looks like a branding (from heat) that has either a hut or crown with a sliver of a sun or moon under it, a pair of crossed "somethings" and the words TABU, Made in Hawaii. There is a paper label that states "Made expressly for Lyon & Healy, Chicago, ILL, by M. Nunes & Sons, Inventor of the Ukulele and Taro Patch Fiddles in Honolulu in 1879, Manufacturers of Stringed Instruments, Guaranteed, Kapiolani Bldg., Alakea St., Honolulu, T.H.

All bits of wood rope binding around the sound hole and edge are intact. The flame in this koa is just crazy…not sure if I can capture it with the camera. The nut looks original, and before I slacked the strings to save the top any more trauma, all notes played cleanly without buzz all the way up the neck on all strings. The sides have no cracks. The first five frets have some seriously cool wear from being a loved uke by somebody at some time.

I love this thing!

When I saw the cracks in the top and the lifting bridge, I really didn't know, and still really don't, whether it can be repaired to playable again. I was bummed that I didn't see the other cracks in the photos provided. I didn't want to go home from a 5 hour round trip empty handed, but I wasn't confident in the uke. I decided to offer what I was willing to pay if this ends up being nothing more than an unrepairable wall hanger. I offered $100 and he accepted. He also threw in a 50's Harmony uke for another $20.

So, for now I'll clean and get some photos to post shortly. Then I'll start my hunt for a luthier that will take on the job. This is pretty cool.

Here's a few quick pics to whet your appetite…

View attachment 67151 View attachment 67152 View attachment 67153
Congrats Kevin,
Nunes worked in the downtown area of honolulu and lived up liliha street close by as many other luthiers...I lived there maybe 50 years later..
I know they used to share ideas and building techinques...one person which lived nearby was Bill Tapia....probally the oldest living uke player
playing professionally who passed a few years ago at 102 or 103....
Let me say this is an amazing score even with all the cracks as it has historic value....I would not refinish as it may hurt the value...have the
cracks repaired and cleated if necessary. a good repairman on the islands and one of the best is Ka Lin..he does vintage uke repairs and also
tweeks them up if he can to sound better...He used to work for Andrew at HMS but is on his own now...good luck man Happy Strummings..
100 bucks...I'd give you 125 bucks man anyday...LOL
 
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Hey Kev

If you don't mind sending it to Hawaii...try getting ahold of Ki-lin Reese....
he worked on some nice 100 year old Martins...and is one of the best on the Islands

get ahold of him at his website
krstrings.com

sorry I see Stan already told you about Ki-lin
 
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I wonder if there are fret slots underneath that fretboard? Almost looks like someone at sometime glued on a taller wider bridge and added a fretboard. And from the Kluson tuners, may have done it in the 40's? May have been an attempt to make it look and play more like a modern uke at that time.

Choose your restoration luthier carefully

I think you're right! I don't see any fret slots from the sides, but it appears there are 2 fretboards on this thing. And from the nut end it looks as though maybe the first board that is touching the neck isn't the original fretboard because it extends over what looks like a little space left from a slot for a nut. But why remove the original fretboard, and put on a spacer and board rather than just a thicker single board? Strange. And there are non original looking 5/7/10th fret markers on the side.

There's also some white paint specks on one side of the uke where someone must have been painting nearby and didn't protect the uke. Bummer.

DSC_0489.jpg DSC_0490.jpg DSC_0491.jpg DSC_0492.jpg
 
I think you're right! I don't see any fret slots from the sides, but it appears there are 2 fretboards on this thing. And from the nut end it looks as though maybe the first board that is touching the neck isn't the original fretboard because it extends over what looks like a little space left from a slot for a nut. But why remove the original fretboard, and put on a spacer and board rather than just a thicker single board? Strange. And there are non original looking 5/7/10th fret markers on the side.

There's also some white paint specks on one side of the uke where someone must have been painting nearby and didn't protect the uke. Bummer.

View attachment 67154 View attachment 67155 View attachment 67156 View attachment 67157
Back then some ukers did not use a fretboard and the frets were on the neck and were flush with the body..but I do not see fret grooves on the neck under the fretboard
so it is hard to tell if it was made this way or a fretboard was added on....the white speck can be removed easy with solvent such as a thinner or acetone...test first though
 
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I've got the dust knocked off and here are some more pictures, warts and all. The flame looks good in the pics, but is even more pronounced in person. Very nice wood.

DSC_0493.jpg DSC_0495.jpg DSC_0497.jpg DSC_0498.jpg DSC_0500.jpg
 
Yeah, that's one of the best finds (and deals) I've ever seen. If it was me, I'd have it completely restored. Ignore the cost. (This may have been made after Manuel's departure, but is still surely made by his company, a fake wouldn't give Lyon & Healy any credit.)
I'd bet the fretboard, although strange to me, is indeed original to the instrument. Four bits of evidence: old bar frets, the way the nut fits with the head and fretboard, the serious wear on the fretboard, and if you look at the side shot of the neck joint, the top of the neck is not perfectly flush with the top. If the fretboard was a later addition, the joint would not look like that.
 
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Middle spacer on the fretboard does look like an after thought. Maybe they shaved the neck down to get rid of the original fret slot marks, added the middle spacer to fill in flush to the soundboard, then added the current fretboard. Would probably be easier than carving a thick one piece. Seems to me those tuners are a clue to when the work was done. That bridge looks suspect too. Looks wider and different.

Maybe it's L&H prototype, and you have the only one!!
 
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