Embracing UAS, here's my way.

For the last year playing the uke, I've been "succumbing" to UAS with the idea that the syndrome is something that you had to fight. I've gone through 12 ukes, mostly commercial, but now that I bought my first custom uke that came out so well, I've concluded that for me, UAS is a fun way to keep my uke playing interesting. So I'm not holding back or "fighting" it anymore.

I have a custom mandolele on the way, and I'm about to order a custom u-bass, and I don't even play bass. Many years ago while playing guitar with a very accomplished friend, he suggested I take up the bass. At the time I wasn't interested in lugging around a big electric bass (not a chance I would go to a stand up bass).

Now seeing the u-basses out there, I decided I will learn bass, and order a custom from Bruce Wei that is better than the Kala U-Bass, and smaller than the other short (but too big) acoustic bases being directed toward the ukulele. I've just finished the preliminary drawings to submit to him. He's even going to have his bag vendor make me a custom gig bag for it.

(This is what happens to me when my twice a week group leader goes to the Hawaii uke festival for two weeks, and my weekly teacher does too. And yes, I am filling the time playing as well.)

This is the mandolele on it's way.


This is the u-bass and bag I'm submitting.

While I'm still not convinced with Bruce Wei (seriously looking forward to your reviews after 6 months, kohanmike!), I love your preliminary drawings. How do you do that?

ps: If this is not suitable for the boards, just PM me.

I'm a graphic designer (among other endeavors) and I use a very good graphic design program that runs circles around Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator, it's called Canvas from ACD (very few people have heard of it, yet it's been out there for 20 years). I'm actually using an old version on my Mac, but they're finally updating it, which makes me very happy.

Bruce sends me very basic drawings and I use Canvas to embellish them, like adding wood from photos of the ukes listed on Bruce's eBay site. I outline the original drawing, lay the outline on the image of the wood, and use a function that melds the outline to the wood and eliminates the excess automatically.

That thumb rest on the bass looks like a great idea. Love that bag too - I wouldn't mind having one or five of those for my ukes!!!!!

Can't decide if I want the thumb rest design symmetrical on both sides, or just on the top and normal flat on the lower side. Guess if it's on both sides and I sell it some day, a lefty could use it. The uke costs $450, the bag is $30, so you know where I'm going for bags from now on, although it might just be that I'm having the uke made at the same time. The long pouch is for my music stand, a Cordoba that collapses smaller than any other I've seen, 19.5" x 4" x 2.5".

Mike -

Would that bag hold the uBass? I'm looking for one, so if that is commercially available, could you let me know where to get one? Thanks, and happy for the good ending for this set of adventures.

That bag is my design to the size of the u bass Bruce is making, a little bigger than a Kala U-Bass. I designed the bag from a tenor bag I found online.