Recent content by Doc_J

I've had and still own a few x-braced ukes (by John S. Kinnard, Josh Rieck, David Hurd, Bob Gleason) to name a few. All sounded great. But, it's the luthier, not the particular bracing that makes them great.

Virtuoso does pretty well. I've had success with scratch removal on a glossy uke or two by using Meguiar's® Scratch-X and old flannel cloth. Test before you commit. YMMV.

Thank you. I started playing Vivienne with DGBE but the sample was tuned to D# Ab C F. I am slowly tuning her up to find where she sounds best to me.

Meet ‘Vivienne’ built by Pat Megowan in Corvallis, Oregon. This is what I anticipate is my final uke commission. Age and over a decade of trialing different ukes have helped me refine what I like playing. I've had Vivienne a little less than 2 weeks. Pat does not number his ukes but names...

Thanks for the posts! Congratulations! Beautiful uke. Love the sound. And it will only sound better as the spruce opens. Red Spruce makes wonderful tops. Amazing curl in the maple body and neck. The faux tortoise binding reminds me of the vintage Martin tenors (one of my favorite...

Very nice Kevin! Beautiful work! Having played one of your baritones, I am impressed with the quality of your instruments. I know I don't need another baritone... but so tempting.

Lemon oil, Howard’s Feed’N’Wax, with a old flannel cloth or microfiber cloth should clean some and help after the moist cloth cleaning. A little 0000 steel wool with Lemon oil or Howard’s Feed’N’Wax on the fretboard should give the fretboard and frets a good feel and look.

Received my new baritone from Scott Wise today. In short, it is wonderful! This is his current standard baritone model of Australian Blackwood with his beautiful rope binding. The uke is gorgeous and well made. The years of experience of the luthier show in the sound and build quality. This...

I often use the glass beads I found at Michaels ( art and craft) Store. You have to watch the hole edges are not sharp. I've also seen the bridge tie blocks used as well. They are great if you want to try out a string and re-use it...

Pat does incredible work. He is so thoughtful about each detail. Pat has made a lot of progress on my build, the body is completed and finished. However, the process is stalled, waiting on a couple of star inlay fret markers from Larry Robinson. So cool to have some of Larry's work in this uke...

Would you believe a USPS shipped Ukulele has only made it from a Chicago suburb to the Chicago distribution center in 7 days? I doubt that is 50 miles. It was supposed to be delivered to Atlanta in 6 days. Now that the original estimated delivery date is past, the USPS does not even give an...

Watching some Kanilea ukes at HMS, and noticed one particular Kanilea changed prices from $1375 to $1725, overnight as we crossed from January 2021 to February 2021. Then saw other new Kanilea ukes with increased prices. While Kanilea ukes are worth their price, seems like a big jump in prices...

Saw a very rare Falcate style bracing pattern being started by LFdM

Has anyone else ever noticed that a great sounding uke will still sound pretty great even when a string or two was out of tune ( a little)? And, some other ukes sound terrible if just one string is off just a few cents? Pulled my Kinnard bari out today and played it right away (not doing a...

The curving down of the bass side and upper bout sound holes are the big features of the 2021 Platinum. It was really interesting seeing the required changes to bracing and lightening of the top. Lots of design and development to get there. And that magnetic back access plate was cool.