I was lucky in a recent trade to acquire a 2010 spruce/walnut Boat Paddle baritone.
(Forgive the horrible iPad pics!)
When I received it I switched the strings to a re-entrant set, and a buzzing came up in a couple of different spots. (NB: this in no way should impugn the UU member with whom I traded; he was meticulous in his account of the uke, and he seems like a stand-up guy in general.)
I tried the usual tricks to see if I could chase the buzz away, but to no avail, so I emailed Jerry Hoffman, the owner/luthier of BP ukuleles.
Over the course of a couple of emails, we decided it would be best for me to send the uke to him for inspection.
I shipped the uke; it spent a few days in transit; then Jerry received the instrument, shimmed the nut, made a new saddle, re-dressed frets two through ten, cleaned everything up, and sent the uke back to me (in a much nicer box than the one I sent him); it spent a few more days in transit; then it made it back to me. Start to finish it took two weeks.
The fast turn-around was pretty cool.
The emails Jerry sent for each step, including what he was doing, when he was done, when I should expect the uke back, etc. was very cool and much appreciated.
The fact that Jerry made these adjustments, for someone who did not even purchase his uke new, for free, was wicked cool.
Jerry's customer service is excellent.
As far as the uke is concerned, I'm enamored with both it's looks and tone.
The uke is simple and elegant. It's curves are lovely. It's edges are both (somehow) precise and soft. The pin nut design is supercool, too.
The fretboard is a touch wider at the nut (1 7/16th), and as a result it's angle of increase seems more gradual as you go up the board.
The action is low. The intonation is perfect.
The neck is a shallow and fast D-shape, and -- another cool feature -- has a uniform depth. (This felt a bit weird at first, but I've come to like it a lot.)
The uke is bit on the heavy side, but it's well balanced. It's easy to pick up and difficult to put down!
I'd describe the tone as clear and true. I tend to (try to) bend or pull off of fewer notes when I play this uke -- it's just so nice to let them ring out.
Here's a quick sound sample (apologies for the washing machine in the background): http://soundcloud.com/user92796094/bp-baritone/s-lITCI
Jerry Hoffman's work can be found at Boat Paddle Ukuleles: http://www.boatpaddleukuleles.com I highly recommend them.
Cheers, UU.
(Forgive the horrible iPad pics!)
When I received it I switched the strings to a re-entrant set, and a buzzing came up in a couple of different spots. (NB: this in no way should impugn the UU member with whom I traded; he was meticulous in his account of the uke, and he seems like a stand-up guy in general.)
I tried the usual tricks to see if I could chase the buzz away, but to no avail, so I emailed Jerry Hoffman, the owner/luthier of BP ukuleles.
Over the course of a couple of emails, we decided it would be best for me to send the uke to him for inspection.
I shipped the uke; it spent a few days in transit; then Jerry received the instrument, shimmed the nut, made a new saddle, re-dressed frets two through ten, cleaned everything up, and sent the uke back to me (in a much nicer box than the one I sent him); it spent a few more days in transit; then it made it back to me. Start to finish it took two weeks.
The fast turn-around was pretty cool.
The emails Jerry sent for each step, including what he was doing, when he was done, when I should expect the uke back, etc. was very cool and much appreciated.
The fact that Jerry made these adjustments, for someone who did not even purchase his uke new, for free, was wicked cool.
Jerry's customer service is excellent.
As far as the uke is concerned, I'm enamored with both it's looks and tone.
The uke is simple and elegant. It's curves are lovely. It's edges are both (somehow) precise and soft. The pin nut design is supercool, too.
The fretboard is a touch wider at the nut (1 7/16th), and as a result it's angle of increase seems more gradual as you go up the board.
The action is low. The intonation is perfect.
The neck is a shallow and fast D-shape, and -- another cool feature -- has a uniform depth. (This felt a bit weird at first, but I've come to like it a lot.)
The uke is bit on the heavy side, but it's well balanced. It's easy to pick up and difficult to put down!
I'd describe the tone as clear and true. I tend to (try to) bend or pull off of fewer notes when I play this uke -- it's just so nice to let them ring out.
Here's a quick sound sample (apologies for the washing machine in the background): http://soundcloud.com/user92796094/bp-baritone/s-lITCI
Jerry Hoffman's work can be found at Boat Paddle Ukuleles: http://www.boatpaddleukuleles.com I highly recommend them.
Cheers, UU.
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