NUD - Wunderkammer Ike soprano

bonesoup

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I couldn't be happier with my new uke! It's all solid mahogany body and neck, and everything else is rosewood - fretboard, faceplate, nut, bridge, saddle.

First impressions - it's like your birthday party as a kid. Pure joy. This puppy weighs 341 grams on our kitchen scale! Light and lightly built. So the sound is way loud. And it has that classic mahogany warm ring. It reminds me of vintage ukes. Playability is excellent. Very comfortable to hold and go fast up and down the neck.

One thing - the Ike doesn't come with side dots and I forgot to ask for them. I can always get stickers or something, but for now I'm going to challenge myself to learn the neck better without looking.

Liam Kirby in Bristol, England was very friendly and professional to work with. I highly recommend his work! He does everything by hand with no machines. Check out his site.

Here are some links to some big pics so you can see the gorgeous color of this mahogany. Please excuse the dead grass haha - it's the desert season here.

http://imgur.com/NT9JLgU

http://imgur.com/OIj9tu7

http://imgur.com/qWUXZNv

Also here's a sound sample. It came strung with either nylguts or super nylguts, not sure. I really love the nylguts on this instrument. They fit it so well for a full, vintage type sound.



I made a donation to the Rainforest Action Network because I bought endangered woods.
 
WOW - that sounds great!

I've not heard of this luthier before and I'm off to check out his web site now...

Best of luck with the new beauty! :) :rock: :nana: :music:
 
That's fantastic! Congrats on the new uke.
 
That taropatch he makes looks very good for 720 dollars. Sounds good too.
As does Bonesoup's. Very respectable.
 
Love it! It rings quite well, too. :) I'm coming around to the conclusion that I really like Nylguts on sopranos, even though on bigger ukes I don't seem to like them as much (here, I prefer the Reds).

Very thoughtful of you to make that donation. I feel a bit ashamed that I have a koa uke and this never even crossed my mind.
 
I had the chance to play this last week during Dan's latest trip to South Florida. To my ears, It has a warm and full sound and not the twangy sound of many sopranos. It is light and extremely well built and very comfortable to play.

Congrats on a very nice purchase.
 
WOW - that sounds great!

I've not heard of this luthier before and I'm off to check out his web site now...

Best of luck with the new beauty!

Thanks B-man. I think you might see something you like on his site.

That's fantastic! Congrats on the new uke.

Much thanks wayfarer.

That taropatch he makes looks very good for 720 dollars. Sounds good too.
As does Bonesoup's. Very respectable.

I agree Neal. I love the look of his instruments. And his prices are more than fair.

Love it! It rings quite well, too. :) I'm coming around to the conclusion that I really like Nylguts on sopranos, even though on bigger ukes I don't seem to like them as much (here, I prefer the Reds).

Very thoughtful of you to make that donation. I feel a bit ashamed that I have a koa uke and this never even crossed my mind.

Cheers Mivo, I'm glad you like it. You might be on to something with nylgut and sopranos. I bought extra strings, different kinds including reds, to try on this but I see myself leaving the nylguts on for quite a while. The donation, yeah, I try to live green but classic tonewoods are classic tonewoods for a reason and that won out for me this time.

I had the chance to play this last week during Dan's latest trip to South Florida. To my ears, It has a warm and full sound and not the twangy sound of many sopranos. It is light and extremely well built and very comfortable to play.

Congrats on a very nice purchase.

Thanks Lenny. You're not a soprano guy so if you like this one it must be good! Although maybe one of your new ukes, the soprano, will change that hmm?

Congratulations Dan, that's a really sweet looking & sounding ukulele my friend, great choice mate.

Thanks mate. I'm really glad you like it.
 
Congratulations! Beautiful sounding and looking uke. The color of natural mahogany is so beautiful. I know it's often stained to simulate "vintage," but I prefer it like this. Then you can enjoy watching that gorgeous wood age naturally.
 
Congrats on your new baby. It reminds me of a William King soprano. Have fun!
 
Wow... these Wunderkammer Ike sopranos sound fabulous!

How is the intonation up the neck?

I really like the extended fingerboard.

I am very close to adding my name to the waiting list for one of these!

Doc
 
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Cool! I have one in the pipeline, should be torrefied sitka + koa.
Should get it by the end of the year.. super excited!
 
Cool! I have one in the pipeline, should be torrefied sitka + koa.
Should get it by the end of the year.. super excited!

That's an interesting combo. I'd be interested to see and hear it once it is completed.

Doc
 
I notice on his website, there's a link to what he calls "various one-offs" of the Ike, and on one of those, called the "Rosetta" (a Weissenborn-style soprano), if my eyes don't deceive me it appears that, instead of a traditional bone or plastic saddle piece, he actually has a fret imbedded across the bridge; I'm not sure if I'm seeing that correctly, or if it's commonplace and I just wasn't familiar with it?
 
I remember looking at this luthiers web page a few month ago.
The soprano is imo. by far the most attractive model he makes. Perhaps my taste in ukes is very traditional, but while I am sure they are all excellent ukes, this one has the looks too. Congrats on the new uke!

A good thing that I dont play soprano, so I dont get tempted.
 
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