New Build Thread: Hive Birdeye Maple and Reedwood tenor

dkcrown said:
I went with redwood for it's tonal properties. I want a warmer, fuller sound with this uke. It will be strung low G. It is hard to generalize, but redwood tends to be warmer in tone than spruce, and a little more responsive than cedar. Maple can be on the bright side tonally, so I didn't want to pair it with spruce, which tends to be brighter sounding as well.

Plus, I think aesthetically the redwood is going to look killer with the birdseye! The color of the redwood is close to the color of the grain and figure in the birdseye. They should compliment each other well.
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In terms of aesthetics, I think the redwood will pair really nicely with the maple. Given Jake's great sense of aesthetics, I cannot wait to see the finished ukulele! As I said mentioned earlier, it's a Hive so you can count on great tone.

As a lover of maple and self-appointed superhero in my own mind, the "The Great Maple Defender", ;-)....I feel compelled to speak up about the comment implying spruce/maple is "bright." I never heard anyone describe violins as generally "bright." It's the luthier that matters most and you're working with one of the very best. I have spruce/maple ukes from Hive, Kinnard, Collings and Pepe Romero. Ain't one of them "bright" sounding. If you mean, spruce tends to be "articulate" (and this is true in both higher and lower tones), then I agree. That's true regardless of backwood. I'm working on a project with some of the top luthiers and it may involve maple. Most said they'd choose spruce as the top wood given a choice. Hope to announce more on this project in the coming weeks. ;-)

Keep the progress photos coming!
 
Ukulele Eddie said:
In terms of aesthetics, I think the redwood will pair really nicely with the maple. Given Jake's great sense of aesthetics, I cannot wait to see the finished ukulele! As I said mentioned earlier, it's a Hive so you can count on great tone.

As a lover of maple and self-appointed superhero in my own mind, the "The Great Maple Defender", ;-)....I feel compelled to speak up about the comment implying spruce/maple is "bright." I never heard anyone describe violins as generally "bright." It's the luthier that matters most and you're working with one of the very best. I have spruce/maple ukes from Hive, Kinnard, Collings and Pepe Romero. Ain't one of them "bright" sounding. If you mean, spruce tends to be "articulate" (and this is true in both higher and lower tones), then I agree. That's true regardless of backwood. I'm working on a project with some of the top luthiers and it may involve maple. Most said they'd choose spruce as the top wood given a choice. Hope to announce more on this project in the coming weeks. ;-)

Keep the progress photos coming!
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I am excited to hear more about this Eddie. Somewhere along the way, having played guitars and mandolin family, I stubbornly ascribed to the "spruce is bright" opinion that seems to be very prevalent. And to an even greater degree, that maple is bright. So, I assumed combining the two for anything other than a mandolin family or violin family instrument, would result in a bright sounding instrument. I have a lot of experience with maple/spruce combination, as every mandolin family instrument I ever owned or played has that combo. Certainly with guitars, and now to a great degree with ukuleles, I have gravitated to cedar tops as being the best sounding to my ears. But as mentioned often, there are many types of spruce and the builders choices in construction also have a great impact on the tone of the instrument.
 
I think both spruce and maple get the "BRIGHT" label from the guitar and mandolin world. Both are strung with steel strings. The ukulele is not.........neither is the volin.

The Hive, Kinnard and Peppe Romaro spruce and maple ukes I have heard sound full and sweet.
 
will the maple stay natty, or will you have it stained a color?
 
Wow!
That is going to be a stunner.
I was fortunate enough to play some Hive ukuleles at the Woodstock Luthier Invitational.
He does amazing work.
 
Rob Uker said:
Wow!
That is going to be a stunner.
I was fortunate enough to play some Hive ukuleles at the Woodstock Luthier Invitational.
He does amazing work.
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Thanks Rob. I was going to head up to the Invitational back in October to see Jake and his ukes as well. I was planning on bringing my camper, but I had some last minute work things come up and couldn't go.
 
Congratulations are in order Dana, already. I think redwood and maple is a perfect match. Somehow I reckon Jake does too. You're in for a wonderful thing with this one. Cheers mate.
 
mountain goat said:
Congratulations are in order Dana, already. I think redwood and maple is a perfect match. Somehow I reckon Jake does too. You're in for a wonderful thing with this one. Cheers mate.
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Thanks Jon. So nice to hear from you. I can't tell you how much I miss you mate. Hope all is well in your life.
 
Gorgeous looking uke, Dana. Happy holidays, my friend.

Ps. Is that you (mountain goat), Jon? Cheers, mate. I hope that you and your family are well!
 
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Well Dana, if you're getting back into acquisition mode, you seem to be doing it with great style.
 
Thursday pics. I always love to see how different luthiers brace their ukes. The innards can be as pretty as the outsides. Amazing attention to detail. Notice how Jake veneers over the plywood blocking with more of the birdseye maple.



 
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Holy smokes..........that looks inviting enough to curl up inside of it, just beautiful. I love how he has capped the end blocks with the same birdseye maple, very classy
 
As Mater would say, "DAD GUM!" :drool:
 
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