Luthiers for a Cause Project Announcement

I've hinted at a pending project announcement that will likely interest a lot of folks here given the frequency of threads related to the impact of tonewoods and the luthier on the final sound of an instrument. Below is an excerpt from the press release:


See the full press release and find out which luthiers are involved on the Luthier’s for a Cause website at https://www.luthiersforacause.org/news/

Fellow UU'er PatchenU and Jay Lichty's wife Corrie are helping organize the project. Our goal is to raise at least $25k for The Ukulele Kids Club. We hope you'll find this project interesting and will help spread the word.

Web site: www.luthiersforacause.org

Like Us on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/luthiersforacause/

Good on everyone involved. Niiiice

A very noble project Eddie, kudos to you for organizing it. And not too shabby a list of luthiers to mold these amazing woods into works of art!

How will the instruments be sold? (And great idea...)

Well, done. Great cause.

Nice one Eddie! I had heard a few of the details, primarily about the woods being used, but I did not realize the scope was this big. Will the instruments have a set price or be auctioned?

:drool: Those tone woods...... and the roster of luthiers :drool::drool: ... best of all, it is for a good cause! Does this count for UAS?

Great cause Eddie!

Mitch

Thanks, everybody. It's exciting to us and seems to be getting a lot of interest, such that it has really taken on a life of its own. We first wanted to get the luthiers on board, wood sorted and delivered and initial announcement done. With those big steps behind us, we'll be focusing more on showcasing and "selling" the instruments.

We plan to have the instruments share a common inlay to bind them as a set. Those details are still being sorted but we hope to announce more soon.

Regarding selling them, there are many possibilities to explore. Perhaps we first try to auction the set to collectors. Another is we auction individually. A third is we set the same price for them and then run a lottery if there's more than one buy for any particular instrument(s). We could possibly raffle one or more of them. Lots and lots to consider. We certainly welcome ideas and may poll folks here for input.

For showcasing, we are hoping to get one or more top musicians to play each, to a sound sample video. Perhaps we could even have several and then make an album.

This is so cool. This warms my heart and gives me hope that human beings might just be okay after all.

Ukulele Eddie said:

For showcasing, we are hoping to get one or more top musicians to play each, to a sound sample video. Perhaps we could even have several and then make an album.

Click to expand...

Oh yeah, an album is a great idea! It would bring in more donations and I'd buy one for sure. It will be exciting to hear the ukes and how each luthier turned the tree into music. That's an all star lineup of luthiers too.

What a great idea for a wonderful cause. Warms my heart to see folks doing good works!

A wonderful project. All those involved should be given our greatest respect and support.

Can't wait to see the outcome. Would love to be the custodian of any one of the proposed instruments for a while.

I'd also consider raffling one off. That allows people who cannot afford the high prices these ukes will command at auction, the opportunity to be involved, and possibly win one for a modest fee.
h

+1 for an album - I can't afford a custom uke (or a set of custom ukes!) but I'd definitely buy an album.

I am very proud to be a part of this project

Eddie,
Thank you for starting this thread. We are excited to final announce what we have been pull together.

I would add that it is my honor to support and help drive this project forward. The luthiers involved are doing something very special and I can't wait (like everyone else in this community) to see and hear what they build using these famous and rare tonewoods. What is great about this project is that the UU community has had a lot of discussions about what matters the most in a getting a great ukulele. We usually see debates around the merits of tonewood X and that being better than tonewood Y but I have read time and time again that the most important element in getting a great ukulele is the luthier. One of the benefits of this project is that we, as fans of the instrument, will be able to understand and hear the differences in what each luthiers sound/voice is. This is something I have been seeking to understand since I started my love of ukulele almost 1 year ago.

I want to thank the luthiers (Steve Grimes, Beau Hannam, John Kinnard, Jay Lichty, Jake Maclay and Joji Yoshida) for being part of a unique project and allowing me to support this effort. It's been difficult trying to help drive this forward, keep my other commitments (e.g. family, work, playing ukulele, etc) but knowing that I am not just answering a question I have been asking/researching for over a year, but also working to help a wonderful organization makes it well worth the money, time and effort. Please let either eddie or myself know if you have any questions/ideas on how to make this the most successful this can be as we want to raise as much money as possible for UKC.

This is a very cool project benefiting a great cause. Thanks to everyone involved.

This is awesome! Great idea Eddie.

Hms said:

I'd also consider raffling one off. That allows people who cannot afford the high prices these ukes will command at auction, the opportunity to be involved, and possibly win one for a modest fee.
h

Click to expand...

Congrats Eddie....should be an interesting year..when will the ukes be done? do you have a deadline? will all ukes be up for auction together?
I am for one of the ukes to be raffled as in am sure these ukes will be beyond what i want/can pay.... with the woods you have should be something super nice....

good luck with the builds