Birthday - Barron River Sugar Box/Yellow Cedar Tenor - Final Build Photos

Hollis I am glad to see you finally have the "Blonde Bombshell" in your hands. The anticipation sure is fun but holding it, playing it and hearing the beautiful notes come out of it is even more fun. I noticed the 40mm (1-9/16" +/-) nut width. That is the beauty of a custom build, you can experiment and get it the way you like it. I am the same way with a radius fretboard and a deeper than usual neck (think Pono or deeper).

I hope you enjoy it for a good long time

DownUpDave said:

Hollis I am glad to see you finally have the "Blonde Bombshell" in your hands. The anticipation sure is fun but holding it, playing it and hearing the beautiful notes come out of it is even more fun. I noticed the 40mm (1-9/16" +/-) nut width. That is the beauty of a custom build, you can experiment and get it the way you like it. I am the same way with a radius fretboard and a deeper than usual neck (think Pono or deeper).

I hope you enjoy it for a good long time

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As usual you hit nail on the head. IMO there are really only two reasons to commission a custom build. The first, of course, is to acquire a very high quality instrument. I know that there are great factory built instruments on the market today but the best of them come out of, what I would call the, the custom shops of those brands.

The second reason is to have an instrument that is bespoke, made and fitted for your personal requirements. For you Dave, one of those requirements is a thick neck. For me it's, among other requirements, a wide fretboard. To have an instrument that fits you perfectly, like a bespoke tailored suit or pair of shoes, is a gift that we all deserve to treat ourselves to sometime in our lives.

I know how Allen feels about the strings and where that instruments sits relative to his other builds. And we know you went outside the norm to send him your specific set of strings . . What are your thoughts, so far?

Kekani said:

I know how Allen feels about the strings and where that instruments sits relative to his other builds. And we know you went outside the norm to send him your specific set of strings . . What are your thoughts, so far?

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Timely question as I was going to post a discussion on this issue.

Everything about this instrument is new to me never have owned a blonde instrument before. Confining this discussion to Frankenstein string sets here are my view:

I started my set build around the Thomasik-Infeld chrome flat wound bases. For the Tenor scale g=.030” and the C is .027” in diameters. These are probably the most comfortable string I have ever played and I am using these on my Beau Hannam and Jerry ahoffman Tenors as well. I would recommend them particularly if you are going to sweeten the sound though a mixer or a pedal board. They require a small tweak to sound great. If you’re playing with no sound enhancements I’d recommend you stick with round wound version from TI or LaBella.
Now for the trebles for the new BR I went with the recommendations of Savarez 541R & 542R. These are very different from what I’m used to. Much lower tension, physically thinner and quieter. I’m going to give these a while and then try some Pryamid carbons with thicker diameters. When I can mix the right four strings together for each of the instruments I own I know they will sing the best they can.

Where did you see Allen’s comment re my string ?

I see finding the right strings for a particular instrument is a journey that has a cost. You may even arrive at the place where you began and recognise that place for the first time.

hollisdwyer said:

Timely question as I was going to post a discussion on this issue.

Everything about this instrument is new to me never have owned a blonde instrument before. . .

Now for the trebles for the new BR I went with the recommendations of Savarez 541R & 542R. These are very different from what I’m used to. Much lower tension, physically thinner and quieter. . .

Where did you see Allen’s comment re my string ?

I see finding the right strings for a particular instrument is a journey that has a cost. You may even arrive at the place where you began and recognise that place for the first time.

Click to expand...

I find there’s usually a perception about “white” instruments. Probably one of the most interesting comments for me was on a quilted maple spruce that Shawn sold, and is now in his archives on his site.

Odd that you find the strings thinner. Soft, I get - try the 540J, which I normally put on spruce tops.

I saw Allen’s comment on another Luthiers forum, after I asked him about the build. I’ll send you a link later.
EDIT: Sorry, its in the Lounge, which you already know.

Your last comment is how I always come back to Savarez, and recently tweaked in the last year to Cristal Trebles.

For the “blond”, put 9 beautiful curly koa ukulele next to one like yours, and yours will stand out.

Beautiful build.

Kekani said:

I find there’s usually a perception about “white” instruments. Probably one of the most interesting comments for me was on a quilted maple spruce that Shawn sold, and is now in his archives on his site.

Odd that you find the strings thinner. Soft, I get - try the 540J, which I normally put on spruce tops.

I saw Allen’s comment on another Luthiers forum, after I asked him about the build. I’ll send you a link later.
EDIT: Sorry, its in the Lounge, which you already know.

Your last comment is how I always come back to Savarez, and recently tweaked in the last year to Cristal Trebles.

For the “blond”, put 9 beautiful curly koa ukulele next to one like yours, and yours will stand out.

Beautiful build.

Click to expand...

It was an absolute pleasure to play it yesterday.

Re Savarez, I had been more familiar with their round wound strings that I used for my bases on various instruments. I’ve been using wound 3rd & 4th Strings for quite a while now. I was always very happy with the Savarez wounds.

Don’t get me wrong, I not saying I hate the 540R series, it’s just that they are soooo different from what I’m used to. At this stage I haven’t made up my mind about any of the criteria that I apply to making a buying decision. So watch this space for further discussion once I have some experience under my belt with them.