Great luthiers?

He's not taking commissions anymore I don't think and is now doing those thin, sort of batch electro type looking ukuleles. He's also very tricky to work with and isn't really open to ideas, questions or suggestions so tread carefully

I bought two and sold them on almost immediately. I wouldn't ever buy another.
 
If looking for an archtop jazz type uke, there's Toby Chennell of Jazzbox Ukes. I had a baritone and bass made by him. Both wonderful instruments.http://www.jazzboxukes.com
 

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I really do like the looks of these. Haven't heard too much about them. Glad to hear you like yours and they seem to be quality ukes. Anythin I should know about them?
 
Apologies for my earlier post re Pete Howlett.I did not know he was no longer taking commissions; I had one of his tenors a few years back,and just assumed he was still building! But then there is Rob Collins of course, of 'Tinguitar.com' who is still working, and I have a soprano of his that is a truly wonderful little beast!
 
Thank you Bil, I think most of us know how to use the internet to do all the things you have suggested. I would be a little surprised if someone wanting a custom instrument would just come to this forum and nowhere else :)

It is useful however to talk to those with experience in these pages rather than visit a makers facebook page, particularly those which are heavily edited to show positive content only. The same makers also restrict comment on YouTube videos so sometimes a forum like this provides a more balanced and honest view, albeit over many pages of 'wheat and chaff' posts.
 
Thank you Bil, I think most of us know how to use the internet to do all the things you have suggested. I would be a little surprised if someone wanting a custom instrument would just come to this forum and nowhere else :)

It is useful however to talk to those with experience in these pages rather than visit a makers facebook page, particularly those which are heavily edited to show positive content only. The same makers also restrict comment on YouTube videos so sometimes a forum like this provides a more balanced and honest view, albeit over many pages of 'wheat and chaff' posts.

This is exactly why I posted here.. :) Better to know honest opinions of people who have actually played the instruments.
 
Peter Rabbit (real name?). What un-named source says I am tricky to work with? If it means, "Do I work with clients to their specification?" Of course I don't. You don't hire a lawyer then act as his first counsel. I have in the past done what the client specified in terms of 'their ideas' and it always ended in tears, one time ended with me making 3 guitars for a client who thought they said they wanted one of my designs when they really wanted me to reproduce their falling apart Selmer.

I make #therevelator, a very successful design that is giving me the opportunity continue building despite the limitations placed upon me by Parkinson's Disease.

When making statements about me please do due diligence and state facts, not what you have heard or what yorr opinion is. I don't know who you are and have never not tried to work with clients to produce instruments that are a liquorice allsorts of an instrument.
 
Hi,
Does someone of you happen to know a great luthier for custom ukuleles?
There are multiple definitions of custom.. some will work with you to change almost every thing about the instrument and some will offer a more limited set of choices.
My advice for what customizations make most sense
1. Wood
2. Left or right hand
3. Neck profile
4. Frets
5. Action
6. Pickup
7. Sound profile of the uke (the only luthier I know of who primarily focuses on sound profile and has a process is Mark Roberts, he has a few podcasts and articles out on the web if you want to research more but he offers choices for sustain quality, punchiness etc..) He is on my wish list to order from, I really do not know what to ask him.. I am still educating myself.
...
...
many more options possible..

Speaking from personal experience here is what I know (please correct me if I make a mistake), by no means an exhaustive list and you can always reach out to the luthiers and discuss before ordering.

Folks like MyaMoe (multiple second hands in the past including the banjo) and Beansprout (on my list) will make a uke with limited number of customizations but an amazing price for the quality of the instrument.

Some one like Tinguitar (I have a soprano and super tenor) or Wunderkammer (http://www.wunderkammerinstruments.co.uk, soprano) or Cripple Creek (soprano and concert) will do a lot more customization on the spec of the instrument. Their prices are very competitive for what is offered. Highly recommend (I have yet to receive my Wunderkammer but I have only read positive reviews..)

From here on the list is high end and even higher quality (in terms of aesthetics, the difference in sound quality is not as stark but there is a difference), some of the best ukes money can buy.

The higher end uke makers such as Beau Hannam will offer a lot more customizations for ukes that will make you drool.. heck he even built a fretless uke

Steve Grimes has standard models with some standard customization, though nothing is out of his reach if you can discuss it with him.

Hive (Jake Maclay) has standard customization on his site and a 2 year wait list (when I booked a year back)!

Pepe Romero also builds custom ukes but I think you have limited input on customizations beyond choice of wood and there is a 2 year wait list. He has a unique bracing style which gives his ukes a unique sound.

David Ingalls from Ono ukes make custom ukes and has been always pushing his design and build. Can't go wrong with him! Also, very competitive prices.

Tyde music makes some very interesting looking ukes (check out their instagram) and do offer custom inlays and aesthetics.

Manny Halican builds some amazing ukes but I am not sure if he customizes or he belongs in the list below.. I have yet to order from him but I have played his ukes.

Then there are luthiers who make hand made ukes but you have limited or no input and if you are lucky you can get one of their ukes..
Moore Bettah (Chuck Moore)
Les Stansell
Pegasus (Bob Gleason)
Ken Timms (only sopranos in Martin style but the best..)
---
If you are open to second hand ukes, Compass Rose and Collings are great ukes as well and used to offer custom ukes..
 
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There are multiple definitions of custom.. some will work with you to change almost every thing about the instrument and some will offer a more limited set of choices.
My advice for what customizations make most sense
1. Wood
2. Left or right hand
3. Neck profile
4. Frets
5. Action
6. Pickup
7. Sound profile of the uke (the only luthier I know of who primarily focuses on sound profile and has a process is Mark Roberts, he has a few podcasts and articles out on the web if you want to research more but he offers choices for sustain quality, punchiness etc..) He is on my wish list to order from, I really do not know what to ask him.. I am still educating myself.
...
...
many more options possible..

Speaking from personal experience here is what I know (please correct me if I make a mistake), by no means an exhaustive list and you can always reach out to the luthiers and discuss before ordering.

Folks like MyaMoe (multiple second hands in the past including the banjo) and Beansprout (on my list) will make a uke with limited number of customizations but an amazing price for the quality of the instrument.

Some one like Tinguitar (I have a soprano and super tenor) or Wunderkammer (http://www.wunderkammerinstruments.co.uk, soprano) or Cripple Creek (soprano and concert) will do a lot more customization on the spec of the instrument. Their prices are very competitive for what is offered. Highly recommend (I have yet to receive my Wunderkammer but I have only read positive reviews..)

From here on the list is high end and even higher quality (in terms of aesthetics, the difference in sound quality is not as stark but there is a difference), some of the best ukes money can buy.

The higher end uke makers such as Beau Hannam will offer a lot of customization for a ukes that will make you drool.. heck he even built a fretless uke

Steve Grimes has standard models with some standard customization, though nothing is out of his reach if you can discuss it with him.

Hive (Jake Maclay) has standard customization on his site and a 2 year wait list (when I booked a year back)!

Pepe Romero also builds custom ukes but I think you have limited input on customizations beyond choice of wood and there is a 2 year wait list. He has a unique bracing style which gives his ukes a unique sound.

David Ingalls from Ono ukes make custom ukes and has been always pushing his design and build. Can't go wrong with him! Also, very competitive prices.

Tyde music makes some very interesting looking ukes (check out their instagram) and do offer custom inlays and aesthetics.

Manny Halican builds some amazing ukes but I am not sure if he customizes or he belongs in the list below.. I have yet to order from him but I have played his ukes.

Then there are luthiers who make hand made ukes but you have limited or no input and if you are lucky you can get one of their ukes..
Moore Bettah (Chuck Moore)
Les Stansell
Pegasus (Bob Gleason)
Ken Timms (only sopranos in Martin style but the best..)
---
If you are open to second hand ukes, Compass Rose and Collings are great ukes as well and used to offer custom ukes..
I should have caught up with the thread before replying.. :p
Tinguitar or Wunderkammer are good bets for jazz style tenors
 
I believe Baz has a list of Luthiers located all over the world on his website. I don't know how current it is.

ZT Ukuleles by Zachary Taylor is located in the UK. He will customize the ukuleles he makes. Very well thought out designs.
https://ztukuleles.com/home-v1

Antica Ukuleleria by Marco Todeschini makes some really unique and fabulously designed ukuleles in Italy. Both electric and acoustic.
www.gotaukulele.com/2018/07/antica-ukuleleria-moderno-tenor-ukulele.html
www.gotaukulele.com/2018/08/antica-ukuleleria-ufos-tenor-review.html

Good luck on your search.
 
Although I would have loved to, I have never worked with Juha Lottonen.

Zach Taylor does not make ukulele. The work is outsourced. BTW Zach was the first guy to recommend the Zyliss vise as the 'luthier's all round vise'.

I'm still working flat out. If you want to see my current work view it here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/masterukulelemaker/
 
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Unless we want to of course.

Thank you Bil, I think most of us know how to use the internet to do all the things you have suggested. I would be a little surprised if someone wanting a custom instrument would just come to this forum and nowhere else :)

It is useful however to talk to those with experience in these pages rather than visit a makers facebook page, particularly those which are heavily edited to show positive content only. The same makers also restrict comment on YouTube videos so sometimes a forum like this provides a more balanced and honest view, albeit over many pages of 'wheat and chaff' posts.

This is exactly why I posted here.. :) Better to know honest opinions of people who have actually played the instruments.

You know, I've been here six years and if all we did was go back and find old threads and read them there would be nothing to talk about. It's all been said over and over and over again. What's new is what we are talking about today. I'm come here to talk to talk to people, not to do ukulele research. Keep it going.
 
Although I would have loved to, I have never worked with Juha Lottonen.

Zach Taylor does not make ukulele. The work is outsourced. BTW Zach was the first guy to recommend the Zyliss vise as the 'luthier's all round vise'.

I'm still working flat out. If you want to see my current work view it here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/masterukulelemaker/

Would it be more accurate to say "customized" than custom if an outsourced company makes a uke to the designer's and the customer's specifications? They are customizing the basic design to order.

I have a Hoffmann ML tenor that was sold as a "custom" because it had a cedar top and the binding and purfling was different from his usual designs. Yet those options were available from a menu on his website when you had a ukulele built. No idea if HMS chose the materials, or Jerry made it on spec and offered it to HMS. Or a customer ordered it that way and then backed out. All of which are possible.

I'm not picking a fight or quibbling here. I am genuinely interested in what the generally accepted definition of a "custom" ukulele is. And maybe what it has become with mass-producers adding a bit of bling to a standard model and calling it a custom.
 
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Zach Taylor does not make ukulele. The work is outsourced. BTW Zach was the first guy to recommend the Zyliss vise as the 'luthier's all round vise'.

Isn't a lot of your work 'outsourced' to fee paying students?
 
Peter Rabbit (real name?). What un-named source says I am tricky to work with? If it means, "Do I work with clients to their specification?" Of course I don't. You don't hire a lawyer then act as his first counsel. I have in the past done what the client specified in terms of 'their ideas' and it always ended in tears, one time ended with me making 3 guitars for a client who thought they said they wanted one of my designs when they really wanted me to reproduce their falling apart Selmer.

I make #therevelator, a very successful design that is giving me the opportunity continue building despite the limitations placed upon me by Parkinson's Disease.

When making statements about me please do due diligence and state facts, not what you have heard or what yorr opinion is. I don't know who you are and have never not tried to work with clients to produce instruments that are a liquorice allsorts of an instrument.

A forum like this is exactly the place where you share an opinion, otherwise what is the point. I didn't say "don't buy" I just said tread carefully. If you are indeed open to suggestions, questions and ideas then I stand corrected. From first hand experience I know this not to be the case. If you're also taking custom commissions and not focused on your thin line ukes again, I stand corrected. We are entitled to an opinion, and not to being silenced when someone disagrees. If I bought a cooker and didn't like it, I wouldn't then advocate others going out and buying one. The OP asked and people answered. I don't really see how a luthier touting his own wares is helpful to him.

Also, really, who uses their real name on this website! Come one.
 
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