NUD: Wunderhammer torrefied spruce + Koa soprano

kerneltime · May 20, 2020

update: I made a mistake in the subject l, the spelling is wrong.
website for the builder Liam Kirby: http://www.wunderkammerinstruments.co.uk/
sample recorded by Liam himself for this uke:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_9g3Hun1Dy/?igshid=ejk5v7r72b0z

Perfect for a lockdown! I just received this beauty after waiting for it to be built.
This is a single piece torrefied spruce top soprano with beautiful Koa back and sides with rope binding.
I requested for the extended fret board and gotoh planetary tuners.
This soprano has a sound that surpasses its look.
Will try to get a sound sample done but here is some eye candy!
Gallery: https://kerneltime.smugmug.com/Ukulele/Wunderhammer-torrefied-spruce/n-pBQFck/

snowdenn · May 20, 2020

Looks amazing. Even the rope binding, which I'm not always a fan of, looks terrific. The rosette is especially beautiful, and the end graft too. Haha, whenever I see headstocks like that on a soprano, I want to turn the outer strings so they wind around the outside, like Martin does. What a beautiful uke.

I'm sure it sounds great too, I really like that wood combination. I wonder how Liam's sopranos compare with a Timms.

Dohle · May 20, 2020

Oh my word... that thing is stunning. It's like the ultimate soprano. I'm speechless...

I knew Liam Kirby could do really nice ukes but this is just on another level. I think congratulations are in order. And I don't doubt that the sound is even better. I've heard Wunderkammer sopranos are among the best on the planet.

BTW, I don't know if that's a typo on the title but I certainly believe this sounds like a hammer when strummed hard.

snowdenn · May 20, 2020

Dohle said:
BTW, I don't know if that's a typo on the title but I certainly believe this sounds like a hammer when strummed hard.

Haha, I didn't even notice that. I seem to recall an interview in which Liam Kirby said he really aims for loudness in his builds. I know he didn't mean volume is everything, but it automatically made me like him as a builder.

Ludwig. · May 20, 2020

Congrats! Her sister's with me

:

Anyway, Liam playing your's made me place a new order right away. There's a taropatch coming my way sometime in 2021.

Ludwig. · May 20, 2020

snowdenn said:
I seem to recall an interview in which Liam Kirby said he really aims for loudness in his builds.

There you go:

kerneltime · May 20, 2020

Fixed typo in the subject: https://forum.ukuleleunderground.co...fied-spruce-Koa-soprano&p=2227801#post2227801

timeconsumer · May 21, 2020

Congratulations, it looks absolutely fantastic! It's nice to see some high resolution photos of Liam's creation since he doesn't post a lot of finished builds on Instagram.

I'm also on Liam's waiting list. I'm pretty much set on a May soprano (the same model Christopher Davis-Shannon plays), although seeing this Ike makes me lust for both. :iwant:

Jerryc41 · May 21, 2020

That's a beauty!

Kibes37 · May 21, 2020

Wow, that is cool. That’s the best I’ve seen rope binding done. I like the back of the neck as well. Would love to hear it sometime. Enjoy!!!

EDW · May 21, 2020

:drool:

Just beautiful. His instruments look timeless

timeconsumer · May 21, 2020

Kibes37 said:
Wow, that is cool. That’s the best I’ve seen rope binding done. I like the back of the neck as well. Would love to hear it sometime. Enjoy!!!

Actually I think this is a clip of Liam playing it: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_9g3Hun1Dy/?igshid=ejk5v7r72b0z

kerneltime · May 21, 2020

timeconsumer said:
Actually I think this is a clip of Liam playing it: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_9g3Hun1Dy/?igshid=ejk5v7r72b0z

Yup! He posted that before shipping it out.

Kibes37 · May 22, 2020

Sweet! What a peaceful background. Beautiful tone.

kerneltime · May 22, 2020

snowdenn said:
Looks amazing. Even the rope binding, which I'm not always a fan of, looks terrific. The rosette is especially beautiful, and the end graft too. Haha, whenever I see headstocks like that on a soprano, I want to turn the outer strings so they wind around the outside, like Martin does. What a beautiful uke.

I'm sure it sounds great too, I really like that wood combination. I wonder how Liam's sopranos compare with a Timms.

I am not sure I can compare as Ken’s sopranos I have are mahogany and koa and this one is torrefied spruce.
They both replicate the vintage sound really well. I have not played the 2 back to back to articulate the difference. Within Ken Timms ukes, the type of wood does make a difference too so comparison would be hard... I guess what I am saying is that they are both great ukes and in the looks department this one takes the cake. I think Ken has more ukes under his belt or at least has the process down to perfection to replicate the vintage martins. Liam has a different build philosophy where he is more hands on in his builds and it shows up as personality. As in, Liam can give individual names to the ukes he makes where as Ken makes his ukes to be consistent and same...
For a brief period I had 2 style 0 ukes from Ken with the same wood and I could not tell which one was which without looking at the labels.. I doubt an owner of 2 Wunderhammer will have the same problem. Both are good things, you can never go wrong with Ken’s ukes and you can customize a Wunderkammer.

snowdenn · May 22, 2020

kerneltime said:
I am not sure I can compare as Ken’s sopranos I have are mahogany and koa and this one is torrefied spruce.
They both replicate the vintage sound really well. I have not played the 2 back to back to articulate the difference. Within Ken Timms ukes, the type of wood does make a difference too so comparison would be hard... I guess what I am saying is that they are both great ukes and in the looks department this one takes the cake. I think Ken has more ukes under his belt or at least has the process down to perfection to replicate the vintage martins. Liam has a different build philosophy where he is more hands on in his builds and it shows up as personality. As in, Liam can give individual names to the ukes he makes where as Ken makes his ukes to be consistent and same...
For a brief period I had 2 style 0 ukes from Ken with the same wood and I could not tell which one was which without looking at the labels.. I doubt an owner of 2 Wunderhammer will have the same problem. Both are good things, you can never go wrong with Ken’s ukes and you can customize a Wunderkammer.

Thanks, I was just curious. I realize they're different woods, but Timms was the closest soprano I could think of that I had experience with.

kerneltime · May 23, 2020

I changed the strings yesterday and put on m605 martin and it is a lot louder! Waiting for strings to settle down. Initially it came with Aquila Lava.
I noticed that the strings were not coming off and then I realized that this is my favorite bridge. It allows for both knotted and pass through style for strings! I love that aesthetically it looks like a vintage bridge and works as one and caters to folks like me who love pass through bridges.

Counter · May 23, 2020

Wow, lots of fluff under the varnish

Dohle · May 23, 2020

By pass through, do you mean that the strings go through the bridge inside the sound chamber?

Counter · May 23, 2020

Dohle said:
By pass through, do you mean that the strings go through the bridge inside the sound chamber?

That is what pass through means, yes. Pass them through then tie the knot or add a bead.

NUD: Wunderhammer torrefied spruce + Koa soprano

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