Luthiers know for their sopranos

kerneltime

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sorry for the typo in the subject.

Often attention is mostly focused on tenors or maybe baritones built by luthiers.
I want to her from folks who have sopranos built by luthiers..

Here is my experience so far:

TinGuitar: Modern sound, loud up the fret, good action, bigger frets by default. Open to customization

Ken Timms: Vintage martin sounds. High quality replicas of martin. No customization. Only mahogany and koa

wunderkammer: Vintage sound. Loud. High aesthetic focus. Open to customization.

Cripple creek: Modern sound. Great action. Open to customization. My uke likes Uke logic high tension strings. Bigger frets by default (I quite like them)

I would happily recommend the luthiers above.

I am waiting for my Beau Hannam soprano... but from what I hear from Samantha Muir, it should be awesome.
 
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It's a bit Europe vs. US, and Asia finding the middle ground when it comes to the usual scale of custom order or high quality ukuleles.
 
Pohaku sopranos are the bomb!

My Pohaku is truly amazing!

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Kevin Mulcock, of KM ukuleles in Wales, makes some excellent sopranos for very reasonable prices. Meticulously made. With lovely sound.

I have an KM walnut soprano that is fantastic.

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Just realized UK seems to have a thing going for sopranos... Influence of George Fromby?
 
I can't speak for all my fellow UK players, but I play soprano from choice. I just love the sound of them. I have played all the other sizes, and always come back to soprano. So eventually, I passed on my tenor(s) and concerts and remained a soprano addict! (Plus my sopranino)
 
George Formby is mostly associated with playing the banjo. I have had a small four string banjo, but soon realized that it has nothing at all in common with the ukulele - apart from the tuning.

I play the soprano ukulele because it is the size that suits me best. I have more than twenty sopranos, one concert and one tenor.

John Colter
 
Same here. I have one tenor I rarely play, but that's so I can play Lyle Ritz stuff. I think my baritone may be going to live on a farm, I've not looked at it for months.
 
I seem to be a rare British exclusively tenor player then. The soprano has never appealed to me. I am looking for a baritone now.
 
From what I heard from luthiers
1. Sopranos can take as much time as a tenor to make a really good custom uke.
2. People don’t pay the same price for sopranos as tenors
I was just wondering why is it that many of the popular soprano builders seem to be based in UK whereas most custom tenor builders seem to be in the US.
I guess, I should add beansprout (alto is the smallest) myamoe, Tyde, Kinnard, Magic Fluke to the list of soprano builders but one hardly comes across custom sopranos made by them. Then there is black bear and earnest instruments who have retired.
Moore Bettah sopranos are rare. Beau Hannam seems to be in the same boat.
Most of the custom soprano builders who are popular here have a price point below $1000.
Even Martin does not make their higher end sopranos any more other than custom orders.
 
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John Kinnard also makes a great soprano.
 
"Europe" is 100(?) countries. South American and Asia and Australia have a good share of soprano ukulele makers. They are made all over the planet. Most UU members will never see the non-English speaking makers. Most UU members will never see the others either. What you see on UU is the "maker de jour" for UU, which is nothing like the entire population of soprano makers on the planet.

Any soprano maker who wants to be visible on UU will be posting on UU or the internet, if you are not seeing them it is usually because UU and the internet does not feature in their sales and marketing plan. They always have enough work and rarely need to advertise on the internet.

If you are looking for a soprano maker to actually buy a soprano, start with the list of makers on the sticky at the top of the UU Uke talk page. And work through the list, most of them will make a good soprano for you.

If you just want to talk about the Makers De Jour, this is a fine thread to use.

I have several custom sopranos. Some with 14 frets to the neck join and some with 12 frets. I like to work with the 12 fret versions, noodling on a tune and arranging it to fit in 12 frets. No-one would pay to hear the result, but it is enjoyable for me.

I agree that we're going to see mostly English speaking makers here, since it's an English speaking site. I think Barry's gotaukulele site has brought a lot of attention to UK builders in particular, since that's where he's at. Directly or indirectly through him, I've discovered: Rob Collins, Ken Timms, Liam Kirby, Kevin Mulcock, DJ Morgan, and Paul Bernard, all from the UK.

I would love to find (English speaking) reviewers in other continents who are as prolific and independent as Barry. Especially Asia and South America, where language barriers make it harder for outsiders to discover builders. Not that it's impossible to find luthiers, but having a guide helps.

I also agree that, like most hobbies with implements involved, hobbyists tend to fixate a bit on the latest gear, tools, equipment. To me, it feels like Anuenue has taken a lot of the spotlight lately.

People showing off their newest acquisitions or starting threads like this can be helpful for those who are researching their next buy or just interested in learning more about ukuleles in general.
 
"Europe" is 100(?) countries. South American and Asia and Australia have a good share of soprano ukulele makers. They are made all over the planet. Most UU members will never see the non-English speaking makers. Most UU members will never see the others either. What you see on UU is the "maker de jour" for UU, which is nothing like the entire population of soprano makers on the planet.

Any soprano maker who wants to be visible on UU will be posting on UU or the internet, if you are not seeing them it is usually because UU and the internet does not feature in their sales and marketing plan. They always have enough work and rarely need to advertise on the internet.

If you are looking for a soprano maker to actually buy a soprano, start with the list of makers on the sticky at the top of the UU Uke talk page. And work through the list, most of them will make a good soprano for you.

If you just want to talk about the Makers De Jour, this is a fine thread to use.

I have several custom sopranos. Some with 14 frets to the neck join and some with 12 frets. I like to work with the 12 fret versions, noodling on a tune and arranging it to fit in 12 frets. No-one would pay to hear the result, but it is enjoyable for me.
I am hoping folks will share their experiences with soprano uke makers.. I wish to learn more. I completely agree that UU is a small subset of what’s out there... maybe you can post links to others you are aware of?
 
People showing off their newest acquisitions or starting threads like this can be helpful for those who are researching their next buy or just interested in learning more about ukuleles in general.
That is the hope... I want to hear more and hopefully get some eye candy or sound samples..
 
That is the hope... I want to hear more and hopefully get some eye candy or sound samples..

I don't have eye candy or sound samples, but for sopranos, I feel I should mention UkeSA, made by Alvin "Pops" Okami, founder of KoAloha. Aside from Pineapple Sundays, he's been making sopranos (Wow, Banger, AO). Since the UkeSA site launched recently, I don't know if he's customizing anymore. Loud and easy to play. Beautiful Hawaiian tone, similar to a KoAloha, unsurprisingly. One of the best sounds I've ever heard from a soprano. Just beware, his vision not being what it used to be; sometimes his ukes come with aesthetic flaws and imperfections.
 
I don't have eye candy or sound samples, but for sopranos, I feel I should mention UkeSA, made by Alvin "Pops" Okami, founder of KoAloha. Aside from Pineapple Sundays, he's been making sopranos (Wow, Banger, AO). Since the UkeSA site launched recently, I don't know if he's customizing anymore. Loud and easy to play. Beautiful Hawaiian tone, similar to a KoAloha, unsurprisingly. One of the best sounds I've ever heard from a soprano. Just beware, his vision not being what it used to be; sometimes his ukes come with aesthetic flaws and imperfections.
That find was worth staring this thread!
 
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