NUD: Ken Timms, Cuban Mahogany, 17 frets

Some of you might remember my gushing in the Ken Timms thread over my luck of being able to snatch a Timms. Well, the arduous waiting for the thing to arrive is finally over.

As I mentioned in the other thread, I've been vary of getting a Timms because of a few specific reasons, one of which is that I have a few mahogany sopranos already, but ultimately I couldn't pass this one up since it was going for relatively cheap because of limited interest in the auction. Immediately when I played my first few chords, that doubt was alleviated. The darkness of the sound of this thing really surprised me. Obviously mahogany is a dark sounding tonewood but I haven't experienced this kind of sound from a soprano before. Both my Kiwaya KTS-7 and vintage Martin style 0 are definitely brighter and punchier than the Timms. Not that it doesn't have any punch but the prevalent tone of it is very dark, almost mellow, especially for a soprano. I don't know if it's the build or wood (the Timms is made from Cuban mahogany whereas my other two are Honduran mahogany), but in any case this is perfect for me since it's a different sound to what I already had.

I did experience a bit of a scare however. I noticed that the strings were going quite sharp when playing higher up the fretboard but the intonation on the first string particularly was completely out of whack, almost 50 cents sharp at the 12th fret. I thought to myself "great, I got the only dud Ken Timms has ever made". But luckily a quick string change fixed the problem completely. Since the Timms has a (really classy) straight ebony bridge instead of a compensated one, intonation isn't quite perfect but still completely reasonable. I think Ken strings his ukes with fluorocarbon fishing line so I don't know if the stock strings had some kind of stability issues or what, but Worth CMs sound definitely better. Funnily enough, fluorocarbon is the only string type that'll fit in the bridge slots since they - especially the slot for the fourth string - are extremely thin. No way you could fit a nylon string through those.

I probably would've preferred a normal 12 fret soprano more but the extended fretboard does make the uke look really classy, more similar to the fretboard of a style 3 Martin. On top of that, the dark Cuban mahogany makes this thing look vintage already. It is just a joy to look at even if a bit simple. The only real niggle I have, which is also the other reason I've been vary of getting one, is the Shellac/French polish. While it makes the uke look absolutely fantastic, it also means that it scratches extremely easily. Even after only a few plays with it, it already has some light scratches that I can't completely wipe off, something that's easily done with my KTS-7 for example. I suppose that's something I just have to live with. I never would've thought I'd get a Timms as a beater uke.

Edit: As per requested by UU member clear, I've added a sound sample of me playing some 12th Street Rag on the Timms. You'll just have to excuse my fumbling on the fingerpicking.
Sound Sample: https://soundcloud.com/user-628658662/timms/s-gooME1WF5Gn




Btw, there's already another one up for auction, this time a Koa Soprano. Go get yours now!

Congratulaions Dohle! It looks beautiful!

Oh my, that koa one looks great too and now I'm afraid I'm temped to participate...

Wow. That's an awesome one! Congrats!

Congrats!
Sounds like you've got a winner.

I am so pleased that you are delighted with your Ken Timms soprano. At a bargain price, too!

My own Timms (Cuban) came equipped with fishing line - it was doing the uke no favours. A set of Aquilas sorted it out.

John Colter

Congrats, that's a beauty, plus Ken makes far fewer of the 17 fret model. I bet the tone will change as it settles in, and you play it a bunch.

Wow, what a beauty! The 17 fretters are apparently out of production now (per Ken's wife) so it's a collector's item now.

I like 12 fretters myself, but ideally my next uke (soprano) will have 15 for the occasional song that goes past 12. 17 seems a little extreme on a soprano, but it's true to the style.

ukantor said:

I am so pleased that you are delighted with your Ken Timms soprano. At a bargain price, too!

My own Timms (Cuban) came equipped with fishing line - it was doing the uke no favours. A set of Aquilas sorted it out.

John Colter

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I was really confused by this because loads of people swear by just fluorocarbon fishing line as uke strings, but clearly in my case - and apparently yours as well - actual ukulele strings made the instrument so much better. Weird that.

Ukecaster said:

Congrats, that's a beauty, plus Ken makes far fewer of the 17 fret model. I bet the tone will change as it settles in, and you play it a bunch.

Click to expand...

glennerd said:

Wow, what a beauty! The 17 fretters are apparently out of production now (per Ken's wife) so it's a collector's item now.

I like 12 fretters myself, but ideally my next uke (soprano) will have 15 for the occasional song that goes past 12. 17 seems a little extreme on a soprano, but it's true to the style.

Click to expand...

Yes, I've seen that the 17 fret models are much rarer and usually more sought after, particularly now that he's apparently not making them anymore. I just prefer the aesthetic of the chamfered 12 fret fretboard and I rarely go beyond the 12th fret, but luckily the fretboard on this is nicer and sleeker than what I gathered from the photos at Ebay. No regrets at all (as if there was really any danger of that ).

Those slight scratches are just like small love bites across the back of the neck.....

My Ken Timms koa soprano arrived this morning and it is surely a beautiful little instrument! Surprisingly I find the soprano scale quite comfortable and I think this ukulele is a keeper. I feel very fortunate to have it!

I have experienced the exact thing that Dohle mentioned. The A string is going well beyond sharp when going up the fretboard. I hope that some new strings and time will do the trick.

Also the fine paper that it was wrapped with left some marks on the polish. I'll send a message to Ken how to remove them if possible.

But the sound and the feel? Spot on!

I mentioned that I'm leaving strumming marks on the finish very easily but wiping it with just a microfiber cleaning cloth did hide the marks somewhat. You could try that on the marks from the wrapping as well.

I still think that the sensitive finish on the Timms is the only downside on it. Otherwise, it's a fantastic little instrument.

I don't think you had the sound sample up when I last saw this thread. That sounds fantastic. You're right it is really full and dark and warm, but it still has that sorta compressed, warbly, jangly Martin thing going on. I think you did pretty darn well! The Browns sound great on it, but of course, you could always widen the nut slots if you want to try nylon on it.

Thanks! I agree with the sound completely. Easily the darkest/warmest sounding soprano I have. Although, I need to point out that I put Worth Clears on it, not Browns. I don't even dare think how warm it would sound with Browns on.

Also there's no way I'd try to modify this beauty or even let a luthier do it. I doubt nylon or nylgut strings would even suit the Timms that well. The darkness would, again, probably go completely overboard.

Dohle said:

Thanks! I agree with the sound completely. Easily the darkest/warmest sounding soprano I have. Although, I need to point out that I put Worth Clears on it, not Browns. I don't even dare think how warm it would sound with Browns on.

Also there's no way I'd try to modify this beauty or even let a luthier do it. I doubt nylon or nylgut strings would even suit the Timms that well. The darkness would, again, probably go completely overboard.

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Wow. I'm not sure why my brain thought it had read Browns. That warmth is even more impressive then. Yeah. I woud't want to modify it either. It sounds great as is.

Loved your sound clip, that uke sounds outstanding, just gorgeous!

Congratulations with your Ken Timms I highly recommend trying D-tuning on it. I have one of his very recent koas and at the moment I have Worth Browns in D-tuning. It sings marvelously and intonation is spot on (which, for the record, was also the case when it was fitted with Ken's fishing lines in C-tuning).