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I am drawn to single bout ukes like pineapples and teardrops and when I came across some photos of a Chris Knutsen ukulele on Carter Vintage Guitars, I was blown away. The styling is way ahead of its time and is as much art as it is craft. What attracted me the most was the multiple changes in the curves of the sides. It is not a smooth arc like most teardrops, but flows from sharp to gentle curves as it makes its way from neck to tail. Brilliant. It has a relatively short neck that joins the body at the 10th fret making it more of a strummer. The asymmetrical headstock is not like anything you would find in a ukulele at the turn of the last century.
So I decided to build one in his style, not a reproduction, more of a homage to an innovative builder.
First, a little background: Chris emigrated from Norway in the late 1800’s and settled for a time in the area of Minnesota and the Dakotas, before moving on to California and starting his instrument building career. I feel a sort of a loose connection to him since my grandfather followed the same path at about the time. Who knows, maybe they knew each other!