NUD: Kimo Custom Super Tenor Redwood/Rosewood

Arik

“Where words fail, music speaks.”
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Hi all. Super excited about this new uke. Just wanted to give a shout out to Hank Johnson at Kimo Ukulele's (kimoukulele.com). This guy is awesome, super patient, and a master luthier.

This is my first custom uke and wanted a redwood top ukulele. Doing a custom is harder then it looks. Orig wanted curly redwood but Hank said that it has the potential to crack later down the line due to it being more brittle than the straight grain. I didn't want to chance it so I went with some nice straight grain redwood. I spent a lot of time virtually looking at pieces of wood because I wanted a specific look. Hank really helped me out. I ended up with an old-growth salvage redwood top with Indian rosewood back and sides. We decided on having bindings and rosette with curly koa with w/b purfling. Also has ebony, bridge, fretboard, and headstock. It also has a radiused fretboard, sound port, and Mi-Si trio pick-up.

Took about 2 1/2 months but it was worth the wait. This uke is beautiful and plays awesome. The uke is warm but projects super well. Hank uses an X-bracing. Not sure if this is what gives this uke its projection but its loud. I love it.

Hank Johnson is a master artisan and his ukes are superb. Highly recommend this guy if you are looking for a custom uke.

Specs:
Super Tenor 17" scale
TOP: Salvage Old Growth Redwood
Back & Sides: Indian Rosewood
Faceplate: Ebony
Rosette: Curly Koa
Binding: Curly Koa W/B purfling
Fretboard & Bridge: Ebony (Radiused)
Urethane finish on the body
Tuners: Gotoh UK700 15:1 Gold
Neck: Honduran Mahogany neck with carbon fiber reinforcement
Bridge: Ebony
Side Port
Strung w Pepe Romero w/ Smoothwound low g string & Thomastik wound C (CF-27)
Mi-Si Acoustic Trio pick-up

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Very handsome uke. Congratulations, deznuchs!

Jan
 
Congratulations that really is beautiful and you have great taste in top selection. I have two Kimo ukes, the first I bought used and liked it so much I commissioned the super concert. Hank is a great guy and I highly recommend him to anyone wanting to have a custom uke built. Enjoy your Kimo ukulele for many years to come
 
Very nice. I'm still kinda kicking myself for backing off of a Kimo commission several years ago when the price was beyond my comfort zone, but much less than today.

This is probably the "classiest" build I've seen from him as most of the builds on his website are among the "flashiest" out there - which is probably what I'd want. :p But I see he still managed to get in the burl headplate in the back - one of my favorite design features he does.

I'm curious about the bridge. Is the hole placement stylistic or functional?

I'm also curious about the "super" in "super tenor". Usually that refers to a tenor body with 19" scale. I've also seen it used with 17" scale and larger-than-normal body.
 
How beautiful, congrats to you! I'm considering rosewood b/s for a custom right now, which I've had on several guitars, but not a uke. There are so many great choices it's hard to decide. Would you be able to post or send me a sound clip?
 
Beautiful uke! Hank is really making some outstanding ukes. Congratulations!
 
Thanks everyone for the love:)

Congratulations that really is beautiful and you have great taste in top selection. I have two Kimo ukes, the first I bought used and liked it so much I commissioned the super concert. Hank is a great guy and I highly recommend him to anyone wanting to have a custom uke built. Enjoy your Kimo ukulele for many years to come

Thanks DownUpDave for your posts on your Kimo ukes over the years. It is what exposed me to Hank.

I'm curious about the bridge. Is the hole placement stylistic or functional?

I'm also curious about the "super" in "super tenor". Usually that refers to a tenor body with 19" scale. I've also seen it used with 17" scale and larger-than-normal body.

Ya I'm not sure if the bridge holes are stylistic or functional. I just looked at it and the angle of the bend of the strings is different for all the strings. But it sounds great!

As far as the super tenor. I think for Hank its the body style. The Super Tenor is a little bigger than his standard and more rounded at the lower bout, which is why I chose it. TBH I expected a huge body but when I got it, it is just deeper and slightly bigger than most of my other ukes. Except for my Kanile'a. My kanile'a is wider but not as deep in the body. We did briefly talk about a 19 (or rather 18.5) inch scale but I wanted to keep familiar at 17 inches.


Beautiful uke! Hank is really making some outstanding ukes. Congratulations!
Thanks
 
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I think you made very wise choices in builder, model and woods! I love my Kimo super tenor - it has become my "go-to" uke- and I have more than my share of nice tenors. I think the super tenor body just brings more to the table than a conventional tenor and Hank's meticulous construction, ability to coax the best sound out of these small enclosures and sense of aesthetics surpass many much more expensive builders.
Congratulations - I know it will inspire you to play better and more often--
 
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Fantastic looking uke. Excellent wood choices.
 
Congratulations on a beautiful instrument, with lots of understated elegance. I love the sound of a Redwood/Rosewood ukulele!
 
I think you made very wise choices in builder, model and woods! I love my Kimo super tenor - it has become my "go-to" uke- and I have more than my share of nice tenors. I think the super tenor body just brings more to the table than a conventional tenor and Hank's meticulous construction, ability to coax the best sound out of these small enclosures and sense of aesthetics surpass many much more expensive builders.
Congratulations - I know it will inspire you play better and more often--

I agree with your comments about the super tenor and Hank. Thanks for the kind words.b

Fantastic looking uke. Excellent wood choices.

Thank you!

Took the words right out of my mouth! Congrats

:shaka:

Congratulations on a beautiful instrument, with lots of understated elegance. I love the sound of a Redwood/Rosewood ukulele!

Hanks details are elegant and beautiful. Its my first redwood and I love the combo. thank you!
 
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