NUD: 96 art Tenor Redwood & Myrtle

I received this beautiful Tenor ukulele from luthier Nathan Enders of upstate New York.

The top is Redwood and the body is Myrtle. The neck is a laminate of curly maple, walnut, and black cherry. Fretboard and bridge are ziricote. And a paua abalone rosette.

Tuners are Grover. Bone saddle & nut.

The neck profile is just perfect. A slim C without being too skinny. The whole uke is pretty lightweight. I perhaps would have preferred a mahogany or Spanish cedar neck to make it even lighter.

The finish is hand-rubbed oil and wax.

It plays really well. Loud, resonant, with a bit of twinkle.

The finish is quite nice along the neck and back. There seem to be smudge marks and there are two small scratches and one tiny pinpoint blob of finish on the top. But otherwise, it is quite a nice instrument.

It is quite lovely to play.

It came with a decent hard case - especially given that it was under $500.

OMG, that is stunning. The myrtle is gorgeous. Not sure how it affects the sound but I've always been very intrigued by redwood as the wood for the top. My local luthier has some but I would have to pay through the nose for it. Ziricote as the material for the fretboard and bridge seems really neat. Maybe you could give us a sound sample?

Congrats on the wonderful instrument!

Dohle said:

OMG, that is stunning. The myrtle is gorgeous. Not sure how it affects the sound but I've always been very intrigued by redwood as the wood for the top. My local luthier has some but I would have to pay through the nose for it. Ziricote as the material for the fretboard and bridge seems really neat. Maybe you could give us a sound sample?

Congrats on the wonderful instrument!

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I will practice and then try to do a sound sample. It's quite fine. I love it.

Looks lovely. Definitely would catch my eye.
I hope that you post a sound sample when you can. If it sounds as good as it looks, you have quite an amazing ukulele.
Enjoy it!

It looks lovely. What is the width at the nut?

Lovely workmanship and design. Eager to hear a sound sample.

I missed that you posted this thread! Thanks for the kind words, and I'm glad you're happy with it!

Cadia - the nut on this one was 41mm.

Dohle - I really like redwood for tops. It's stiffer than it gets credit for and results in a pretty open tone with a good dark bass and enough top end to be well defined. I have what amounts to a lifetime supply of tops at the rate I build and don't charge extra for it.

That is so beautiful. The woods do the talking with just a touch or bling on the rosette.

Bluesy.

dwizum said:

Cadia - the nut on this one was 41mm.

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Are u sure about the nut width? I've been curious about these, but all of the models I've seen state a 35mm nut with 41mm string spacing at the bridge. 35mm is too small for me, but I can work with 41mm!

I was about to say - Yes of course I'm sure, I'm the builder!

But then I realized, you caught me, I mis-typed the answer and put the wrong spec in! The bridge spacing on that one is 41mm, the nut is 34mm! So, thank you for catching my embarrassing mistake!

I do often build with nuts between 34 and 36mm for tenors - my typical neck is more reminiscent of a narrow, fast electric guitar style neck in terms of feel. Meanwhile, some people are more accustomed to a "traditional" neck that's more similar to what you'd expect on something like a classical guitar - broader nut and chunky profile. At any rate, I do build wider necks on demand when customers want them on a commission. And typically I'd choose cherry, mahogany, or cedar for a wider, thicker profile neck vs the curly maple I often use on narrower necks (as seen here) - it seems to fit the overall vibe better and it's a little lighter, which becomes more important with a wide neck.