Wunderkammer owners, chime in!

EDW said:
Does anyone have an idea of the difference in dimensions between the May and the Ike? Perhaps someone has played both and could offer thoughts on the differences in tone, volume, etc.
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Here's what Liam has to say about it on Instagram:

I had found that early Hawaiian ukes tended to be shorter than modern sopranos, and built this 13" scale Uke with the 'Maui-Ike' body.
The shorter scale puts the bridge right in the middle of the lower bout, which, along with the lessened string tension, gives a warmer, mellower tone, without loss of volume.
Sweet, sweet volume.
 
I would love to have one of Liam's instruments. I love his designs and think they sound great.

I would love to hear some thoughts from owners who have had their Wunderkammers for a while. Are you still happy with it? Are there things you would change or do differently? Any drawbacks?
 
I am recollecting that this may be the builder of a favorite uke of world class player Remco Houtman-Janssen (Belgium) aka Ukulelezaza. Does anyone know?
 
Hey, that's me. Yes, my custom Wunderkammer Maui Ike has replaced my 50s Martin style 3 as my main player for uke festivals. It's a loud yet refined and very versatile instrument. Wunderkammer ukes look vintage, feel vintage, play vintage and sound vintage. My kinda thing!
 
I have a Boswell Tenor I bought here in the marketplace a few months ago. I believe it was designed to use tenor-Bari strings and be played dGBE. I am exceedingly happy with it. Liam has been helpful and friendly as I quizzed him about the Uke. I would not hesitate to get on his list.
 
richntacoma said:
I hear Chris' every week during our lessons. It sounds great, but I suspect he could make a Kimise sound like a fine custom.
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That's awsome that you take lessons with him. He seems like an exceptional teacher. Yeah I agree. He could make anything sound great. He is local to me; post-pandemic I need to make a point to go see him perform and maybe take some lessons with him.
 
CPG said:
That's awsome that you take lessons with him. He seems like an exceptional teacher. Yeah I agree. He could make anything sound great. He is local to me; post-pandemic I need to make a point to go see him perform and maybe take some lessons with him.
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Great guy, and a great teacher. Always pushing me to learn new things. He is very good at teaching via zoom, fyi. I lived in Philly for 9 years--went to Penn for grad school, and lived at 27th and Brown for 7 of those years. Good times. Nice to also have a Waymann myself now, might right up the road from my old stopping grounds :)
 
richntacoma said:
Great guy, and a great teacher. Always pushing me to learn new things. He is very good at teaching via zoom, fyi. I lived in Philly for 9 years--went to Penn for grad school, and lived at 27th and Brown for 7 of those years. Good times. Nice to also have a Waymann myself now, might right up the road from my old stopping grounds :)
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That's a cool area. I lived off of 16th and Fairmount when I first moved to Philly in 06; not too far from there. It has changed a lot since then. I'm in West Philly now near the universities (though I'm moving to NJ next week) and went to Penn GSE for grad school too. So you must have bought EDWs Weymann! I was wondering who got that. I love mine and agree that it is cool that is was made in Philly.
 
CPG said:
That's a cool area. I lived off of 16th and Fairmount when I first moved to Philly in 06; not too far from there. It has changed a lot since then. I'm in West Philly now near the universities (though I'm moving to NJ next week) and went to Penn GSE for grad school too. So you must have bought EDWs Weymann! I was wondering who got that. I love mine and agree that it is cool that is was made in Philly.
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I got my MSW from Penn, class of 1993 (damn, a long time ago). And yes, I did get EDW's Weymann--I just love having a 100 old uke that I play in my 100 (plus) year old home...Does not hurt that it sounds great, and the set up by Jake Wildwood is the best i have every played (the action is low with no buzz, love it).
 
richntacoma said:
I got my MSW from Penn, class of 1993 (damn, a long time ago). And yes, I did get EDW's Weymann--I just love having a 100 old uke that I play in my 100 (plus) year old home...Does not hurt that it sounds great, and the set up by Jake Wildwood is the best i have every played (the action is low with no buzz, love it).
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Jake's setups are amazing. EDW and I just happened to send ours to him at the same time. Mine was the 1918 one he posted about. It was great before, but now it plays like butter.
 
Oh, great.....make me regret selling it!! ;)
 
As Shakespeare said when playing his ukulele (probably made by the Amati family in Cremona before they switched to violins)

"A uke by any other name would sound as sweet"
 
What are the chances that two Philly educated boys would have both a Pokahu and a 100 year old Weymann?
I still miss the Weymann, but am glad Chris has it.
And that I didn't have to be the one to decide to alter it...
Which was, by all accounts, a great decision. :)

I am also tickled to realize that you also each now have a set of Pegheads that I purchased brand new from another UU member, which sat in my house for years until they went to Chris and then to Jake who installed them in those beautiful old Weymanns...
 
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Oh, dear. What's not to like?!

O'course, all the sound samples I can find are in expert hands.... :rolleyes: But I love Liam's aesthetic, and the examples I've seen so far.

Ludwig. said:
Mine is a bit older and has the standard fretboard, I suppose. It was called "Maui" model back then and has more or less the same construction as the "Ike" (+ the vintage body shape and the Nunes headstock design, of course).
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Searching here and there for "Wunderkammer," I'm glad to have found this in another thread here:



So nicely done, and so inspiring. [I'm coming from long years of guitar, after a hiatus from the same, and am still exploring what type of music I want to make with the ukulele. I love what the artistry in what you've done, here.]

Quick question, for anyone who knows: I see the Ike on Liam's site, but not a "May." What's the difference?

~ S.
 
According to Liam

The Ike has a very slightly wider bottom bout, and the May has a tighter, slightly higher waist, with a little wider and more pronounced upper bout.
The May scale is 13", the Ike's is 13 5/8. I would say the shorter scale takes a little of the edge off the tone of the May, compared to the Ike, but they are both loud with plenty of warmth and low-end
 
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