1st build complete.

[TheDudeAbides]

1st Uke build is finished.

17" tenor with a red cedar sound board, sapele back/sides, rosewood fingerboard, bridge, and peg head overlay. Honduran mahogany neck, maple and cedar rosette, and flamed sycamore binding.

Sounds good but not amazing, which is kind of what I was expecting for my first build. Intonation is just a wee bit flat though that looks like a saddle issue, still debating if I want to lower the action a bit to fix it or just cut a new one, but it's amazingly close as is.

 

[sequoia]

Nice job for a first effort. Looks great... Keep in mind that getting perfect intonation with a parallel bridge/nut in reentrant tuned instruments is impossible. Getting real close is the best reality.

 

[don_b]

Looks great! Nice work! The headstock and rosette are both very interesting. I like that wave on the headstock. Does it dip into the front?

 

[Wiggy]

Gorgeous! I'd be proud to just hold it.

 

[TheDudeAbides]

Nice job for a first effort. Looks great... Keep in mind that getting perfect intonation with a parallel bridge/nut in reentrant tuned instruments is impossible. Getting real close is the best reality.

Yes, and I'd normally leave it alone, but it's off by roughly the same amount on all 4 strings, and the fix is to move the saddle forward a bit, and upon closer inspection the front edge of my saddle slopes down. I also think I have a little bit of room to drop the action yet too, so I'm thinking I'll just refile this so the string breaks on the forward edge of the saddle like it's supposed to.

Had I not noticed this I'd probably just leave it alone, but now it's bothering me

 

[TheDudeAbides]

Looks great! Nice work! The headstock and rosette are both very interesting. I like that wave on the headstock. Does it dip into the front?

Yes, I carved that curve around and into the front

 

[John Colter]

That's a very impressive first build, Dude. Don't be disappointed if you find it a bit lacking, sound wise. I find that's the case with almost all newly built ukes. After the first 24 hours they can be noticeably better and after a week they settle down.

Give it some time before you judge it.

 

[Timbuck]

Give it some time before you judge it.

Same with a Marriage ....Nice first build as well.

 

[Ms Bean]

Wow, that looks amazing. There are a lot of appointments and with every extra bit of decoration it could have ended far above your paygrade to fix (minor) issues.
The only thing that puzzles me a bit is the fret marker at the 14th fret.

Congrats on your first uke, Dude. That's an awesome build!

 

[TheDudeAbides]

That's a very impressive first build, Dude. Don't be disappointed if you find it a bit lacking, sound wise. I find that's the case with almost all newly built ukes. After the first 24 hours they can be noticeably better and after a week they settle down.

Give it some time before you judge it.

Will do and thanks for the tip.

It's also only been about 2 weeks since the last coat of varnish so it's technically got about 2 more weeks before it's fully cured.

 

[TheDudeAbides]

Wow, that looks amazing. There are a lot of appointments and with every extra bit of decoration it could have ended far above your paygrade to fix (minor) issues.
The only thing that puzzles me a bit is the fret marker at the 14th fret.

Congrats on your first uke, Dude. That's an awesome build!

Thank you, and good catch. I presume I simply counted wrong when laying those out.

 

[sequoia]

Yes, and I'd normally leave it alone, but it's off by roughly the same amount on all 4 strings, and the fix is to move the saddle forward a bit, and upon closer inspection the front edge of my saddle slopes down. I also think I have a little bit of room to drop the action yet too, so I'm thinking I'll just refile this so the string breaks on the forward edge of the saddle like it's supposed to.

Had I not noticed this I'd probably just leave it alone, but now it's bothering me

View attachment 144492

You could just flip the saddle upside down and take a little off the back moving the contact point forward.

 

[TheDudeAbides]

You could just flip the saddle upside down and take a little off the back moving the contact point forward.

No, that wouldn't work since I got a little cocky adjusting the action on this and there is a very slight curve on the top of that saddle so it wouldn't sit flat in the bridge.

 

[hoji]

Looks nice, dude!

Intonation on the flat side is not so bad. A good player can compensate for this with a firm fretting hand technique. Plus, over time, the bridge may dip forward as the top develops a belly, and the problem will solve itself! Intonation being sharp is a worse problem, in my opinion.

 

[TheDudeAbides]

That's a very impressive first build, Dude. Don't be disappointed if you find it a bit lacking, sound wise. I find that's the case with almost all newly built ukes. After the first 24 hours they can be noticeably better and after a week they settle down.

Give it some time before you judge it.

Good call!

It's definitely growing on me, I'm not 100% sure if it's the Uke settling or just me getting used to it, but I am liking it a lot more sound wise. This is a completely different animal than my other tenor and I have realized my old Uke is better for some songs and this new one works better for other songs.