Hello Yo & July Bangkok,
Thanks for joining our group. We love to hear about the process of designing and building our favorite instruments. Your insights are fascinating.
I have been intrigued by your company since I first saw the N.E.O. listed on TUS (The Ukulele Site). They were innovative, unique and sounded terrific. And they sold very quickly. Not to mention Baz' review of the Quark tenor. Which I really like.
I also loved the Pluto design. I was too slow to buy that as well. Timing is everything.
Your custom designs are beautiful. And someday, I may be able to acquire one.
In the meantime, I am content to play my The Rebel Mango Tenor Double Creme / Matte 1-Series (what a name). It's a joy to play. With a very high "fun" factor. I think it sounds and plays way above it's cost.
I really admire your organizaton's philosophy of pushing the boundaries while also making terrific, affordable, lovely, more conventional ukuleles.
Hello Kenn2018 thank you for having us too. and noticed our team from the other side of the world!!?
wow you saw since the n.e.o (Not even original) that was an early stage of us.
Back in 2016 but i still feel like it only yesterday (time flies) lol
TUS (the ukulele site) always a very good place to visited it was like heaven for the ukulele lover
saw a lot of legendary ukuleles out there. also the professional works from them we met Andrew and Corey in NAMM Show 2015
such an awesome energetic guy.
But since NAMM was like a Disney land for me so i spend all the time visiting every hall and boots playing an instrument as much as i can
like a kid in the toys store .so when i m back to booth i can only say hi and just a small talk
2016 was a memorable year especially for me. so many things happened at this period start from
The Alchemist, The Livingston, Supernormal, and Elysium too (sketch) but we finished it on 2017
To be honest my first ideas was i just want to make a ukulele for myself
the sound that i want to hear and playing. so i started to research and come up with the 4 types that i want to make
1. a mixed of wood tone
2. a luxury traditional
3. a minimal simple one
4. a new material that never used before or a rare one
5. mixed all 5 above
so i think you can guess. which model was the mother of each types
1. Alchemist (tenor)
2. Livingston (tenor)
3. Supernormal (Baritone)
4. Elysium (6 strings)
but the problems that we found during the process is tons of it since we changing the mold, the scale, the size, the bracing and techniques it's totally new for us. Every time we start a new model it was like we start from the scratch again and that really a hard time for us to continue in each day
and i want to make sure that the sound of the ukulele is good enough for the next projects so that's how the N.E.O was born
due to the hard K series model that required master technique of craftsmanship to push it happened
we had only one luthier that can make my imagination to reality (at that time)
so we need something that team can show and mastered their skilled by making a ukulele that had a good sound and also consistency
+ experiment
then i think in the scientific method way with the hypothesis about the position and size of the sound hole how does it effect to the sound
and which one is best for us (during that time) this project happen between Livingston and supernormal
the bracing was develop by
Alchemist 3 prototypes >>> picked best one to make alchemist no.1-6 to see the consistency
then changing the wood, switch the position of wood also the sound hole in model no.7-9
and that how I found the position of sound hole and wood position amaze me
so we use the best bracing in Livingston but not forget to experiment with the wood factor that has a close characters tone like cedar compared with spruce same spec size by size
and then we increased the size of sound hole on this one a bit larger that we used to make
Since we can make more sustain sound from the last bracing model so it might be possible to released
then we thought about the bigger or body like baritone to test
The idea does this bracing fit with it yet and I also want one (hidden agenda)
the n.e.o is like an acceleration and the jumping point for our development due to the limit of factor such time skilled and especially funds without you guy that kindly support in here we would gone for long thx again
Quark is the result that we proud of from n.e.o (Q series) the name of it come from the science due to the very small part like that combined it into many great things happened that what I m intention
the one who supported this was like a custom one
because we make only one of each.
then all the bracing and knowledge that we got we put it in our J series so you get a different bracing cuz we changed it all the time according to this work method
J series focus on the sound as a first priority best bracing is always put itin
Q series is for a special unique one with a diversity among there own series unique sound on their own
K series is signature series with the different kind of new possibility we want to try on
And the last one that we thought it's time that we ready to make after all this years
A series (Areté) create your own custom that we didn't officially announced yet.
to me it was like a dream that I can walked to this far and still continued on this road
so all I want to say is like creating a song we need a melody a counter melody a rhythm to go along
missing one part of this it won't not be the same especially the lovely audiences like you guy
Without you we are nothing
Thankful for a million times
And here is the song from the quark model playing by my lovely brother Zen
now he became a jazz musician already just sharing the old days with you guy
