No. 28 (April)

Update: Dec 2022

This ukulele has really become a favorite for all of us. It has a beautiful voice – full and resonant and also very clear with lots of overtones.

The features that set this instrument apart tonally are, of course the purpleheart back and sides and the increased scale length, but also the spruce top. Not only is it a select piece of Mittenwald spruce, but also the fact that the dome is not bent, but carved. Which of these factors, or whether perhaps something else is contributing to the instrument’s excellent tone, we may never know.

Original post: Mar 2022

This is a new ukulele based on the Jenny form, but with a few differences:

  • The scale length has been increased to 450 mm. We tried taking it down to baritone tuning (E-B-G-D). but that had a very dull sound and buzzed a lot, so we took it back up to Terz tuning (G-D-Bb-F).
  • The neck joint is at the 14th fret.
  • With the increased scale length and the 14th fret connection, the bridge is positioned a little further up on the body, but not too far from the original sweet spot.

The package includes:

  • purpleheart back and sides,
  • German spruce top – this top piece is actually the bookmatch to the voyager top, likewise with beautiful silk and some nice bear claw,
  • maple neck with a “jazz guitar” style heel, inspired by Joanne and Pauline – the heel cap is multi-layered: purpleheart-maple-ovangkol,
  • ovangkol fretboard with 20″ radius and maple fret markers
  • ovankol bridge
  • teak binding
  • teak and purpleheart tail graft
  • ovangkol headplate with teak and purpleheart inlay
  • “blackened” nickel tuners

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