So my daughter is building a ukulele

  • Thread starter Thread starter mshilarious
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muttley600 said:
Maple body, capped with quilted maple and bound with walnut.
The neck is flame maple set not bolted with a single action rod set at the body join.
14" radius board and the whole thing finished in clear nitro no staining anywhere all natural.
Hardware is Gotoh bridge and Kluson tuners. The Pickups are hand made by a place not far from me. Not cheap but simply the best. I do wind my own on occasion but only for unusual stuff. All dimensions are pretty much standard fender

I don't build many solid bodies so I haven't played around with bridge alternatives the Gotoh stuff is pretty much my first choice. The spec on this was entirely down to the guy that commissioned it so I couldn't really fiddle too much. I do have another one as I said that I might try stuff out on if I get the time but first I want to get her out and playing. As to cost now I'm jigged up and have the required jigs you'd be looking at about 1.6K adjusted for hardware choice and finish. Solid body a bit off that.
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Very cool. Really incredible looking wood, can't believe it looks that good natural. Interesting binding, personally I prefer a very light binding on a very dark wood or a very dark binding on a very light wood, guess it's more of a contrast thing (I'm probably not explaining that very well, think the Koa Tele Fender do/did).

Pickups aren't Bare Knuckle or of that ilk? They're pretty much the only UK pickup brand I know of! Are they wired out of phase? Interesting to see what ideas ya have for the other one...Teles do rock, congrats!!

Oh btw have ya ever made a solid-body out of cherry?
 
TelePaul said:
Very cool. Really incredible looking wood, can't believe it looks that good natural. Interesting binding, personally I prefer a very light binding on a very dark wood or a very dark binding on a very light wood, guess it's more of a contrast thing (I'm probably not explaining that very well, think the Koa Tele Fender do/did).

Pickups aren't Bare Knuckle or of that ilk? They're pretty much the only UK pickup brand I know of! Are they wired out of phase? Interesting to see what ideas ya have for the other one...Teles do rock, congrats!!

Oh btw have ya ever made a solid-body out of cherry?
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The maple is pretty standard quilted stuff. Thats just the way it turned out. The colour is pretty much as in the pic. The body was a lot lighter so there is a contrast. If you wanted a darker binding you could use rosewood, ebony, American black walnut or many other darker woods or black plastic for that matter. As I said the spec was down to the guy it was built for.

The pickups are made by Juicy Pickups. I'll PM a link. Again the guy that commissioned the build set the spec but they really do sound top drawer. I haven't got the exact spec in front of me but I'll try and dig it out.

I've used Cherry quite a bit but not for a solid body yet. I have some cherry waiting for a purpose so I may give it a go some time. I have heard European Cherry solid bodies and they sound pretty good. Most of the fruitwoods are fine tonewoods. They do vary a lot and the European cherry is very different from the American stuff much the same way as Walnut. Cherry would be ideal for a solid body as it is fairly stiff and also relatively light.
 
Cherry eh? Lighter than maple? I should be able to source that locally . . .
 
mshilarious said:
Yeah, that's exactly how it worked out! I was personally amazed after what I thought was a horrendous job fretting, but it leveled very quickly and crowned right up with sandpaper :)

Neck went on last night--this is really driving me crazy because I think of the wood grain on the soundboard it makes it look like the neck got glued on crooked. But it's centered on the block center mark, centered on the upper bout, about 1mm off center of the soundhole (which makes the soundhole off center to the upper bouts . . . not sure how that happened!) and measures pretty much straight down the fingerboard to the tail, so . . . it's not as easy to tell due to my crap camera work, but hopefully once the strings are on that optical illusion will disappear :o

Daughter did that inlay work around the soundhole, there are some gaps but that abalone does look keen. I drilled out the plastic fingerboard dots and replaced with abalone.

Now she wants to find some seaglass and use that for fingerboard inlay on the koa top model that's up next. Hmmm, seaglass vs. sandpaper, should get interesting . . . we're going to stain that fingerboard black for contrast :cool:
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That Uke is looking great MSH, I build one of the kits a few years back but it sure didn't have the looks of yours.:)

muttley600 said:
If MSH can pimp his own thread, just for Telepaul here is the latest in tele technology. I did a few and have one the same with chrome fittings I am going to gig with this weekend because I took the chance to build one just for me this time.:D
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That maple Tele is beautiful Muttley-your attention to details is amazingly. You are a great luthier..

TelePaul said:
I'm not a LP guy now! Tele's my first love. But a Fender will never sound like a Gibson and a Gibson will never sound like a Fender, IMO. Maybe that's why Knopfler plays both!

Didn't see the T-Style, can you PM me pics?


Sorry for hijack MsH-dude lol relacks yo!
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You are in denial Paul, you can love a Les Paul and a Tele to the same extent!
I've been playing my SG a lot at band practice and played the Les Paul last night on a long practice....this morning I had the symptoms of L.P.S.:eek: (Les Paul Syndrome) a sore shoulder and neck from about 4 1/2 hours of Les Paul playing. Next time I will remember to change guitars or take the SG or Tele along............:rolleyes:
 
Anfontan said:
You are in denial Paul, you can love a Les Paul and a Tele to the same extent!
I've been playing my SG a lot at band practice and played the Les Paul last night on a long practice....this morning I had the symptoms of L.P.S.:eek: (Les Paul Syndrome) a sore shoulder and neck from about 4 1/2 hours of Les Paul playing. Next time I will remember to change guitars or take the SG or Tele along............:rolleyes:
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I hear that! 32-20 and I were jamming some Allman Bros - swapping bass and guitar duties. At one point he passed me my LP and the weight just caught me right off guard. Still getting used to that 50's neck too!
 
muttley600 said:
Good to see you back and don't leave it so long next time. And get that uke finished. The bridge is no problem on those.

I hope your not addressing the bodhran comments at me. I hate the things. They are in todays hands played and sold almost exclusively to people who think it would be a fantastic idea to join in a session without the need to learn an instrument. The tenor banjo of the traditional music world. The best sign I've seen recently was at my local that has a weekly session. "No dirty boots or bodhrans, Irish welcome"
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:D

There's a famous music pub on the west coast that used to have a sign behind the bar saying "Bodhrans - best played with a penknife."

So you don't like tenor banjos? I should probably admit that I dabble...:o
 
Anfontan said:
.........................

That maple Tele is beautiful Muttley-your attention to details is amazingly. You are a great luthier..

.................
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Cheers mate but I just cut up wood and stick it together. The real beauty is the sound they make in the right hands.. I do love what I do though sure beats working for a living..
 
32-20-Blues said:
:D

There's a famous music pub on the west coast that used to have a sign behind the bar saying "Bodhrans - best played with a penknife."

So you don't like tenor banjos? I should probably admit that I dabble...:o
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Me too I play out mostly in trad jazz bands for a bit of beer money on the tenor and at home I can handle a few jigs and reels. Prefer the sound of wood though. Having said that neither are as bad as the bagpipes.
 
muttley600 said:
Having said that neither are as bad as the bagpipes.
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Okay, quick story. Dunno what your stance is on mindless rock, but it's a good yarn. ACDC have almost finsihed cutting 'Long Way to the Top' but they decide it needs a bagpipe solo. Bon Scott, says, "Hey, no problem, I used to play in a pipe band". So they head down to a pawn-shop and get ripped off on a set of pipes. Bring em back to the studio and pass them over to Bon Scott. He looks back and says "What are you looking at me for, I was the drummer!"

:D
 
TelePaul said:
Okay, quick story. Dunno what your stance is on mindless rock, but it's a good yarn. ACDC have almost finsihed cutting 'Long Way to the Top' but they decide it needs a bagpipe solo. Bon Scott, says, "Hey, no problem, I used to play in a pipe band". So they head down to a pawn-shop and get ripped off on a set of pipes. Bring em back to the studio and pass them over to Bon Scott. He looks back and says "What are you looking at me for, I was the drummer!"

:D
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In which case, and only in this case he was over qualified..:D
 
muttley600 said:
In which case, and only in this case he was over qualified..:D
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:) I saw a few pipe bands in Normandy back in June. I have to say, when the whole thing gets going with those massive (lambeg?) drums, it's a pretty cool sound.
 
TelePaul said:
:) I saw a few pipe bands in Normandy back in June. I have to say, when the whole thing gets going with those massive (lambeg?) drums, it's a pretty cool sound.
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I have to admitt I really cannot stand the bagpipes of the Scots variety. I do have a likeing for the Northumbrian pipes and ulian pipes. I guess it has to do with the drones because my real pet hate is the Hurdy Gurdy. I can hardly bring myself to type the word...
 
muttley600 said:
I have to admitt I really cannot stand the bagpipes of the Scots variety. I do have a likeing for the Northumbrian pipes and ulian pipes. I guess it has to do with the drones because my real pet hate is the Hurdy Gurdy. I can hardly bring myself to type the word...
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Funny, I'm not overly fond of the uileann pipes. I think as a rule of thumb, any instrument I can imitate with my throat should probably be avoided. I like when they're used for melody lines but I hate when the drone just sits there in the background.
 
TelePaul said:
Funny, I'm not overly fond of the uileann pipes. I think as a rule of thumb, any instrument I can imitate with my throat should probably be avoided. I like when they're used for melody lines but I hate when the drone just sits there in the background.
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That's why I hate the Scots pipes they have three of those feckers even when they are playing the toon...:mad:
 
I had a practice set of uilleann pipes which is perfectly drone-free, but I let them go as they needed a new reed and were way too hard to play anyway. If I miss that sound, I just pitch-shift my didg :cool:
 
mshilarious said:
I had a practice set of uilleann pipes which is perfectly drone-free, but I let them go as they needed a new reed and were way too hard to play anyway. If I miss that sound, I just pitch-shift my didg :cool:
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You heathens, the drones are the best part :D

Seriously, I love the sound of the pipes. And the hurdy gurdy.

MSH, by didg do you mean didgeridoo? And if so, can you do the circular breathing thing? I tried it, drove me mad.
 
32-20-Blues said:
MSH, by didg do you mean didgeridoo? And if so, can you do the circular breathing thing? I tried it, drove me mad.
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Nope, I don't think I could learn it, I don't have a lot of talent for blown instruments. I just go for 30 or 40 seconds and loop it :D
 
I hope that unlike British cars, British guitars don't need a $500 fan belt pulley replaced after 56,000 miles :mad: :mad: :mad:
 
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