Friday 30 December 2011

The Ken Timms Soprano






Here is my pride and joy!

a Soprano uke made by Ken Timms. all mahogany, with ebony fretboard, nut and saddle. Kens wife Janet usually french polishes the ukes, but mine was finished in Tru-oil by myself.

A fantastic uke to play, perfect sound and volume, plays quietly but also barks when required.

so light to hold, easy to play. i've played a few Martin ukes which Ken has based his designs on and there is no difference. in fact i would say Kens ukes are better.

Ken is a whizz at making and designing all sorts of things, not just ukes. He has also helped me with various restorations and repairs too.
an all round first rate fella!

Motu Uke

This is a little uke that Yan Yalego was playing at Hollesley in 2011.
After i heard the sound i just had to have one!

Made in France, i bought it from their website.

Its of a simple construction, very light with a sound that i describes as a cross between a wooden uke and a banjo-uke. quite loud, with a real chunky sound. considering the body is only an inch deep i'm amazed any sound comes out at all!

its really easy to hold and to play, a real joy, and a bargain at under £100.



A Handmade cigar box uke. made by Rob Collins





This is not a restoration job, but my Xmas pressie uke, and the latest to my collection.

A handmade cigar box uke, made with cedar neck, ebony fretboard and matching old skool tuning pegs.

The sound is amazing, you would not believe it from an old cigar box.

Put together with real skill, no sharp edges, no buzzes. perfect!
if you wanted a handmade uke, i would certainly suggest you talk to Rob at tinguitar.com

Sunday 11 December 2011

Original Condition Slingerland Maybell from 1920s Chicago

Here we have a fantasic little uke. The Maybell, made by the Slingerland Drum & Banjo Company in Chicago, around the 1920s.

Made in Birds eye Maple, 12 tension hooks, heavy bezel with nice engraved tailpeice.
This particular uke is in its original condition, apert from some new strings. The vellum is stamped"Slingerland prof tone"
It even has the original Grover bridge.
The only work required was a repair to the original nut, as you can see in the photos.
There are no dings, or dents. The frets are all in good condition as are the tuning pegs. On the fretboard there are three MOP fret markers.
Also included is the very rare original case. i have only ever seen one fo these before, and that was rotten. This one is in very fine order.

For 90+ years this little uke is in very good condition.

To play it has that fantastic vintage sound, nice tone, and perfect volume.
A real joy to play.

Sunday 23 October 2011

John Grey "Roy Smeck" Junior

Here is a nice little Art Deco Style Banjo-uke.
Endorsed by Roy Smeck, with signature on vellum.
its only a small uke, with 6 inch head.
Quite basic, but nice to look at
Plays ok, with nice chunky-but-woolly sound!
Original Bakerlite tuners.

Sunday 2 October 2011

A custom built Ukulele strummin stick. Concert size

Heres an interesting uke i had made for me by a guy trading on Ebay.

Its made with a Spruce body and Meranti neck.

I call it a strummin stick, its similar to the Martin "backpacker" guitar

Its very lightweight, with a lot of sustain, fairly quiet, ideal for practicing with at home.

i finished it with a few coats of Tru-oil and aquilla strings.

Its going on Ebay now!

Saturday 1 October 2011

Lovely open backed Banjolele

Next off the production line is this really nice little open backed model.

This i believe was made by Margolin, who made the broadcaster range. look at the broadcaster uke i have on here, you will see the headstock is the same.

This uke was stripped and sanded, then finished with Tru-oil which gave a real nice look to the wood, it has really brought out the grain and given a slight shine too.
The uke has been completely re built. fitted with new skin, bone nut, tuners and tension hooks.
It has a neck with attached perchpole, this gives stability to the neck and it has a nice low action too.
The uke has a pleasant volume, good tone and banjoish woody sound too.
Easy to hold, a fun little uke!

Mahalo Flying V Ukulele

Heres a few pictures of a customised flying V.
its the standard Mahalo model.
First i had to strip off the glossy finish, this took some doing! there was about 10 coats on it.
then it was all sanded down real smooth.
My wife painted on the flame details with oil paints, then i completed the finish with several coats of Tru-oil.
the finish now is lovely and shiny.
I complted the job with a new nut made form Corian ( donated by Timbuck)
and aquilla strings.
The uke is made from that fine chinese wood of the ply tree. the neck looks like Meranti.
Either way i'm pleased with the job, i think its more interesting that the boring black finish.
Playing wise, its quite quiet, ideal for playing indoors when the kids are in bed!
The sound is ok too.
To hold you need to put your arm through the V, its a bit like holding a new born baby!

Your thoughts and opinions are welcome

Sunday 25 September 2011

Windsor Whirle

i have just spotted one of these on ebay, so i thought i would share one of the ones i've had.

The Windsor Whirle, made in Birmingham in the 1930s.

A good solid uke, well made with nice fittings.

Now i dont know if its the case with all Windsor ukes, but the two i have had, both attached the strings through the bezel instead of using a tailpeice.
this works well although in theory it should reduce the tension on the skin, however i found them to be excellent ukes at around the £100 mark.

They look to be made from Rosewood, which polishes up very nice
This model has an 8 inch pot with 8 tension hooks, also of note are the quite unusual all metal tuners and inserted resonator.

Gibson UB-1

This is a really great uke, its also the one uke i wish i had kept.

Made with solid but only 6inch pot. lovely backplate resonator. original grover tuners too. with "the gibson" on the headstock. this dates it from1920-30s though im not sure exactly. i believe the older ones had "the gibson" then newer models just had "gibson"







a Superb instrument, easy to hold and play but with a powerful sound.

Dont be fooled by its looks.
This one even had its original (if a bit tatty) case.

The Melody Marvel

Heres a budget uke with a difference.

The Melody Marvel came from a range made by George Houghton & Sons
other models included the Melody, and Melody Junior.

i've recently restored a few melody ukes, i'll show those soon.

anyway, this uke the "marvel" is an open back with a chrome wrap round the pot. made with beech neck and lightweight pot. this was a budget uke with 6 tension hooks. This one was restored and fitted with extra hooks, now it has 10. giving it better tension & tone.

all the wood has been re-finished, fitted with new vellum & tuners. looks nice now, sold to a satisfied ebayer.
These ukes come up on ebay quite often, i found the addition of the extra tension hooks really made the difference.