Sunday 25 November 2012

Ludwig Wendell Hall Professional

This is the Uke I've been saving for! Bought from the USA in poor condition, I have restored it back to playable condition. It still has the odd ding, and a pretty worn fretboard. But still an excellent uke to play. Made by Ludwig in Chicago between 1926-30. These were, and still are THE Banjo uke to play. The "Wendell Hall" model, slightly plainer than the standard Ludwig
but basically the same uke. Made from American Walnut, with Bronze Nickled hoop and resonator. 16 tension hooks, which screw down into the resonator. As for the restoration, I started by dismantling the whole instrument, the metal work was cleaned and polished, and re-chromed where needed. The ebony headstock was damaged, so that had to be removed. A new decal was fitted. The wood was re-finished with Tru-oil. A new calf skin vellum was fitted and the whole instrument re assembled. It plays with the distinctive Ludwig sound, and now completes my Banjo Uke collection.

Tuesday 6 November 2012

Melody Junior, made by GH & S

Here is a nice basic entry model. made by George Houghton & Sons, probably around 1930. Fitted with the box resonator and 6 tension hooks. it is similar in design to the Dallas-B. other ukes in the range included the Melody Minor & Melody Major. Playing wise, its a decent little uke. bit of a woolly sound to it. all in, its a very decent starter uke. Has the usual odd bit of tarnish on the bezel, but set up to last for a good while yet! if i look this good when i'm 70 i'll be happy
its now fitted with a new calf skin vellum and Aquila strings.

Sunday 14 October 2012

Gretsch Claraphone i Believe!

Looking at the style of headstock, and unusual design of adding soundholes around the pot leads me to believe that this is a Gretsch made BU. It may well not be, so if you know different please let me know. Either way, its a cracking uke. Well balanced with a rich tone. its 16 tension hooks, and 8 inch pot give great volume and tone. The soundholes around the pot give it a mellow sound too. quite unusual these are! The headstock has a decal that says " Illinois Guaranteed" Who knows what that means? Have a look at the pics and decide for yourself. Its had a new vellum fitted, along with new tuners. as well as Aquila strings and new bridge. It has a really nice flat plate resonator which makes it very easy to hold. It has a few dings and dents here and there, a bit of repair at the 14th fret. Currently for sale

Concertone Banjo uke (made by Slingerland)

Here is a branded uke, made by Slingerland. it is basically a Maybell model 20. but branded on the perch pole with the Concertone stamp. A very nice sounding uke, lightweight, but very well made. it has a great volume, and that "old time radio" sound coming through the calf skin vellum. On the restoration job, i stripped off the dirt and tarnish off the hooks, fitted new tuning pegs. the original ones were no good. added a good quality calf-skin and a set of Aquilas.

Tuesday 18 September 2012

Banjo Ukuleles for Sale

Xmas is coming, and so are all the Banjo Ukes! The Banjo Ukulele is really taking off at the moment, the Ukulele craze shows no sign of letting up, and now Banjo Ukes are becoming very sought after. old favourites such as George Formby are still hugely popular, just look on youtube to see all the young kids playing his style. I have a few ukes for sale, of varying price scales. I've bought a few for my collection, so of course some have to be sold too! for example; Slingerland model 20 Slingerland model 24 Unknown model Slingerland with resonator 2 x Melody major's. these are almost the same as the Dallas-B A Gretch style, stamped "made in Illinois" Jolli-Joe. the UK uke. this is the all metal BU All these are available, with a discounted price when bought direct through this site. Please enquire for prices Also keep an eye on this site for new posts... i have a few new acquisitions that i am looking forward to posting

Monday 3 September 2012

I'm the Ukulele restoration man!

This is me playing my restored Gibson ub-2 at the Hollesley Ukulele Cosmos camping weekend.
The open no-mic was brilliant. I'm already looking forward to next year.

Slingerland Maybell model 30, or is a 65?

Heres another maybell, this time its a very grand model. This uke is rare too, i have never seen one of these before. I imported this one from the USA. This is more like the top of the range maybell, quite similar to a Gibson UB-3. It has a fantastic carved wooden resonator, 16 tension hooks. made from walnut and maple
. This is a big, heavy, powerful instrument. Ideally suited to be played in a music hall, or with a band. It has a sweet tone, loud volume when required too, but i played it quite gently and it sounded superb. Fitted with the usual heavy grooved bezel, and has an inlaid fretboard. One thing missing is the veneer from the headstock. it was badly damaged, so I removed the rest of it. As for the what model it is? There are no markings on the perch pole, which would of helped! But it is definitely a Slingerland. Maybe it was made for another firm. that was quite common with Slingerlands. In the Slingerland catalogue i have, there a model 65, which looks the same, but only has 12 tension hooks. or theres the model 30, shown here... http://domains.tbc.net/dkolars/slingerlandguitar.com/images/catalog-old/CatOldPg23.jpg The model 30 has a metal flange around the resonator, similar to on the Dallas George Formby model C. If you know what model it is, please let me know. Its for sale too, please enquire for prices.

Sunday 2 September 2012

Slingerland Maybell model 24

Described in the original 1930s catalogue as " Genuine walnut throughout, 8 inch shell all professional model. equipped with heavy centred grooved top band, heavy cast brackets, flat head hooks, highly polished. Duco finished natural walnut colour. a very popular seller. price $12.00" Unbelievable $12. thats only £6!! I would add, a very powerful instrument. nice to play. great tone and good, loud but not unpleasant rich volume. Comparable to a Gibson UB-2 in most aspects, but about half the price! (in 1930 and today) This uke is currently for sale. please enquire for prices.

i think its called a U-King?

Heres an unusual uke. wooden neck, but with metal pot, and brass resonator. Arrived to me in a very poor state. I stripped the neck and re-finished. cleaned up the metal pot, removed the rust from the hooks, fitted new hooks, vellum, tuners & bridge. Now a very nice little instrument. good tone and decent volume, not loud or tinny. The owner had described it to me as" my biggest challenge yet!" These battered old ukes are becoming my speciality!

Thursday 30 August 2012

S.S Stewart Slingerland

Heres a great looking uke. Branded by S.S Stewart, but probably made by Slingerland. The star on the headstock was the S.S Stewart logo.
Similar to the Maybell model 20, but with a 3 piece neck, creating the stripe down the centre of the neck and a heavier thick bezel with grooved top. The perch pole is stamped Maybell 28. confirming that it is in fact a Slingerland, model 28. This little uke was imported from the USA and was in quite a poor state. Now all shiny and restored!

Sunday 1 July 2012

Gibson UB-3 Deluxe

Here is the Daddy of them all! The Gibson UB-3 Deluxe. Fitted with big resonator. inlaid fretboard & peghead. This uke has been re-chromed & polished. now its all back looking like new. The woodwork was very carefully cleaned and re-finished with Tru-oil. Even the tuning pegs got re-chromed too! This is without doubt the best uke i have ever seen, played and restored. The only downside is that it is not mine!!! It has now gone back to its owner, although i did play on it for a day first! I thought the UB-2 was good..until i played this one! if you ever get the chance to own one of these GRAB IT!

A pair of Weymanns

Here are two very nice long scale Weymann Banjo Ukuleles. These ukes are a joy to play. Great tone and volume. Very comfortable to hold too. Quite rare, especially in pairs!!

Thursday 31 May 2012

Banjo Ukulele for Sale

Here at the Ukulele Restoration barn we offer Banjo ukuleles, Ukuleles, and Tenor Banjos for sale. all ukes are finely restored, and set up ready to play. Currently i am moving towards high end American ukes such as Slingerlands and Gibsons which i import from the USA. If you are looking for a Banjo Ukulele you have come to the right place! I have many ukes to suit all budgets, from beginners to Formby fanatics. Through my collection i have ownded, enjoyed and sold lots of instruments, as these pages show. I can also offer Cases, Aquila strings, Vellums and spare parts. Take a look through my pages to see if there is anything that catches your eye. I accept part-exchange, and also a repair service too. if you have a troublesome or tired uke, why not send it to me for a complete overhaul?

Tuesday 29 May 2012

Playing ukes is as much fun as restoring too!

a few photos from our trip to BBC Tees with our uke group "The Stockton to Darlington Ukulele Express" Thanks to Bob Fischer and John Foster for having us on.
We have made two appearances on BBC Tees now, as well as a feature in the Northern Echo. we play charity gigs, birthday parties, fundraisers. we are even booked for the stockton riverside festival. our biggest gig to date! for more info you can follow me on Twitter too @strumminsimon

The Gibson UB-2

A restored Gibson UB-2. Now in perfect condition. Do Banjo ukes get any better than this?
Perfect tone & volume. lightweight and comfortable to hold. Made at the zenith of Banjo ukulele production by one of the very best instrument makers around. This uke now holds number 1 spot in my prized collection. The uke was dismantled and all the metal work was sonic cleaned until it looked as shiny as new. the wood was cleaned, and re-finished with tru-oil. a new vellum was fitted along with some Aquila strings. it now sounds and looks amazing. Complete with fitted hard case (which i can supply if anyone wants one)