My 500th instrument!!! Thanks to Heidi and Rob Litke for getting me started back in 2007, Gordon and Char Mayer for their love and guidance at Mya-Moe from 2011-2018, Nicole for being the best partner and all of you for your support!

This number includes the instruments I made under the Beansprout name in Colorado, the banjo ukes I made while working at Mya-Moe (but not the 2000 ukes I had a hand in there) and the instruments I have completed since we re-launched Beansprout.

The wood for this uke is all salvaged wood from my friends at Tyde Music near Lake Tahoe. The redwood top is from a cabin beam, the Claro walnut back and sides is from kitchen project, the mahogany neck is from a salvaged dock and the Jatoba fretboard is a scrap from a furniture project. I made a mosaic for the headplate, heel cap and pickguard with cutoffs from the neck. I also hand carved tuner knobs from layers of maple, mahogany and walnut. The uke was already pretty busy looking, so I wrapped it all up with simple maple binding and bridge.

I haven’t used redwood for the top in many years, but this redwood is very strong and stable. It sounds and feels very vibrant and I’m quite pleased with it. Redwood has sort of a crisp sound, but is still dark and rich. Sort of like chili pepper and dark chocolate. I added the pickguard to protect the top from scratches, but I wouldn’t recommend it for an aggressive strummer.

We’re so excited that our friend Matt in the United Kingdom is the proud owner of this important piece of Beansprout history!