This instrument is for Armand Aromin, a musician and a luthier. He plays fiddle tunes on his ukulele, so he wanted a five string instrument from me. We decided on a setup where the 4th and 5th string were in the same course, but could be spread farther apart via a notch in the bridge to facilitate Clawhammer playing. I think the same headstock and fretboard width could accommodate many different setups on future instruments.

For the look of this uke, I took inspiration from one of the ancestors of the ukulele, the Rajao. It also has five strings, in fact I copied the headstock shape from one built by Jose do Espírito Santo. (Thanks to Shawn from ukulelefriend.com for a good photo of the original headstock.) I also made my own rope binding in the old style, used some amber shellac for the finish and Texas Ebony for the fretboard for a more traditional look. The body and neck are Sitka Spruce from luthier Craig Wilson and some quartersawn white Oak from the Carpenter Ant stash. Many of Santo’s early instruments had Spruce tops, before Koa took over as the dominant ukulele wood.

I learned a great deal making this instrument and I look forward to applying these lessons to future builds. Anyone else want a five string?