I say “no” to more woods than I say “yes” to. When I find a new wood, I want it to be domestic, sustainable, affordable, look good, easy to work and sound good. No wood gets a perfect score, of course. One thing that often happens is that I salvage a few boards from somewhere and I find inspiration within them. Maybe I can never find or afford a board like this again, but I’m willing to work with it as I salvage it. Lots of my Mahogany is like this.

In this case, I pulled a long, wide board of perfectly quarter sawn Poplar from the Carpenter Ant stash. Poplar is a fast growing, easily workable hardwood from North America. You can even get it at Home Depot! I used it for back and sides on this uke, even finding it to be a bit curly. I paired it with a curly Port Orford Cedar top and neck, salvaged from a retired flute maker and local Walnut for everything else. It is light, responsive, loud and rich.

“The instrument arrived today - wow. So beautiful. So light. A lovely sound. I played the strings with my handmade finger picks made of crow beaks, and they started a musical coversation that will last a very long time.

I shall treasure this instrument, and take good care of it as I play it.

Thank you kindly,
- L. M.
”