I’ve made several four string banjos in the last few years, but most have been tuned dgbe, like a baritone ukulele. This one is going to a tenor banjo player though, so he needs cgda. This tuning, combined with non steel strings, a brass tone ring and a walnut block rim gives an awesome sound. Loud, but rich and funky too. The curly walnut is from The Dee Mill and the pistachio is from California orchards. The fancy brass hardware is from Brooks Masten.
Spruce and maple is always a good idea. Crisp, loud, sweet and precise. Add some Bearclaw figure to the top and quilting to the back and it’s a knock out! The spruce top is old growth salvage from Alaska, the maple is from the Carpenter Ant stash, the pistachio is from California orchards and the fir is from an old floor joist.
“Dear Aaron, Nicole & Henry,
I just received the BEDAZZLING Alto uke Aaron crafted for me & am so excited to hold it in my hands & play it! I just love the selection of beautiful wood & the fine detail in the walnut binding & bridge. The quilted maple (back & sides) has such depth one can almost lose themselves in it while gazing at it. The matched bookends on the sides are lovely. I appreciate the fine grain in the neck & the way it is set off by the beautiful pistachio stripe. I couldn’t be more pleased with the dramatic grain in the pistachio fretboard & headplate. Since I like all things Alaskan & since bears hold a special interest for me, the Bearclaw Alaskan Spruce top is dynomite!
Though this isn’t designed to be a mere footnote to the above effusive praise, I can’t give high enough kudos for the super bright sound of this gorgeous Alto Uke. Its amazing action makes me feel as though I have better control playing this than my first mass-produced soprano uke.
Thank you so much for hitting this one out of the park for me, Aaron!
- S. P. ”
Bread and butter: POC and walnut. It sounds awesome, looks great and is local to me. I actually took the time today to sit and play this one and I surprised myself again and again. It was so fun to play and sounds so sweet! The POC is from the Oregon coast and the pistachio from California orchards, both via woodfromthewest.com. The neck is made from salvaged redwood and the walnut is from the scrap bin at Goby Walnut in Portland.
“Hello, Aaron and Nicole!
My ukulele (#650) arrived today in fine shape. I’ve been enjoying it for the past couple of hours and my fingers are getting sore! It’s even more beautiful in person than I had expected and the sound is great. I’m going to get many years of pleasure out of this great instrument.
It’s been a pleasure dealing with you and I have nothing but good things to say about the ordering process and communication.
Thank you again and have a wonderful holiday season!
- L. U.
”
I love putting together banjos like these, using whatever woods are on hand and in the way. It helps keep the rhythm of the shop moving and they look and sound great too. Maple block rim and Mahogany neck stained to match, with Cherry fretboard and headplate. A very simple design with as few add-ons and features as possible. The Maple is scrap from our kitchen cabinet project, the Mahogany and Cherry are from the Carpenter Ant stash.
This builder’s choice tenor ukulele is something special! I love the bright and sparkly tone, which still has wonderful sustain. I’m keen to try it with a low g, I bet it would shine. The redwood top is from a luthier’s estate sale, all the walnut is from Goby in Portland and the redwood neck is salvaged from an old beam. I added some special multi colored purfling, brass fret markers, a K&K pickup and a rustic maple star in the headstock.
“Hi Aaron.
The instrument arrived safely today and it’s my dream uke. Sounds beautiful and I can’t wait for work to be over to enjoy it more.
Thanks again and have happy, safe, holidays.
- M. D.
”
Western Red Cedar is my current favorite top wood for ukulele. It is light and rather soft, but quite strong when quartersawn. This Cedar is from an old wooden hot tub that I got from the Rebuild-It center and is very old. The Dogwood back and sides are from the Carpenter Ant stash. The grafted Pistachio is from California Orchards.
“Scout 643 made it to New Jersey! The Scout Camp Ukulele is beyond expectations! Beautiful Woods in combination with spot on Craftsmanship! Can’t believe it is made of Scraps! The Dogwood, Pistachio, and Red Cedar is a good fit for a Waiting List Luthier’s Choice Instrument. If anyone is hesitant to be on the waiting list, don’t be. Trust and Faith will reward you with a chance ukulele you probably wouldn’t have ordered- but are beaming from the unboxing of your new 4 Stringed Friend to get acquainted with and grow closer as the two of you become familiar with each other… Happy Holidays Keim Family! And a prosperous and healthy New Year to come!
- D. D.”
Old Douglas Fir is a favorite of mine. In this case, I cut up an old door and a piece of scrap wood and put it back to work as a banjo. A few pieces of Cherry and Maple had some strength, mass and a subtle color contrast. Over all, I’m really pleased with it and may try it again. All the wood for this project was salvaged from the Carpenter Ant stash in Portland.
“Hi Nicole & Aaron,
....I am very happy with the short scale banjo, just like everything else you have built for me these last few years. Aarons description of it as a “couch banjo” is spot on. The shorter neck length makes it very comfortable to play, its really light but still feels solid, and has that low, plunky old timey sound that is perfect for clawhammer and finger picking.
Thanks for all you do!
- J. P. ”
It’s hard to describe the difference in sound between an 11” and 12” rim. The 12” just sounds…more? Because this one is walnut, has a goat skin head and non steel strings, I recommended adding the brass tone ring, which added a little growl and sparkle. The customer asked for rope binding, so we put it pretty much everywhere. Why not! The curly walnut is from here in Hood River, milled by the folks at The Dee Mill. The pistachio is from California Orchards.
“Hello Aaron and Nicole,
I just wanted to send a short note to say that the banjo arrived safe and sound last Saturday. I am so exceedingly happy with this instrument. It’s gorgeous. It sounds amazing and exactly how I wanted. And when I opened it up with my 6yo son his first comment was “it smells good!” That wood scent is indeed rare in the big city.
Also, I’m so impressed with the playability. I’ve mostly played ukulele that past few years, having only recently picked up the banjo my only one is a travel sized one. I really expected for there to be level of adjustment and even discomfort in picking up a much larger, longer instrument. But this banjo is just so smooth and easy to play! It just has a great feel!
....Thanks for being the artists y’all are. Happy holidays!
- B. T.”
Dogwood is proving to be a really nice tonewood. Almost as bright as Maple, with a cheerful sound and a unique look. This Dogwood is from the Carpenter Ant stash, felled and milled by Ken on-site and stored for many years. The Englemann Spruce is from a retired guitar builder, the Pistachio is from California orchards and the Douglas Fir neck is salvaged from a floor joist.
“Hi, Aaron, Nicole, and Henry.
The uke has arrived in superb condition. It is absolutely beautiful to the eyes as well as the ears. I love it with the unwound fourth string. Won’t be able to take my hands off of it for quite a while. Thank you so much. What a stunner.
Have a great Thanksgiving,
- F. P.
”
It’s fun to think of these things I build as mixed media art works. In this case, walnut, pistachio, brass and goat skin. Familiar materials to me by now, but always a treat to work with. Walnut from the scrap bin at Goby in Portland, Pistachio from California Orchards, brass hardware by Brooks Masten and the tension hoop by me.
My soprano ukulele model is based off of a 1920’s Lyon and Healy ukulele, but includes my own modern ideas. This is a hard balance to get, but I really enjoy the process. The goal is an instrument with the chiming sparkle of an old one, but modern playability and a bit more tone and sustain. The precious Koa for this instrument comes from the Carpenter Ant stash in Portland, originally imported and cut for clock making. I will be donating to https://savinghawaiisforests.org for this build and I encourage all of you to support their cause if you are able. The Oregon Walnut is from the scrap bin at Goby in Portland and the Douglas Fir neck is salvaged from a floor board.
Spruce top, Walnut back and sides, mustard tank Cypress neck and Cherry everything else. A soprano ukulele made from the scrap bin. It’s off to the Scout wait list.
This really shows the balance of what I do and what matters to me. Huge sound, easy playability, salvaged/sustainable timbers, and neat craftsmanship with a rustic texture. This baritone is tuned gcea and I love the sound, it was a real joy for me to play it today. The fir is salvaged from the Carpenter Ant stash in Portland, the curly Maple is from woodfromthewest.com and the curly Walnut is urban salvage from Goby Walnut.
This banjo is for our friend Dennis, who has been playing Clawhammer ukulele for many years and is ready to try it on banjo. It is an 11” rim with a 20” scale neck, our short scale five string banjo. Maple rim and Mahogany neck stained to match with a Jatoba/Brazilian Cherry fretboard. The brass is aged and the head is stained with walnut ink from our yard, foraged and processed by Henry and his friends. All the wood is from the Carpenter Ant stash in Portland.
When I build a banjo like this, I keep it for a little while so the neck, head and rim can settle in. I adjust it a bit every day until it’s ready to ship. Sometimes, they are pretty hard to let go, especially this one. Local curly Walnut from The Dee Mill and Pistachio from California Orchards. A wooden tone ring with non steel strings. 11” rim and 25.5” scale length. Check out the shoes, hooks and nuts from Brooks Masten. So sweet.
If you have been following us for a while, you probably know how special Camp Westwind is to us. On the Salmon River estuary, with Spruce forest, tide pool beaches and rocky cliffs, it is a favorite retreat for our family. This top is made from Alaskan Yellow Cedar, harvested from a log that our friend Duncan found on the beach at Westwind. He cut a slice off it to use in his printing projects, which allowed him to count over 250 annual rings. We cut two sections of the trunk and have been splitting, milling and drying ever since. This is the first ukulele with this special wood! The back and sides are curly, spalted Maple, harvested by our friend Ben Bonham. The combination looks rustic and sounds sweet, I’ll certainly use it again. The neck is Hemlock and the fretboard, headplate, bridge and binding are Pistachio from California orchards.
An all domestic wood tenor ukulele with a big, bold sound. Fir and oak for the win!!! The oak and fir are from the Carpenter Ant stash in Portland and the walnut is urban salvage from Goby Walnut. The small silver keepsake inlayed in the headstock is a family heirloom given to our customer from her late mother. Thanks Maja for entrusting us with something so special.
“Dear Aaron, Nicole and Henry,
Please know that #635 is incredibly special to me.
It’s built so honestly and the sound is a delight - l find l never stop smiling when l play it and it brings me so much joy. The heart inlay is perfect. You did such a good job of it Aaron - l can’t thank you enough. Before l play it, l look at it, hold it and appreciate what a fine instrument it is.
Take care and enjoy the snow!
Cheers,
- M. Z.
(The trees (logs) in the pictures are Eucalyptus obliqua - Stringybark or Messmate.)”
I got the chance to talk to this customer on face time, and it was a pleasure. He said he wanted “wavy, wabi-sabi and binding optional”! He also wanted to be surprised with how it looked when opened the case, so I didn’t send any progress pictures. I chose an asymmetrical and curly Myrtle back and sides, with a slice of sapwood in it. It made sense to pair it with a multi colored pistachio fretboard and headplate that includes some tractor blight markings and sapwood. After all that, I chose a Port Orford Cedar top that was a little wavy, but not too much. The neck is salvaged Cypress from a mustard tank with some hard maple stripes. I like it with no binding, as it softens the look of the edges and borders, emphasizing the muted earth tones.
“I wanted to let you know that I received the uke and it is wonderful! I’m overjoyed with the selections you made - the asymmetric myrtle, mustard cypress neck, wild pistachio fretboard, clean look without binding...
You really captured what I hoped for in a custom uke and the craftsmanship is superb.
I’m especially glad that I had zero input into its design - it turned out so well, likely as a result - so light, resonant and looks/smells great! Thank you for the hard work you put into its construction - it really is a delight to play such a high-quality handcrafted instrument.
All the best,
M.F .”
A classic design with some small unique touches from Mother Nature! The first Beansprout model I ever built was a maple concert banjo ukulele and they always sound “right” to me. The maple rim has some spalting and bark inclusions that give it some nice color variations. The pistachio has some beautiful stripes as well. The customer asked for a low fourth string, which is a great sound. The maple is all leftover from our kitchen cabinets and the pistachio comes from California Orchards, www.woodfromthewest.com.
Koa is precious. Any scrap I’ve salvaged over the years deserves to be used for something useful. I don’t support the Colonial takeover of the islands or the depletion of the forests. But I do support modern reforestation efforts and indigenous rights. Part of the profits from this build will go to https://savinghawaiisforests.org to plant new Koa trees. Consider pitching in yourself.
The Douglas Fir for this ukulele is from the Carpenter Ant stash, the Pistachio comes from California Orchards and the Koa is scrap left from my time at Mya-Moe.
“So, my special box of musical air arrived today— huzzah!
What an extraordinarily pretty little hoot, this Scout.
An exquisite surprise, in the mix:
Bird’s foot!
(I mean, just look at all that beauty, in the wood and grain and how you’ve brought everything together.)
Thank you so much.
- S. S.
”