#672- Walnut and Pistachio Concert Banjo Ukulele

This is one of my go-to models, so it would seem to be mundane for me. But, they all turn out a bit different, which keeps it exciting. I like the rich sound of the walnut, but this one also feels light, bright and easy to play. The walnut comes from Vashon Island, WA and the pistachio from California Orchards.

“Aaron, Nicole, and Henry,

Our Banjo Uke was delivered this afternoon!! Just wanted to say thank you so much for creating such a fine instrument for us to enjoy. Both the walnut and pistachio have such warm and beautiful tones in the grain…simply lovely. The craftsmanship is outstanding…every single detail! Love the tone of the instrument and how easy it is to play. We will have fun making music with this sweet little banjo uke for many years and have a wonderful “heirloom” instrument to hopefully pass down to our grandchildren one day!

Grateful for all you do,
C and S”

#676- Curly Cherry Four String Banjo

This banjo is for one of our favorite people, Matt Weiner, a bass player we work with a few times a year. He also plays tenor guitar and decided to add tenor banjo to his arsenal. This instrument has steel strings and is tuned CGDA, one of the traditional tenor banjo tunings popular with jazz players. I used Curly Cherry and Texas Ebony for this one, which I got from a retired banjo builder. It makes for a loud but sweet tone, with a bit of growl on the bass strings. I look forward to getting Matt’s feedback on this banjo and seeing him play!

#671- Walnut and Pistachio Mini Five String Banjo

I love these mini five string banjos lately! A great travel instrument or perfect for someone who is struggling with the larger size and weight of a regular banjo. The walnut for this one is lightly curly and includes a lot of sap wood, for a patchwork effect. It comes from the shorts bin at Goby in Portland. The colorful pistachio comes from California orchards.

#667- Western Red Cedar and Curly Walnut Alto Ukulele

Sometimes simpler is better. In this case, leaving off binding makes for a tidy look that lets other elements pop out. The light sapwood in the top rhymes with the maple veneers throughout the instrument, something that might have been visually lost with binding. The Cedar is from Jayson Bowerman, a guitar maker from Bend who harvested this log himself. The curly Walnut is from Goby in Portland and the Mahogany neck is a scrap from a furniture maker.

#670- Fir, Cherry and Maple Scout Banjo Ukulele

Just like my Scout ukulele, this Scout banjo ukulele is a lightweight, super playable instrument with clean lines and humble materials. Made of shop scraps and orphaned parts, it has a classic look and old school tone. The neck is Douglas Fir and the flat Cherry fretboard is soprano scale. The rim is a thin drum shell, painted black, with dark brass parts and a stained goat skin head. $1000 plus shipping, including a blemished hard shell case.

#664- Mesquite and Pistachio Mini Five String Banjo

It always takes me a few minutes to adjust my touch from a regular five string to one of my minis. But once I do, I’m always glad I did. Even though they are small, they growl, purr and roar in my lap. So much fun! This one is made from Mesquite, a wood from Texas/Mexico that I got from a retired builder and Pistachio from California orchards. I think the Mesquite is similar to oak in tone, with a dusty rattle that I love. This one is off to British Columbia and ready to make music!

#663- Curly Cherry and Pistachio Mini Five String Banjo

8” rim, 17” scale, but tuned to standard/open g tuning. So much fun! The curly cherry is from a retired banjo builder and is the sweetest wood in the shop right now. Not too loud, but bright and rich. The Pistachio is from California orchards.

“Hi Aaron and Nicole,
I want to Thank You for the incredible mini banjo. I think it’s beautiful and sounds amazing. It has a lot of sustain. I’ve been playing it since it arrived and have discovered I can play all of your uke banjo songs by just retuning the first string and sometimes adding slight modifications to the song.

Thank you for opening up another musical world with my new banjo.
-M. A. ”

#661- Fir and Curly Maple Baritone Ukulele

The maple from this baritone ukulele came from an amateur violin maker, who’s health had stopped him from realizing his dream. He only made a handful of instruments and I bought his maple from him when he had to give up. He wanted to make sure that I made instruments from it and here we are. (There is one next month too.) The Douglas Fir is all salvaged old growth wood from the Carpenter Ant Stash. The grafted Pistachio is from California orchards. Loud, crisp and complex, with lots of sustain, I had a great time playing it before shipping.

“Thanks for checking up on my baritone ukulele now that I’ve had some time to get to know it. First off, it’s stunning visually. Aaron had some amazing tiger striped maple for the back and sides, and some beautiful old growth fir for the top. They fit together beautifully, and the pistachio details really tie it all together. When I play it, I can feel it purring like a kitten - it’s a very physical experience - and it responds well to a variety of touches, to make a huge dynamic range. It really wants to be played and it can be very hard to put down. The voice is really lovely - clear and singing, with plenty of presence behind the notes. I can’t say enough good things about it!
- M. T. ”

#665- Walnut and Pistachio Concert Banjo Ukulele

This is one of my standard models, but it’s been a while since some one ordered one. It felt good to play this one today and remind myself how much I like it. The goat skin head adds a little more rustic tone and the K&K pickup ensures that it is ready for the stage. The walnut is from a retired furniture maker on Vashon island and the pistachio is from California orchards.

#660- Cedar and Mahogany Scout Ukulele

Made from shop scraps and humbly presented to you for a lifetime of happy strumming. A soprano scale ukulele with geared tuners, bone nut and saddle, fluorocarbon strings and a gig bag. The neck and top are Western Red Cedar from a salvaged hot tub, the back and sides are mahogany and the fretboard is cherry. Maple binding and bridge add some nice contrast.

Want to get on the wait list for one of these? Info@thebeansprout.com

#659- Cedar and Koa Baritone Ukulele

Yes, we are all about the sound and playability, but the woods have to make sense together too. In this case, I had fun starting with the dark, streaky Koa, adding a simple cedar top, dressing it up with maple binding and bird’s foot purfling and tying it together with the neck woods. I love how it all works together but doesn’t “perfectly” match. The best part about the sound of this instrument is the high dgbe stringing, which still has the low end but allows for banjo style picking.

The Cedar is from the Carpenter Ant Stash in Portland, the Koa is from an estate sale in Colorado, the Pistachio is from California orchards and the Spanish Cedar is from a retired luthier.

I’ll be donating to https://savinghawaiisforests.org for this build and so should all of you.

#662- Curly Walnut and Pistachio Four String Banjo

With a 20” scale, non steel strings and an 11” rim, I originally designed this mode to appeal to baritone ukulele players. Since then, I have seen many kinds of musicians discover them and I’m quite pleased. This one has lovely curly walnut from Goby and Pistachio from California orchards. The goat skin head, brass arm rest and hardware from Brooks Masten make it just fancy enough.

“hi nicole and aaron! my beautiful new friend has arrived home and it is simply awesome. i love every bit of it. the sound is fantastic and it is gorgeous. i am thrilled!!!
thank you so much! now i’m going to start using the books i bought from you both last year ! thanks again .
i couldn’t be happier.
fondly
t. s. ”

Builder’s Choice- #657 Alaskan Yellow Cedar and Oak Soprano Ukulele

Inspired by 1890’s Hawaiian ukuleles, this Beansprout is a great combo of traditional and modern. It’s a soprano ukulele, with Alaskan Yellow Cedar top, Oak back and sides, Fir neck and Texas Ebony fretboard/headplate/bridge. The rope binding was made in house, with maple, cherry and walnut in a random pattern. I used some amber stain to mimic the look of old lacquer. Modern features like geared tuners, bone nut/saddle, fluorocarbon strings and strap buttons make it easy to play. (Note: this instrument has a flat fretboard in the traditional style as opposed to a radiused fretboard that we usually have on our instruments). The Cedar is from Camp Westwind, the Oak is from the Carpenter Ant Stash, the Fir is salvaged from a floor joist and the rope binding is made from shop scraps.

“Aaron and Nicole,

My Beansprout soprano ukulele #657 arrived safely on Wednesday. I have now had a couple of days to play it and I absolutely love it. I love how it looks and feels and the sound is amazing. It even has a deeper and richer tone than my alto ukulele. It must be the Alaskan Yellow Cedar and Oak combination. I really like the shape of the neck and your rope binding is awesome. In my view, you made all the right choices with this builders choice. I feel fortunate to get this ukulele now and not have to wait 9 months for it. 😊

Thank you for making wonderful high quality instruments.

Thanks again,
- H. H. ”

#640- Oak and Texas Ebony Banjo Ukulele

The rim for this banjo came from a very old banjo mandolin. It is a heavy, high quality, 10” spunover rim which I paired with a stained goat skin head. I made a new neck for it from oak and Texas ebony. The slightly larger rim with 17” scale sounds great with gcea tuning. I look forward to using this for an upcoming recording project.

#645- Cedar and Myrtle Tenor Ukulele

I needed one for an upcoming project, so here it is! Cedar is reclaimed from a hot tub, the redwood neck is salvaged from a factory vat, the pistachio is from California orchards and the myrtle is scrap from the old Mya-Moe shop.

#653- Curly Port Orford Cedar and Pistachio Baritone Ukulele

Wow. The grafted Pistachio back on this one is a real knockout. When the tree does all the hard work, I just have to wrap it up! The curly Port Orford Cedar top is from the Oregon coast and all the Pistachio is from California orchards, both via woodfromthewest.com. The cedar neck is from an old barn beam I found. The curly maple binding adds a nice light colored accent that ties it all together. This is the last instrument of 2021, see you next year!

“Aaron surely has a way with Pistachio! The beauty of the graft on the back and the graft lines matched on the shoulders of the two sides topped off with the curly Port Orford Cedar top all bound in the highly figured Maple and the Cedar neck and Pistachio fret board and head plate make for an instrument at which one can’t quit looking. And, it sounds every bit as good as it looks.
The K & K twin spot pickup is so worth it. The sound is incredible when run through my Fender Acoustasonic. Paired with the Dogwood and Spruce baritone strung with the Fourth string in high D, I’m set. Oh! Thanks for the nail hole in the neck. I was hoping to get one. Thank you Aaron, Nicole, and Henry. Wishing you all the best for the New Year.
- F. P. ”

#656- Fir and Walnut Scout Ukulele

I thought Fred’s baritone was going to be the last of the year, but this one snuck in there. Made from Douglas Fir and Walnut shop scraps, with a rustic maple star inlaid on the headstock. It has a dusty yet rich sound and is a joy to strum.

#655- Western Red Cedar and Dogwood Baritone Ukulele

This instrument is basically a copy of one I built for Lizann (keeper of the Carpenter Ant stash) this summer. The Dogwood is from a tree that grew at their house, cut and milled by her father Ken many years ago. It turns out to be great for ukulele back and sides. Add an amazing old Cedar top and it really sounds awesome. The binding, fretboard, headplate and bridge is Pistachio from California orchards. The Douglas Fir neck is salvaged from a stair tread.

#651- Mastergrade Myrtle Tenor Ukulele

I love the wood grain on this. Every time I look at it, I see new colors, patterns and curl. I am so grateful to get to work with an Oregon tree like this, provided by our friend Kevin at woodfromthewest.com. I used simple Myrtle binding to wrap it up, which gives it that muted, natural, wabi-sabi look. The Pistachio fretboard/headplate/bridge is from California orchards and the fir neck is salvaged from a stair tread.

“Beansprout 651 arrived across the pond today and it was love at first when I opened the case. It is just the perfect combination of form and function. Plays like a dream and is so easy and comfortable in the hand. Visually it wonderfully embodies the Beansprout folk art aesthetic. Craftsmanship is outstanding. Normally I am quite an objective person but this connects to my soul! Have a happy holidays and best wishes for your continuing success in the future.
-S.S.”

#652- Curly Walnut and Pistachio Tenor Banjo

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.