#679- Spruce and Oak Five String Baritone Ukulele

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?

#677- Spruce and Figured Koa Tenor Ukulele

When I design a stock instrument, I usually start with one inspiring piece of wood and let it lead me through the shop. Everything else is a variation on the original theme, complimenting it or adding contrast. In this case, I was excited to use this Sitka Spruce, harvested by luthier Craig Wilson and his father. This particular top has so much color and grain variation that I couldn’t wait to build around it. The one piece back and sides are quilted/curly Koa, from a board I saved from the old Mya-Moe shop. The fretboard/headplate/bridge is Jatoba, a South American hardwood I salvaged from the Carpenter Ant stash. I used more spruce for the neck, with Jatoba and maple laminations. The maple binding wraps it all up. With a spruce top and a low g, it sounds awesome. Whenever I use Koa, I donate to plant more Koa trees in Hawaii through https://savinghawaiisforests.org.

#666- Bearclaw Spruce and Mastergrade Myrtle Tenor Ukulele

This one is for a repeat customer, which is always a challenge. I want to do my best work in the moment, but I also want to one up myself as well. The Bearclaw spruce for this one is the craziest top I had on hand, salvage harvested by Alaska Specialty Woods. The Myrtle, which reminds me of fire or lightning bolts, is from the Carpenter Ant Stash in Portland. These woods were so dynamic, that I chose a simpler Oregon Walnut fretboard, headplate, bridge and binding. The Bird’s foot purfling ties it all together and the scratch plate and K&K pickup make it stage ready. Rock on Jeremy.

#669- Spruce and Curly Walnut Scout Ukulele

A soprano ukulele made from shop scraps, ready to warm your heart. Spruce top, gunstock curly walnut back and sides, hot tub cedar neck, walnut fretboard and headplate and cherry binding to wrap it up. It’s off to the Scout email list asap.

#680- Western Red Cedar and Golden Chinquapin Tenor Ukulele

It’s pretty rare for somebody to bring a chunk of wood to my shop that I haven’t seen before. In this case, a boat builder dropped off two boards of Golden Chinquapin, a rare west coast, high altitude tree. I milled the board up and knew it would be great for ukuleles. I paired it with a Western Red Cedar top, salvaged from a hot tub for a rich but lively tone. The neck is mahogany from a furniture maker’s scrap bin. The pistachio fretboard and headplate are from California Orchards. Over all the instrument feels solid but lightweight and sounds rich but lively. A really unique combination that I enjoyed playing today.

“I received my gorgeous tenor ukulele today. It has such a rich sound and i love the wood smell. It reminds me of going into my granddads workshop when I was young. I’m so excited to start playing it. Thank you so much for the beautiful instrument.
- K. H. ”

#674- Koa and Texas Ebony Tenor Banjo Ukulele

It started off as an experiment, but I quickly knew that it was going to be successful. 10” rim instead of 8”, which gives a little more depth to the sound and possibly a little more volume. It also matches the 17” scale nicely. The wood is Clockmaker’s Koa wood, saved from the Carpenter Ant stash. I’ve never made a Koa banjo before, but I’m glad I did. I think I will offering this to customers in the future, as long as I can continue to salvage Koa from sources I trust. As always, I will donate to plant native Hawaiian trees through https://savinghawaiisforests.org.
The Texas Ebony fretboard is from a retired banjo builder and pairs well with the Koa neck. I had to make a custom brass hoop for this one and mount a nice goat skin head. It’s lighter weight than I expected and is a treat to play.

“Aaron,

Wow! What a wonderful, beautiful instrument. Thank you for working with me on creating an instrument that is beyond my expectations. The koa wood is not only beautiful but the tone is rich and warm with mid tones that stand out; you can hear every note clearly. The 10” rim not only brings out the bass notes and adds additional volume, but she sounds more like a banjo than an ukulele. And she sits well in the lap. Your craftsmanship is seamless; best in the business. I had never played nor seen one of your instruments, so I was taking a chance. I am not disappointed. I think you have a hit here with the 10” rim tenor banjolele. Cheers!!
All the best,
J. C. ”

#673- Curly Cherry and Pistachio Five String Banjo

Oh man, I want to keep this one. Loud, rich and sweet with a bit of a growl to it. What a pleasure to play! Brass arm rest, a brass tone ring, K&K pickup and three fifth string spikes add some nice features to a basic model. The curly cherry comes from a retired banjo builder and the pistachio comes from California Orchards.

#668- Spruce and Curly Maple Alto Ukulele

Spruce and maple is always a good idea. Loud, sweet and rich with awesome sustain. The spruce from this was cut for a dulcimer maker in the 1960’s, the curly maple came from a retired violin maker and the Texas ebony from a retired banjo builder.

“The uke is beautiful and tuneful as well. Thanks for your craftsmanship and attention to detail!
Best,
M.H.
”

#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. ”