#700- Spruce and Curly Myrtle Scout Ukulele

Engleman Spruce from a luthier’s estate sale, curly Myrtle from the scraps of Nicole’s ukulele, a Fir neck from the Carpenter Ant stash and Myrtle fretboard/headplate/bridge from woodfromthewest.com. Sent to a grateful customer in Canada!

#699- Walnut and Pistachio Tenor Banjo Ukulele

A common configuration for me, walnut and pistachio banjo uke, but with two small custom requests: a frailing scoop at the end of the fretboard and a small butterfly inlay on the headstock. The inlay is a new skill that I am working on and it turned out nice, in my opinion. The Walnut is from Vashon island from my friend Cath and the Pistachio is from California Orchards.

#698- Western Red Cedar and Myrtle Alto Ukulele

This is a sweet one. Easy to play, sounds rich and full, feels lightweight but solid and I love the look. Hot tub salvaged Western Red Cedar, Myrtle from the same board as Nicole’s ukulele, Mahogany from the Carpenter Ant stash and Pistachio from California Orchards.

“Hey Aaron, Nicole, and Henry!

We received our Beansprout Alto uke the evening before leaving town on a trip. We only had time to open it up and say WOW…just WOW! The pictures did not do this little gem justice…we are thrilled with how it looks, love all the wood tones and the bird’s foot purfling…Aaron’s excellent craftsmanship shines again!! Since we have been back from vacation and had time to sit down and play, it has fast become our favorite uke. We have eight including the beautiful Beansprout Banjo Uke that y’all made for us in February. As you know all too well, each uke has its own personality, and this one shouts “play me”! It is light as a feather, has a rich and mellow tone for such a little uke, and great sustain too for a small instrument. We love that Aaron put a wound low G string on it. Each note really does ring out like a bell. Hoping one day we can purchase another Beansprout. Thanks again for the caring way you treat your customers. Looking forward to that new Clawhammer Uke book you are working on! :)

-S.M and C.M.”

#695- Curly Walnut and Pistachio Four String Banjo

I love this design. 11” rim and 20” scale, it’s suitable for many tunings and string materials. All kinds of folks have found it useful, which makes me happy. This one is made from Curly Walnut from The Dee Mill and Pistachio from www.woodfromthewest.com. It has a brass tone ring, Renaissance head and a comfortable arm rest.

“Thanks Aaron & Nicole for this beautiful banjo. It arrived today. I’ve been playing it for hours. This will get passed down through the Bastien family for generations to come.
- J. B.
”

#696- Wine Barrel Oak and Pistachio Concert Banjo Ukulele

This beautiful instrument was a nice challenge for me. The customer sent me photos of their favorite beach in Florida, which has a cross on a hill as a landmark. It was fun to pick pistachio and goat skin that wasn’t a literal picture of the beach, but served as the right vibe to invoke it. I inlaid a small ebony cross at the 15th fret to finish it off. The White Oak is from wine barrels I get from my neighbors, Hiyu Wine Farm. It’s French in origin and is beautiful quartersawn material. The Pistachio is harvested from California orchards.

#693- Spruce and Mahogany Scout Ukulele

Spruce top, Mahogany back and sides, Fir neck and Cherry fretboard/headplate/binding. All scraps from other projects. Soprano scale, with geared tuners, strap buttons, bone nut and saddle and fluorocarbon strings. It’s off to the Scout waiting list today.

#675- Juniper and Horse Chestnut Tenor Ukulele

Wow- This one feels so good to play. The whole thing vibrates in the lap and I can tell the sound really sings. This was a collaboration with Chris from The Dee Mill. He dropped off a bunch of scraps over the last couple of years, and I milled and sorted them to be ukulele parts. Many species were new to me, but it was clear what role they could play in an instrument. The top is Juniper from eastern Oregon, which put me in a high desert state of mind, leading me to a color palette and wood layout to fit the vibe. The back, sides and headplate are Horse Chestnut. The neck is salvaged Cypress with a Walnut stripe. The fretboard is Elm, another local wood I had never used. I thought some Walnut would be a good bet for the binding, adding some dark contrast.

Btw, I have more of these woods, drop me a line if you would like a high desert inspired ukulele!

#692- Sycamore Alto Ukulele

Keep it simple. Local wood with sustainable sourcing, easy playability and sweet sound. Sycamore body, Fir and Maple neck and Black Locust fretboard/headplate. The Sycamore is leftover from my time at Mya-Moe and the Black Locust is from up the road at the Dee Mill.

#685- Western Red Cedar and Curly Walnut Alto Ukulele

Cedar and Walnut has been a popular combination lately and I’m not really surprised. It’s local, readily available, looks nice and sounds lovely. Dark, rich, expressive but with a little sparkle to the tone. This alto with a low G doesn’t disappoint. The walnut is from guitar maker Ben Bonham, who passed on these ukulele sized pieces of local timber. I used tiny maple dowels to fill a few bug holes. The cypress neck is salvaged from a factory, complete with knots and a nail hole. Walnut also looks nice as the fretboard and headplate. The cedar comes from an old hot tub!

#689- Port Orford Cedar and Curly Walnut Tenor Ukulele

Classic Beansprout: domestic woods, muted/natural color palette, easy playability and big sound. I love it. The one piece Port Orford Cedar top and Pistachio fretboard/headplate come from our friends at woodfromthewest.com. The curly Walnut back and sides are from luthier Jayson Bowerman and the Spruce neck is from luthier Craig Wilson. Thanks, friends! I love the green Myrtle binding with no black lines, purfling a or veneers, it gives a muted/natural look to the whole thing.

“Hey Aaron and Nicole,

Just wanted to let you know the ukulele arrived safe and sound. I’ve had a few days to play her and she sounds perfect. Great tone, and the radiused fretboard is a treat I’ve never had. Obviously the wood is stunning as well.
Thank you so much for the time and effort put into creating this beautiful instrument. It’s more than I ever dreamed!
- B. T. ”

#687- Curly Mahogany Tenor Guitar

This instrument is based off of an old Regal tenor guitar that my friend Geoff Davis has. I traced it and studied it over a glass of wine a few years ago and I decided to build one. The Regal design is nice because it is balanced, comfortable and confident in its smallness. (Other tenor guitars try to hard to be like their big brothers, I think.)

It’s not really louder than one of my ukuleles, just different. I like this all Mahogany one and I also like them with a spruce top.

The curly Mahogany was scrap from another builder, the Spanish Cedar neck and Texas Ebony fretboard/headplate are from a retired banjo builder. The rope binding and brass fittings seal the deal.

“Aaron, Nichole, and Henry:

I received the instruments yesterday. They are incredible! Thank you for the amazing work you put into these and all your instruments. It is such a joy to play them and I thoroughly enjoy your process and documentation of the builds.

The beautiful woods on the tenor guitar are breathtaking! It looks and sounds so, so good. I’ve got a song I look forward to recording on that guitar in the next few weeks.

I really can’t believe how much life you built into the tone of the soprano uke. You have a real gift, Aaron. Thank you for all that you and your family are doing. You are such a positive contribution to the musical community.

I look forward to many years of enjoying these instruments.

Have a great day,

C.P. ”

#686- Curly Mahogany Soprano Ukulele

This instrument is part of a set with a matching tenor guitar, #687. As always, I’m trying to balance the best of ukulele tradition with my own ideas. This one has a slightly wider fretboard by customer request and I find it very easy to play. The curly Mahogany is from a guitar builders scrap pile and the Spanish Cedar neck and Texas Ebony fretboard are from a retired banjo builder. The sound is warm, but percussive, just what I would want with a soprano.

#690- Mastergrade Koa Tenor Ukulele

Koa is the not the loudest wood, but it has a presence and tone that is always pleasing to me. Maybe it’s just because of it’s history as “the” ukulele wood, the many years we have spent hearing Koa and admiring its beauty. I’ve been playing this one for a few days and have come to appreciate the tone as it “wakes up.”

The Koa from this build came from Notable Woods, where Bruce works hard to produce tonewood from salvaged and renewable sources. The Pistachio fretboard/headplate/bridge are from California orchards. The Mahogany neck was salvaged from a cabinet shop scrap bin.

#688- Cedar and Walnut Tenor Ukulele

This project started when our customer sent us a walnut board- salvaged from a stereo cabinet her late father built in high school shop class. The wood turned out be enough for two ukuleles, including the fretboard and headplate. I paired it with a salvaged wall panel Cedar top and a Mahogany neck from a cabinet maker’s scrap bin. It is loud, sweet and very light weight, I am quite pleased with it. The maple binding and walnut pickguard protect the top and add some visual interest to the design. Thanks to Jennifer for her long term support of Beansprout!

“Hello Nicole and Aaron,

I just wanted to let you know that my tenor ukulele and cheese board arrived safe and sound yesterday. You really outdid yourselves with this ukulele! Based on all my other Beansprout ukuleles, I knew it would look, feel, and sound amazing, but this really is wonderful. It is so light and resonant, and the tone is fantastic. It also looks spectacular, of course. It truly exceeds my expectations in every way.

Thank you for turning this walnut from a broken piece of furniture into something beautiful and useful! My dad would have been thrilled with your craftsmanship and that you were able to transform wood that he selected so many years ago for his first big high school shop project into an entirely different sort of project for me. I shared the photos you sent of this ukulele in progress with my mom and sister and they enjoyed following along and anticipating its completion and arrival almost as much as me. It really means a lot to all of us that you were willing to take on this project and transform these boards into objects that we can use and treasure. Thank you!
- J.L. ”

#683- Alaskan Yellow Cedar and Grafted Walnut Alto Ukulele

When I strung this one up two weeks ago, I thought, “hmmm, I think this one needs to wake up a little bit.” I took it to Ukulele Band Camp and our friend Daniel Ward played it in his classes. That did the trick! See below for a bonus video of Daniel playing.

The top and neck for this is the Alaskan Yellow Cedar that we harvested from Camp Westwind and the back and sides are grafted Walnut from the stump I got from Zena Forest Products in Salem. I used more walnut for the fretboard and bound the instrument in muted colored myrtle, for a natural look. I am excited to use these woods more in the future!

#691- Walnut and Pistachio Tenor Banjo Ukulele

This is a bit of a rarity, a “floor sweep” instrument, made from parts from other projects that needed a home. In this case, the walnut and pistachio neck, walnut rim, brass hardware and slightly scuffed case are a good fit. The neck has a small repaired crack and the rim have a couple of tiny finish blemishes, but it still plays and sounds like a Beansprout.

“Since I received this Beansprout I haven’t touched my other instruments - it’s so fun! The craftsmanship and hardware are mesmerizing and the tone feels good in my bones. I find myself playing whenever I have free time, even just sneaking a few minutes is such a joy. Okay I’m going to go play it now!

- R.P.”

#684- Spruce and Walnut Scout Ukulele

A humble soprano ukulele made from shop scraps. Spruce, Fir, Walnut, Maple and Texas Ebony, now joined together to make music!

#681- Spruce and Curly Walnut Tenor Ukulele

Spruce has a great track record as a top wood. Almost every acoustic guitar, violin and mandolin you have ever heard has a spruce top. But, for a few different reasons, it is less common in the ukulele world. I love it for its volume, sustain and brightness, but also for the precision of the sound. It just sounds nice to me. This particular Spruce was cut in the 1960’s for a dulcimer maker but never used. The darker stripes come from the edge of the pile darkened by years of sunlight. It’s my favorite spruce, due to the small figures, tight grain and beauty marks. The curly Walnut for this instrument comes from the shorts bin at Goby in Portland. The Spanish Cedar neck and Texas Ebony Fretboard/headplate/bridge come from a retired banjo builder. Over all, I love how the look of the instrument is precise but with small textural details to please the eye.

#678- Mastergrade Myrtle Baritone Ukulele

I love Myrtle. I often call it “Oregon’s Koa.” It sounds good, looks good, is easy to work with and I get it right from the folks who harvest it. Www.woodfromthewest.com. This instrument also has some nice Pistachio from the same folks and Douglas Fir from a floor joist. It is strung dgbe with a high d, which keeps the baritone voice but adds a little sparkle. Happy Retirement Chantal!

“I’m so happy we decided to come and get it in person! You two are just amazing people. And that instrument is exactly what I wanted and needed. I couldn’t put it down last night. It’s already bringing music out of me I didn’t know was there. I love the high d and it sounds so colourful and bright. I’m glad I went with the all curly myrtle. Anyway great work all around. A satisfied customer:)

Thanks for everything!
- C.L.”

#682- Curly Port Orford Cedar and Mastergrade Koa Tenor Ukulele

The best of Hawaii, Oregon and California, all wrapped up in one ukulele! The top is curly Port Orford Cedar from the Oregon Coast, the back and sides are Mastergrade Koa from Hawaii, the neck is salvaged California Redwood and the Pistachio is from California Orchards. Sweet sounding, easy to play and built to last. It’s a pleasure to do this job. In honor of this Ukulele, I’ll be donating to https://savinghawaiisforests.org to support native Hawaiian forests.

“Aaron,
Just a note to tell you how much I am enjoying this instrument! After a couple of weeks of playing it every day I’m really appreciating the beautiful tone, sustain, and evenness of the sound. Like when going from finger pic to strumming in a song, very balanced, with a sweet amount of bite when I dig in. it’s hard to describe, it just sounds amazing. Thank you!
Best,
B.C.”