I have so much wood that I really don’t need to look out for anything new- but when Chris from The Dee Mill drops off a board, I pay attention. In this case, it was one small board of Japanese Elm or Selkova from the Portland Japanese Garden. I sawed it up for back, sides, fretboard and headplate and I’m very pleased. Paired with a Cedar top, it’s bright but rich, with a nice sparkle to the tone.
This banjo uke is a little different than normal in that I used a 10” rim instead of 8”. It’s got a big, rich tone that will cut through any mix, but is also warm and detailed. All the Walnut is scrap wood from other projects. The goatskin head is amber stained for a unique look. Geared tuners, arm rest, fluorocarbon strings tuned gcea, bone nut, walnut bridge and a hard shell case.
This was a really fun project with several unique features that really came together in the end. The main wood is salvaged Douglas Fir, complete with knots, checks and nail holes. The secondary wood is White Oak from wine barrels from our neighbors at Hiyu Wine Farm. We also stained the goatskin head to match the oak and I inlaid a little purple heart on the headstock. Open C tuning on a 17” scale, 8” rim banjo.
I’ve made a handful of these now and really feel like I am getting the design and process nailed down. This model is based on an old Regal tenor guitar, a favorite vintage instrument of many collectors. It has a 21.5” scale, steel strings and a bridge and tailpiece setup. It really feels like a nice merger of guitar, ukulele and banjo. The Spruce is from my 1960’s dulcimer maker pile, the Walnut is from a local tree I harvested and the Mahogany is salvaged from a theater in Portland.
This Uke is for Jon, who worked at a Redwood furniture factory as a teenager. (If I could could go back in time for the scraps!) I used Redwood from a boat building shop for the top and salvaged beach Redwood from The Dee Mill in the neck. For the rest, I chose Pistachio from California orchards, including some nice sapwood, grafts and a knot. Simple maple trim and bridge ties it all together.
“Aaron, Nicole, and Henry,
This beautiful March day was made absolutely perfect by the safe arrival of my new “Gator Eyed” uke (I call it that because my son thinks the knot on the back looks like a gator eye). Ever since you relaunched the Beansprout brand I’ve wanted one of your creations. I love your design aesthetic, craftsmanship and wood sourcing philosophy. Having a Beansprout of my own is a dream come true.
I absolutely love the woods you chose for this baritone. The pistachio is spectacular and the redwood compliments it perfectly. I especially love the way the fretboard and pickguard match. And the sound is just what I was looking for, warm and woody but still clear at every note.
I can’t begin to say how please and thankful I am, so I’ll just simply say thank you.
- J. C.”
Even though I like to keep things simple, I also like to select special materials when the project calls for it. When we picked out this Curly maple from mandolin builder John Sullivan’s estate, everything else just fell into place to create a special instrument. I picked some multi colored Pistachio from California orchards and wrapped it all up in rope binding. The Santos style headstock and a nice goatskin head completed the look. It is loud and proud, but not piercing, I really like the sound and the general vibes of this banjo.
Sometimes I just want to keep it simple. Myrtle body with no binding, scrap wood Fir and Maple neck and curly Walnut everything else. This one is just classic.
I have enough good options for top woods that I sometimes forgot how nice they are. This Port Orford Cedar top surprised me, although I should know better by now, POC is always good! Bright, rich, detailed, crisp with nice sustain. This POC top and the curly POC neck came from my neighbors garage, originally cut for flutes. The curly Cherry was a great choice for back and sides, from the Carpenter Ant Stash. Top it off with a grafted Pistachio fretboard from California orchards. All around, a really nice uke that shows off what I do well. Thanks for the order, Susan!
“Dear Aaron and Nicole,
My new ukulele arrived today safe and sound. I am so excited! It is just lovely and it sounds so wonderful! The card including info about the ukulele is great and I will keep it in the case.
The craftsmanship is just the best.
Keep up the good work,
- S. G. ”
Since September, Chris from The Dee Mill has been visiting the shop to build this uke for his mom. It was a really fun project for both of us; Chris got a hands on look at luthiery and I got to see my process from a new angle, trying to explain what I do and teach another woodworker.
The Redwood top, neck, linings and blocks are from a log Chris harvested off an Oregon beach. The Walnut is from the Dee Mill, from a pallet of walnut given to the mill that had dried improperly. It developed a twist which made it hard to use for furniture, but good for musical instruments. I love the light colored sapwood and rich dark brown heartwood. Drop me a line if you want one like it, I have more matching walnut.
I think I’ve made about a dozen Cherry and Texas Ebony banjos in the last few years and everyone has been a winner. It’s just the right mix of woods for tone and for a nice look. Karen added a few extra things to her build that really made this one special. The goatskin head was stained dark using the walnut shells from our front yard, the brass hardware was darkened, she added a pickup, an arm rest and a radiused fret board. Nice. The Texas Ebony is from a retired banjo builder and the Cherry is from the Carpenter Ant stash in Portland.
This is one of my “desert vibes” instruments, inspired by the color palette of the eastern Oregon high desert. The top is Juniper from eastern Oregon, and the fretboard is some local Elm, provided by Chris at the Dee Mill. The back and sides are Myrtle from the Oregon coast from woodfromthewest.com. The neck is some curly Port Orford Cedar, salvaged from my neighbor’s garage. It has a crisp and spicy tone, like the smell of juniper in the wood stove.
This was a project with many experiments: a new purfling, a bigger rosette, a new inlay, a slightly modified body shape, a new spalted maple log and a new kind of neck reinforcement. It was mostly a success, but there are a few tiny flaws that needed to be repaired and a general wabi sabi vibe to the whole thing. We’re still excited to put it out into the world.
This tenor is for our old friend Danielle Anderson, whose stage name is Danielle Ate the Sandwich. She is a fantastic songwriter, performer and an A+ human. This is a simple and subtle build, perfectly suited for a hard working musical life. The Spruce top is from Vancouver island, the Myrtle back and sides is from The Carpenter Ant stash and the Pistachio is from California orchards. I’m really proud of it and happy to put it in her hands.
I promise that I am trying to work through the Scout waiting list, I really am! This one is all local Walnut from the Dee Mill, Redwood scraps from a guitar maker and some salvaged Douglas Fir for the neck. It’s a good one!
Kevin from woodfromthewest.com has been telling me about this Walnut tree they took down near Medford, OR. It’s been drying for years and I finally dug into for this banjo. It looks awesome and the sound is just what I want. Dark and rich but also loud and expressive. I’m really impressed. This customer wanted a 12” rim with goat skin head, brass tone ring, steel strings and an arm rest. All around a great design that I am having fun playing. I complimented the walnut with some grafted Pistachio from California orchards, also from Kevin.
This is my third tenor guitar based on the old Regal pattern. It’s bigger than a baritone uke, but still appropriate for a four string instrument. It’s got ladder bracing, steel strings, a tailpiece and a floating bridge. It’s punchy, sweet and sings with a nice sustain. The Sitka Spruce top and neck are from Vancouver Island. The Mahogany back and sides were salvaged from a Tacoma boat shop. The Walnut fretboard, headplate and binding are from a tree in Hood River. It has geared Gotoh tuners, a K&K pickup and a rustic star inlaid on the fretboard.
This uke is for Steve Varney, one of our long term artists. I’ve only built banjos for him before, this is the first uke. All the Walnut is from The Dee Mill, right down the road from us. The Redwood top is a scrap from a guitar maker. It has a couple of natural flaws, but I’m happy to repair them and use it. We all have a few natural flaws. The Mahogany neck is salvaged from a Tacoma boat shop. Redwood and Walnut has a rich and thoughtful sound, with just enough brightness to cut through the mix. I’ve made several this way and I’m happy to do more of it.
Everything on this uke is wavy, curly, funky and wild looking. It makes for a fun project, with all the curves and angles working together to make a complete look. The top and neck are curly Port Orford Cedar from the Oregon coast, via woodfromthewest.com. The rest of the instrument is Dogwood, from a tree that Ken from the Carpenter Ant stash harvested from their yard in Portland many years ago. It features a headstock shape from an instrument made by Santo in the 1880’s, wooden strap buttons and no binding or rosette.
I’ve recently started applying a new approach to my banjo designs in order to make a lighter weight, more traditional and lower cost instrument. They are generally made of scraps or less fancy wood, have less brass hardware and use thinner steam bent rims. In this case, I used some red oak from the Carpenter Ant stash, some Pistachio from California Orchards and some walnut scraps. I’m not sure I am ready to do this with every banjo, but it’s a path I’m interested in exploring.
“Just wanted to drop you a line to say that my banjo uke arrived safe and sound and is absolutely a masterpiece. I love the old timey sound and the fact that it was built from mostly scraps gives it so much character. I hope you make more of these. It is amazing.
I have been a huge fan of your work (both music and luthier) for a long time and am happy I finally got a beansprout uke banjo.
Kind regards,
- A. R. ”
This is for our longtime customer, Jennifer. The Walnut is from a piece of furniture her dad built many years ago, but was no longer functional. I used it for the back, sides, fretboard, headplate and bridge, and boy is it beautiful! The top is some Yellow Cedar I salvaged from my neighbor’s shop and the neck is salvaged Cypress from an old factory. The rope sound hole binding and endgraft are some classy details to pull it all together.
“This is the soprano of my dreams! This little ukulele truly has it all - the featherweight lightness of a vintage soprano but the playability and functionality that those vintage sopranos lack. The sound is amazing as it has all the sparkle and charm that is expected of a soprano, but also sustain and a maturity and depth that is uncommon in sopranos. I am so pleased you decided to offer sopranos since it is rare to find a luthier who will make them at all, let alone make such fantastic sopranos. You have mentioned the challenge of building for a repeat customer and you absolutely achieved that with this ukulele because you couldn’t have pleased me more. I wish my dad could see what the walnut he purchased for his high school woodshop project became … I know he would have loved it. Thank you for taking on this project and giving me a reminder of him I can hold every day and use to bring music into the world.
- J. L. ”
