This one is for me! I wanted something really old timey, that referenced the instruments from 100 years ago, but had modern playability. I started with a thin, laminated Maple rim and added a Koa veneer and some rope binding to it. I made the neck out of Maple, with a Koa fretboard/headplate with a herringbone stripe down the middle. I finished it in amber shellac, added a goat skin head and a K&K pickup, just in time for the first gig of the summer! It is lightweight, cheerful and loud!!!!
These tenor guitars continue to inspire and surprise me. They sound a little bit like a banjo, a guitar, a uke and a dulcimer. One part of me wants to make them more “normal” but the rest of me is embracing this strangeness. The starting point was an old Regal from the 1920’s, but we are on to something else now. The Redwood top was salvaged by Chris Riedl from a beach in Oregon. The Walnut back and sides are from a Parkdale, OR tree that I also got from Chris. The Mahogany neck is a scrap from a cabinet maker’s shop. The Pistachio fretboard and headplate are from California orchards.
It has four steel strings, tuned dgbd, with a floating bridge and a mandolin style brass tailpiece. Geared tuners, bone nut/saddle and a K&K pickup.
This model has become very comfortable for me to play, as I think the balance, weight and shorter neck are just more comfortable than my “big” banjos. I don’t know when I’ll find time to make one for myself, but I am looking forward to it. This one sounds rich and dark, with good volume and a round, plunky tone. The Walnut comes from Cath’s shop on Vashon Island and the Pistachio is from California Orchards. It has a synthetic head, non-steel strings and a comfortable brass arm rest. A humble musical companion that I would happily sit on the back porch with, any day.
The “normal” wood for a banjo uke is maple, which has a bright and loud sound. Over the years I have experimented with many woods and found success with woods that aren’t as bright as maple but have a cheerful and loud sound. Koa is my favorite of these at the moment. This stash of Koa comes from Lizann’s grandfather, who built clocks with this wood. I was able to find some nice curly stuff for the rim and strong straight grain wood for the neck. I was even able to use Koa for the fretboard, headplate and bridge. I will donate to plant trees in Hawaii through Saving Hawaii’s Forests to show my thanks for the privilege of working with this wood.
As I work on the Kingdom Era instruments, my connection to them grows richer and deeper. I enjoy the process more and I slow down a bit to savor the time spent open the hand tool work. I also think they are sounding better and looking cleaner as I improve. I am very thankful for the customers who have taken a leap by ordering one of these, I really appreciate it. This instrument is a four string tenor ukulele with a body shape based off traditional Hawaiian rajaos from the 1890’s. It is modernized a bit with a radiused fretboard, geared tuners, fluorocarbon strings, bone nut and saddle and wooden strap buttons. The customer added the handmade wooden case, made of Western Red Cedar scrap wood and kapa style cloth. The Myrtle comes from the Oregon coast, via woodfromthewest.com. The Cedar was harvested by luthier Jayson Bowerman near Bend, OR. The Walnut is a local tree I milled. It is wrapped up in shop made Walnut and Maple rope binding. This ukulele is for a very kind customer whose 3 grandparents immigrated from Madeira- such a special connection.
I look forward to more of these this year, thanks for your support!
“Hi Aaron and Nicole,
I’m in love! Thank you!
First, I was genuinely surprised by how much I adore the cedar case and the ukulele in person. My partner thinks they look great too, in particular the uke of course. It’s more special than I even expected, and I am already feeling connected to it. Love the shape, build, lightness, responsiveness, roping, etc. It’s beautiful in every way and feels so special in my hands. I think my grandma Tilly (Matilda Pontes who immigrated from Madeira and who I grew up with) approves! I feel it. And I’ve been playing it looking at the cedar trees in my back yard, feeling connected that way too.
...I’ve never played something so light and responsive. I love what I hear as a more open, woody, folky sound with lots of subtle, pleasing overtones. It’s whole new world for me, and feels quite different to play. It sounds really nice both finger picking and clawhammer: I think it’s great as a high G use.
It’ll be fun to share with my friends at the Bellingham Ukulele Group’s jam next Saturday!
With appreciation and copious gratitude for your art and passion,
-M.G.
”
I love this mini five string as the perfect couch and travel banjo. With this string set we can get the lower open g tuning of a big banjo, but with a short 17” scale. Thanks to all of you who have ordered over the years, we really made something out of nothing. This reddish curly Walnut comes from a Hood River tree that I milled. The Pistachio comes from California orchards. It sounds dark, rich and vibrant with lots of volume for a little instrument. Cheers Alex!
This is a builder’s choice instrument that I will be selling at the Port Townsend Ukulele Festival this weekend. If it is available after that, it will be on our site. The top is some beautiful Redwood from woodfromthewest.com, with s sweet, focused and powerful sound. I think Redwood is somewhere between Cedar and Spruce for volume and tone. The back, sides and neck are some Mahogany salvaged from a cabinet shop. It has long been a top choice for American guitar/ukulele builders for its strength, light weight, easy workability and beautiful color. I don’t buy any new tropical woods, of course, I only use Mahogany when I can scavenge it. The rest of the uke is some light colored Cherry from a local orchard. It will darken over time to a butterscotch color. Note the ombre purfling inside the Cherry binding, fancy!
This instrument was inspired by the cigar box ukuleles that Sam Kamaka made in the 1940’s-50’s. I hunted down the same brand of cigar box and was happy to see that it was nicely made of Western Red Cedar. Sadly, the top on mine was broken, so I made a new Cedar top but put the hinges and tax sticker back on. I made a simple neck and fretboard out of Cypress and Oak and added geared tuners, fluorocarbon strings, strap buttons and bone nut and saddle. The sound is loud and dusty, with a big personality for its soprano size.
This instrument is for a student that we met last summer in England while teaching at the Forest Ukulele Retreat. He also is a woodworker and loves using American Cherry, so we selected this back and sides to honor that. The Cherry is a scrap from the Carpenter Ant Stash in Portland and is likely leftover from a cabinet making job. The Spruce top gives a powerful and articulate voice. It was milled from a drift log by guitar maker Craig Wilson’s father. The rest is local curly Walnut, which gives a contrast to the lighter woods.
Cheers, John!
This guitar is for Lizann, whose father and grandfather’s shop and wood stash we have been cleaning out for several years. Every piece of wood on this guitar comes from her! The Koa is from a unit of wood her grandfather bought to make clocks from. The Wenge is a hard and dark tropical wood that is well suited for fretboards and trim. The neck is some Mahogany and Maple scraps. I really like the sound of this instrument, mellow but articulate. I also really liked how the sprout inlay worked out for the headstock. Thanks Lizann!
It is always a challenge to build a second instrument for a customer. Even though I have a standard way to do everything and use jigs and templates, there is always some variation in my work due to its handmade nature. But, it is a great challenge/problem to have, so I remain grateful for the chance. This mini banjo is Koa from Lizann’s grandfather, who bought it to make clocks, so I call it Clockmaker’s Koa. The Pistachio is from California orchards. The customer wanted a small wave inlaid on the headstock, so I chose a piece of spalted Maple that reminded me of the sea shore. I let mother nature do the hard work, it didn’t need to be burned or engraved. It has been a fun banjo for me to play this week as the smaller size is a modest workout for my hands.
“I love it. The banjo looks, feels and sounds amazing. It is beautiful.
- D.M.”
When I was planning this instrument, I enjoyed the contrast between the three different woods. But during the sanding process, I felt that it would be better with some stain to tie it all together. I like to sand back and rub a stain like this so that it has some variation to the sheen, especially around the edges. The body is Honduras Mahogany scraps from a boat builder. The neck is Alaskan Yellow Cedar from a flute maker. The rest is some local Walnut. It is off to our Scout email list. Want to get in line? Email us, info@thebeansprout.com.
“Received. Great, fun ukulele.
Great quality.
- J. L. ”
This is one of my ukes inspired by my research into the instruments made in the 1890’s by the first three ukulele builders in Hawaii. I haven’t copied one builder, but instead drew inspiration from all three to design my own model. Like the originals, it is made entirely of Fir and Koa, except for the rope binding, which is Maple and Walnut. In order for it to be more useful for modern players, it has geared tuners, a radiused fretboard, strap buttons and fluorocarbon strings. It lives in a handmade Mahogany case with Kapa cloth lining. The sound is bright and cheerful, with nice sustain for a soprano. I look forward to more of these this year. In order to payback for the use of this Hawaiian Koa wood, I will donate to the Hawaii Foodbank.
This instrument is for the raffle at Menucha Ukulele Camp next week, with proceeds going to Menucha. It is made from Alder from their firewood pile and some Walnut from Spencer’s barn. It is a bit of a twin to Spencers uke, #957. I am really pleased with this experiment using Alder for ukuleles, I hope to do more this year. The sound is simple, focused and direct, with a cheerful ring that I appreciate.
Donna, the lucky winner!!!! Her reaction made it all worth it:)
We have been teaching ukulele at the Menucha Retreat and Conference Center for many years. It is between us and Portland, on the Columbia River with an amazing view and beautiful forests to walk through. Such a special place.
Every time we go, I seem to find time to scavenge the firewood pile for local woods to use. In this case, I grabbed some Ash for the back and sides and Alder for the top and neck. This tenor uke is a gift for the recently retired director, Spencer Parks. The rest of the uke is Walnut from Spencer’s wood stash, a nice contrast to the lighter color woods. I carved a small labyrinth in the headstock, in tribute to the labyrinth at Menucha, which I always walk through when I visit. The sound is bright, cheerful and focused and I look forward to using more Ash and Alder in the future. Congratulations Spencer on this new chapter! We’re excited to see what music comes from your new uke!
Another humble Scout ukulele, made from shops scraps as I find extra time. This one has a roasted Hemlock top and Myrtle back and sides. This combo is crisp and articulate, with a surprising amount of sustain. The customer asked for low g, which takes some getting used to on soprano scale, but is certainly worth it. The neck is Alaskan Yellow Cedar and the rest is local Oak and Walnut. Email us if you want to get on the Scout list, info@thebeansprout.com.
Oh yeah... I kind of forgot... Port Orford Cedar and Walnut is an awesome combination! Crisp, resonant, rich, warm, detailed, sweet and just bright enough. It’s been awhile, but I am glad we are back to it. Right from the first pluck of the first string, I knew this one had it. The POC is from the Oregon coast and the Pistachio fretboard/headplate is from California orchards, both via woodfromthewest.com. The Walnut back and sides is a grafted orchard tree that I got from Zena forest products in Salem. I just love working with it, the final result is always breathtaking. The neck is Alder, a local wood that I am trying to use more. It’s lighter than mahogany, but strong enough for a neck.
Every once in a while, it feels good to make an instrument with no binding. The clean look has a calm feeling to it that I appreciate. Spruce is always a good top wood, but I think it is best on the larger ukes that have more body volume for the spruce to pump. This baritone is a good example of Spruce, with long sustain, loud volume and nice clarity. This Spruce comes from British Columbia, harvested by luthier Craig Wilson. The super curly Walnut is from Medford, Oregon, milled by woodfromthewest.com The fretboard, headplate and bridge are Pistachio from California orchards. Lastly, the neck is salvaged Mahogany, pulled from an estate sale.
“It’s incredible. I’ve never felt such a light baritone. The sound is full and loud when strummed but even more impressive to me are the notes being crystal clear with sensitive dynamics when picked and plucked. It’s also very beautiful with character. Simple and rustic in the front with those astounding curls on the back.
Thanks for the instruments!
- J. R. ”
I like to call ukuleles with this color palette, my “high desert vibes” series. The state of Oregon is actually not all coasts and rain forests. Most of it is high desert prairie and I love taking inspiration from its colors. The back and sides of this ukulele is Horse Chestnut, given to me by Chris at Yodel Boy Woodworks. The top is thermally modified Hemlock, scrap wood from a trim carpentry project in my neighborhood. The fretboard/headplate/bridge is Pistachio from California Orchards. The neck is also Hemlock from the Carpenter Ant Stash in Portland. It is mellow and rich, but with a snap to the sound that I like. A bit brighter than a Western Red Cedar top.
This instrument started when I got a stack of tops from Kevin at woodfromthewest.com. The idea was to try to come up with some descriptions of different top woods to help builders and customers pick more easily. I think Fir has nice volume, almost as loud as spruce, but with a slightly darker, woody snap to the sound.
This has Myrtle for the back and sides, which is another wood from the Pacific NW that has a sweet and bright sound. It adds a little subtlety to the Fir sound that I find charming. The fretboard and headplate are Black Locust, a very hard local wood that I got from Chris at Yodel Boy Woodworks. I chose some salvaged Mahogany for the neck. The binding is Myrtle, with some multi colored ombré purfling and the headstock has a little leaf inlay with carved details.
It has our shop made beeswax and linseed oil finish. It is lighter and thinner than lacquer, but is easy to touch up and is made from renewable resources, which we love.
“Hi Nicole and Aaron!
The baritone arrived yesterday and is absolutely magical! It’s very warm, rich, and sustaining. I love how it’s quieter and mellower than the tenor. The open G chord just sounds so full! This size of instrument fits my hands the best and I can’t stop playing it. The woods are so unique looking and I love the leaf inlay.
I don’t know how you keep improving these instruments and they are all special but this one is the pinnacle of your work in my humble opinion. I’m so honored to be its caretaker!
Thank you for this playable art piece.
- C. T. ”