"Originally Posted on: Fri Nov 27, 2009 7:26 pm"
I've had this one strung up for a couple of weeks now, and playing with the set up. Have it where it's sounding pretty good, and plays well.
This is made from a lump of tree that Micheal Connor spied when rummaging around the Cairns Woodworkers Guild back in September. We ran it through the bandsaw and liked what we saw, so I decided to make an all Banksia Ukulele, hoping for a one piece look. All the parts came out of the same lump of wood.
Bindings are purple heart, and bridge and nut are pink ivory. Fret board and bridge are ebony. Braces are Engelman Spruce, and there is a CF truss rod in the neck.
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I had planed on doing a conventional sound hole and bracing, but after the uke class I've been teaching, the bit I use for rosettes snapped right after the last cut in the class. A Stew Mac order was taking ages to get here, so I decided to go with something different. I took my inspiration from Matt's great looking Kasha braced uke for the sound board decoration, but the bracing I designed myself. I've also put a bit of a dome in the soundboard from the area that is south of the waist to the tail block in order to tension the top.
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Solid linings and several coats of shellac inside, as I've put in a sound port, and I wanted people peeping inside to like what they see.
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And to the outside.
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Now, your going to probably ask what it sounds like, and as I was bracing it and tapping it, I thought it sounded no better than some soggy Wheatabix. I half expected that I'd need to pull the top off and replace it with a spruce one. What has surprised me is that it's really starting to come to life. I think that that dirty old piece of wood didn't know that it had any potential to make music, and now that it's been given the chance it's trying to make the best of it.
I've been playing around with the sound port, by strumming strings with sound port covered and uncovered. Both my wife and I have taken turns listening with our eyes closed trying to tell if there is a difference. Neither of us could hear any difference at all from a distance. Playing it though there is more richness and presence than with it covered.
I used some Saverez strings on it, as they are the brightest strings I've got, The tone is actually quite sweet and mellow and very pleasing on this instrument, Not in your face like these strings can be on Spruce.
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Allen R. McFarlen
