Tenor Kasha Ukulele

Matt_Blacka · Post by **Matt_Blacka** » Sun May 10, 2009 1:15 pm

Hi everyone,

I've hung around the shadows of this forum for a while now, and with the completion of a new uke a little while ago, thought it was a good time to make my first post.

I've attached some pictures below of the newly completed tenor uke with a modified Kasha soundboard bracing system. The uke is made with an Engelmann Spruce soundboard and Honduras Mahogany neck. The back and sides are Tasmanian â€œTigerâ€

J.F. Custom · Post by **J.F. Custom** » Sun May 10, 2009 2:09 pm

Hi Matt and Welcome aboard.

Congrats - That's some beautiful looking work you've completed there! Tiger Myrtle is such a stunning timber - we are very fortunate for our palette of species available here in Australia.

I love the Kasha system on Ukes. Internals not withstanding, I just love the appearance. Upper bout and side soundholes with the bass/treble compensated bridge looks great to me! I am doing one of these myself at present... along with numerous other projects...

How does this one sound for you? Did you modify the Kasha system yourself (if so in what way?) or are you using a www.hanalima.com or other plan? Have you got any internal bracing pics or sound bites? I'm sure there are plenty of other members who would be interested in these aspects.

Had assumed (wrongly!) by your post, this was your first effort - not so by your website! Very nice clean work Matt, inspiring and great to see.

Cheers,

Jeremy.

Dennis Leahy · Post by **Dennis Leahy** » Sun May 10, 2009 2:40 pm

Matt, has anyone banned you yet?

Oh, wait a minute... welcome!

Holy guacamole, that is a stunningly drop dead gorgeous ukulele! I'm 100% sure that if you give Tim permission, that baby is going to be featured on his website.

Adding to the amazing lineup of talented luthiers in Australia. Must be something in the water over there. Someone, please, send me a bottle.

Dennis

Kim · Post by **Kim** » Sun May 10, 2009 3:03 pm

Welcome to the ANZLF Matt, glad you came out of the wood work

Great work on the uke, she is just stunning in every respect and I am looking forward to your future input.

Cheers

Kim

John Steele · Post by **John Steele** » Sun May 10, 2009 3:22 pm

Beautiful work Matt. First Kasha Uke I've ever heard of or seen. Nicely done to say the least.

kiwigeo · Post by **kiwigeo** » Sun May 10, 2009 3:29 pm

Dennis Leahy wrote:Matt, has anyone banned you yet?

Definitely Banned!!!

obmit · Post by **obmit** » Sun May 10, 2009 3:41 pm

Hi Mat

I have seen you over at Hana Lima. I love your work. How long have you been building for?

Cheers

Tim

Whats that smell (banned) Smells great.

kiwigeo · Post by **kiwigeo** » Sun May 10, 2009 3:47 pm

The ANZLF is a special and different kind of forum. The highest honour we can offer our members is an official banning.

sebastiaan56 · Post by **sebastiaan56** » Sun May 10, 2009 4:03 pm

Hey Mat,

Nice, nice, nice!

You know its a real honour to be banned, particularly so early in your posting history. Some of us have never been banned...

Allen · Post by **Allen** » Sun May 10, 2009 5:03 pm

Welcome to the forum Matt. I saw that you joined up yesterday, and had a good look through your site. Some very inspiring work. It's a great pleasure to have you join us.

DarwinStrings · Post by **DarwinStrings** » Sun May 10, 2009 5:05 pm

G'day and welcome Matt. William Cumpiano once described the Kasha bridge as giving the guitar a "comical sneer". Personally I don't see it, I love the way you have balanced the sound hole/holes on the face with the Kasha bridge nice design work and another inspiring build to grace the pages of the ANZLF, well done.

Jim

ozziebluesman · Post by **ozziebluesman** » Sun May 10, 2009 5:28 pm

G'day Matt,

Welcome to the forum! The ukulele is an absolute bottler! Such a class instrument. Looking forward to some input from you!

Cheers

Alan

WaddyT · Post by **WaddyT** » Mon May 11, 2009 12:35 am

Astounding, I say, Astounding! What a great display of talent. Beaurtiful Uke.

hilo_kawika · Post by **hilo_kawika** » Mon May 11, 2009 1:05 am

Aloha Matt,

Very, very lovely work. So clean and uncluttered yet tastefully detailed.

Did you glue the bridge on using Schneider's vacuum clamping approach? Have you had the chance to do spectrum analysis on the tap tones and if so have you noticed the individual effects of the small soundholes as well as the large side port? Are the sides laminated?

Glad to see that you're using a graphite carbon rod to stabilize the neck.

aloha,

Dave Hurd
http://www.ukuleles.com

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Mon May 11, 2009 5:59 am

Welcome to the forum Matt & what a way to make an entrance! Absolutely gaawwwwgeous little uke there, love the low sheen finish on it, really adds something to the whole package. Of course that isn't the only classy touch, do you have any shots of the back of the soundboard, I'm aware of the Kasha bracing system but would love to see how it sits within the bounds of this little beauty & is the sound any different than a 'traditionally' braced top?

EDIT: Whoops, just looked at your sight & low and behold there's a shot of the soundboard bracing!

Looks a little more 'intensive' or loaded with braces than the traditional although the actual surface area of bracing wouldn't be alot different?

Bob Connor · Post by **Bob Connor** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:35 am

Hi Matt and welcome to the ANZLF.

Beautiful work on those ukes. Very clean and elegant.

Had a good look around your website. There's some nice things going on in there as well.

Lillian · Post by **Lillian** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:39 am

What, no sound clip? Sheesh, the nerve of some guys. Post a uniquely cool instrument and leave you to guess at its sound.

Welcome to the forum Matt. Love your work.

Cam · Post by **Cam** » Tue May 12, 2009 6:48 pm

that is defiantly some nice tiger myrtle, i especially like the sapwood on the back

Nice work,

ceLLo123 · Post by **ceLLo123** » Tue May 12, 2009 8:09 pm

Nice tidy work matt. the sound holes and bridge reminds me of andrew whites guitars. very kool indeed!!

Shane

Hippety Hop · Post by **Hippety Hop** » Tue May 12, 2009 8:16 pm

Very unusual and impressive uke. Nice details too.

Clever and classy - that is.

Cheers Hip.

Matt_Blacka · Post by **Matt_Blacka** » Tue May 12, 2009 9:15 pm

Thanks for the kind words. It's good to get some other people's opinions on the design details of the uke. No doubt I'll be starting a similar project in the future.

I'll try to answer most questions in one go.

Tim: I built my first uke about 3 years ago and just loved the process. After lots of reading/learning I then embarked on a process of modifying/developing a tenor uke design that incorporated the bits I liked from the Hana Lima plans as well as features from other ukes available. I then started a set of four ukes, of which this is the first to be finished, so I guess you could say this is the second instrument I have made.

Nick O and Jeremy: The Kasha system worked great with this uke, but the tone bars are incredibly small and fiddly. While there are a lot of them, they are so small that I reckon the weight of bracing per unit soundboard area is probably less for the Kasha than for a fan braced uke. The sound is a lot warmer and tones a lot clearer across the full range compared to the previous fan braced tenor I made. I have modified the Hana Lima plans by leaving out the transverse bar under the bridge and instead using a full bridge patch. Other changes to the uke design include body depth, and the use of a domed soundboard and back.

David: I was intending to vacuum clamp the bridge (even purchased most of the parts), but in the end ran out of time and just used a mechanical clamp system. Next time.....! I did take some tap tone records and looked at the spectrum, but more for the purpose of comparing the Kasha braced uke to the other fan braced ukes that I'm currently making. The Kasha certainly had a higher energy response over a wider range of frequencies. The sides are solid, but I re-enforced the area around the sideport with a cross grain patch and sandwiched some black and white veneers inbetween for detail.

Anyway, I've been having more of a look around the forum, and its great to see what other people are up to. So many ideas and inspiration.....

Matt

TimS · Post by **TimS** » Tue May 12, 2009 11:00 pm

Matt,
Very slick, clean and beautiful.

regards

Tim Spittle

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