Renaissance Guitar Build 2021

This is my first Renaissance Guitar build and a really different challenge for me. We know very little about how these instruments were constructed, but we do know they were very popular, and quite a lot of music survives. We know that the Renaissance Guitar had 4-courses of strings with the lower courses in pairs and the top string a… (more…)

Oregon Myrtle Tenor Ukulele

Tenor Ukulele with Oregon Myrtle back, sides and top; Walnut neck and Ebony fingerboard and bridge.

Medieval Fiddle/Vielle

A new type of build for 2019. This medieval bowed-string instrument was commissioned by my long time friend and virtuoso violinist, David Douglass. The back and sides are Walnut, Spruce top, Ebony tuning pegs, fingerboard, and tailpiece, with Ovangkol veneers.

Ziricote Baritone Ukulele

This Baritone Uke features some stunning Ziricote for the back and sides, a torrefied Sitka Spruce top, Macassar Ebony fingerboard, bridge, and head plate, Curly Koa Bindings and Sound Hole ring, and a slotted headstock and Rubner tuners.

Melange of 2018 Ukulele Builds

Long-Neck Soprano with Cardinal Inlay

Recently completed in early 2017, here’s a Long-Neck Soprano Ukulele (soprano body with a concert neck and scale) made of Claro Walnut (back and sides), Lutz Spruce (top), Mahogany (neck), Koa (binding and sound hole ring), and Indian Rosewood (fingerboard and bridge) with Grover Gold open-back tuners.  The instrument features a special inlay of a male Cardinal perched on a… (more…)

Art Deco Tenor Ukulele

This is a recently completed (early 2014) tenor ukulele where the client wanted special inlays using an Art Deco theme.  The headstock is based on a frieze above the entrance to Rockefeller Center by early 20th-century architectural sculpterLee Lawrie depicting “Knowledge” (or Zeus if you like).  The fingerboard inlay is based on the sculpture of Atlas (also by Lawrie) that… (more…)

Baritone Guitar with Wave Inlay, May 2013

I recently finished a baritone guitar with a new inlay design.  The guitar features  curly Claro Walnut back and sides, Lutz Spruce top, Walnut neck and bindings, and Ebony head plate, finger board, and bridge.  It has a 28.04 inch scale and is tune to “B”, a fourth below normal guitar tuning.  The sustain and richness of the sound is… (more…)

New Concert and Tenor Ukuleles

Here’s a pair of ukuleles (concert and tenor) that I just finished and delivered to a customer who lives in Cleveland.  The bodies, body binding, and head plates are curly koa, with mahogany necks, and ebony fingerboard and bridge.   Both sound as good as they look.

Tiger Ukulele Finished

The tenor ukulele with the inlay of a tiger is finally done.  I began working on this last March with a client in New York City who wanted a special inlay.  We finally settled on this image of a tiger standing on a cliff overlooking a large body of water with hills and mountains in the background above which are… (more…)

1 2
  • Hand-Crafted Guitars and Ukuleles by Kevin Mason