What is a “High” Baritone Ukulele? Normal Baritone Ukuleles are tuned like the top four strings of a guitar–DGBE–and have a string length that is generally 19″ to 21″ or more. Over the years, I have found baritone ukuleles sound better if they are strung with tenor ukulele strings and tuned up a third to FBbDG, which gives a brighter… (more…)
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Author Archives: Kevin
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.
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.
- Hand-Crafted Guitars and Ukuleles by Kevin Mason
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