Have you ever had one of those days when all you want to do is scroll through ukulele tonewood websites? Same here.
One day… I think it was a few days before we would learn that Covid would send our world topsy-turvy, I discovered Alaska Specialty Woods.
At the time, they carried a great deal of ancient spruce as well as old spruce boards that were once part of a ship’s hull. While underwater, Teredo Water Worms seemed to enjoy delightful meals of the spruce hull. After the ship was repaired, Alaska repurposed the scraps to sell as tonewood.
The moment I saw those holey boards, I wanted a custom ukulele full of holes. I purchased the holiest board I could find and then tried to figure out who would build the ukulele for me. I asked *Tyde on their instagram but they didn’t respond back.
I had always admired the work of Hank Johnson who is located in the San Diego area (San Marcos) and I thought it would be cool to have a luthier based in California so I could drive there to deliver the wood.
I emailed him from his website and sent him photos of the wood. He said he hadn’t done anything like what I wanted, but was game to figure it out. I made an appointment to drive down there to deliver the wood and discuss the project. (As I drove down there, I didn’t pay attention to the news and it was the day California went into lockdown for the Corona Virus. I will always remember what I was doing when lockdown started.)
After meeting him at his shop, he began sketching out the body on the wood to see if it would work.
I wanted a concert ukulele. Hank doesn’t like to build concerts for intonation reasons, but was willing to build one with a long-neck tenor scale. He also recommended a neck made from recycled wood that was once part of a local pier to continue with the “underwater theme.” Cool. I knew I picked the right luthier.
When I finally picked it up, Hank said that I could have it at a discount if I didn’t like it because he didn’t think it was loud enough and I also don’t think he liked the way it looked. As soon as he opened the case I said “NO DISCOUNT!.” It was one of the best looking ukuleles I had ever seen. (Feel free to judge me now.)
I was really impressed by how he hid the bracing from showing through so many holes. I have seen other luthiers make “live” edge ukuleles since then, and even with one hole you can still see the bracing.
I was a bit concerned that I wouldn’t be able to easily change the strings but it hasn’t been a problem.
I only regret that I didn’t get a pickup installed.
After completing the deal, I agreed to have another ukulele made by him. We’ll save that for another post.
I love this thing. I will soon be selling off most of my ukulele collection, but this one is staying with me. I love it.
*FYI, Tyde did get back to me after I had already sealed the deal with Hank.
Sound sample from iPhone. Noodlin’ around.