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Uke Builders (you know who you are!!)

Are you able to find tonewood for baritones?, everyone has tenor sizes, which is great. I have someone who is interested in a baritone, so I told themI would build one and they get first dibs, if not I have others around who will buy it.

I have an awesome Bubinga back and sides already, and I most likely want to stick with a spruce for the top...

I hate to waste a full steel string soundboard on a baritone...

Thanks
-Paul-

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-Paul-

Patriot Guitars

Spruce has gained some popularity for ukulele soundboards recently, but I think most of the old ones use hardwoods - generally mahogany or koa. I think it was in Longworth's book I read that Martin didn't have any luck getting a good sound from their uke's until they switched to mahogany for the soundboard. I have a couple of old baritones and they sound fine with mahogany boards.
If you do go with spruce you could buy a low grade board and cut around the defects. You could buy a dozen low grade boards for the price of 1 premium grade (and you might be surprised how good they can look and sound with some selective trimming).

I thought about using mahogany, I did a soprano that way a number of years ago, it sounded fine to me.

Thanks for the idea, I'll get both since at the moment I'm on a uke kick for some reason...

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-Paul-

Patriot Guitars

I build quite a few baritones, and most are spruce soundboards. Western Red works well too. Most recent was some of the Ancient spruce, but that will break the bank for most people.

If it's a dread size soundboard, you can get a couple of uke soundboards out of it. And with carefull planning sometimes 3.

Or go to someone like Alaska Specialty woods and he's got heaps of uke soundboards available. Just tell Brent what you need.

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Allen R. McFarlen
Barron River Guitars & Ukuleles
Facebook
Cairns, Australia

Allen...

I just went and looked at their site, talk about tonewood central!

I laughed at the $900 ancient sitka, I wonder how it sounds, I'll never know unless someone REALLY wants one

I found a sinker cedar set for a baritone at RC, I've know Bob for a long time and it was a good price.

What I miss the most being in Idaho is that when we lived in California (Bay Area), we could drive to wood shops, and some older luthiers and dig through their tone wood. I remember one who had a shed that was stacked with tops, while I was picking through the wood Harry Fleishman was next to me and mentioned tasting a top. I laughed at first, but if a top has a sour taste then it most likely has something wrong with it. So I tap, feel, and taste my tops now (and smell them)

Later I attended a week long class with him, he is a great teacher and taught me so much, I had brought a newly finished guitar and he had nothing but good things to say about my work.

Fun Times

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-Paul-

Patriot Guitars

Does Idaho have englemann spruce ? Can you find some at your local lumber supplier ?. I like englemann for low density Baritone tops .WRC works well too!

Don't also forget that your local timber / big box hardware store might have some Western Red or Sequoia in their racks. I found a 3.4meter long board of Western Red here in Cairns that was dead on the 1/4 and no runout in it's entire length. Growth rings at 30 per inch. I will get 20 soundboards out of that piece. Used 1/2 of it already and have made some fantastic ukes with it.

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Allen R. McFarlen
Barron River Guitars & Ukuleles
Facebook
Cairns, Australia