Saturday 14 December 2013

a Homemade cigar-box Guitar!

i know its not a Ukulele, and its hasnt been restored!
But...i built it from a kit with Chickenbone John at one of his fantastic workshops.

It plays really well, even has a pick-up installed and sounds amazing!

It starts with a roughly cut neck, and a cigar box. The neck has to be fitted into the box.
The electrics are installed, string it up and thats it!!

if you want one, get in touch with John at
http://www.chickenbonejohn.com/

Heres the bare bones of it

Frets are glued in place (its a piece of paper, glued to the neck)

Thats it finished. how amazing is that?

Me & John



Gibson UB-4

The Gibson UB-4.

The concert scale version. Only bettered by the gold plated UB-5.

Made from Walnut, with inlaid peghead & fretboard. Diamond cut out flange around the resonator.

Quite a heavy uke, probably similar in weight to a Ludwig.

When i received the uke it was in a worn condition, with the expected corrosion to the metal parts. It also had a very high action, which i suspected there might be a problem!

Once the uke was stripped down, i had the hooks & bezel re-plated. The woodwork was polished and given a coat of tru-oil. There were 2 small cracks on the resonator, these were professionally repaired.

These Gibson ukes have an internal tone ring, which sits on top of the pot. Made from solid brass i think, so that was polished up and a new calf skin vellum was fitted.

When i put the uke back together i remembered the high action, and on close inspection i found that the screw which goes into the neck and attaches to the metal pole in the pot was loose.
So i was unable to get a good tight fixing with the neck at the right angle.
Once the screw was fixed tight, i was able to attach the neck to the pot, feed the perch pole through and tighten it enough to set the angle just right.
Some folk shove all sorts of bits down the back of the neck to create an angle. With this high quality, well built Gibson there was no need.
I choose GHS clear strings, and once they went on i could set up the instrument.

Playing the uke is a joy. It has a very clear, crisp tone. As you would expect from a Gibson.
I found that when played gently it brought out the tone even more, but it was also very well suited to playing Formby style. Then it came across very powerfully, but was still clear.

A very satisfying uke to restore, beautifully cut wood, with stunning looks.

Quite possibly the daddy of Banjoleles?
Almost ready to put back together! really want to hear how it sounds

Heres the perch pole, it tightens to adjust the angle of the neck

Notice the fabulously Art-Deco inlays

Complete with original case

look at the grain in the wood!

All finished!




Wednesday 20 November 2013

Maybell-Slingerland model 24

Another of my favourite ukes.

Made by the Slingerland drum company in Chicago, probably between 1920-30.

These are very well made instruments. Made for professionals, they have a great tone. They really have that USA sound. A very underated manufacturer.

i think this is the third one of these i have done. See if you can find the others on the blog!

As for the restoration, i stripped back the old finish (apart from the decal on the headstock, see picture) Then re-finished with tru-oil. The hardware has been re-chromed, new tuners and a nut were needed. Then completed with a calf skin vellum & GHS clear strings.


Check out the bizarre painted vellum!

16 Tension hooks give excellent tone

Perfectly set action

8.5 inch vellum, with fitted Brass tone-ring

Notice how we left the original decal

Look at the grain in the wood!

Stamped Slingerland 24

Saturday 19 October 2013

Banjo ukes for Christmas

Ok, who do you know who wants a banjo uke for Xmas???

I currently have a few on offer, with ukes to suit every budget. And for every player, from beginner to serious "Formby" player.

i can offer beginners tuition, and lots of advice too on what to buy, and what NOT to buy!

feel free to get in touch for more info

Slingerland Maybell model 24 EDIT! or so i thought! its NOT a 24, so what is it?

Heres another Slingerland. One of my favourite brand of ukes.

These ukes were made from the 1920's onwards. This one is an early one, confirmed by the wooden dowel wedged in the perchpole.
I have fitted a flatback resonator to complete the look, as i believe this model had a resonator.

Its made from maple, looks to have been stained. I stripped most of the stain away to leave a nice effect of the grain showing through the stain.

Fitted with 16 tension hooks and Gibson UB-1 style shoes. These have been re-chromed, along with the bezel as they were in a poor state when i received it.

Plays very well, nice and comfy to hold, very sweet sounding uke with the right amount of volume.

I fitted new tuners, new vellum & GHS strings




George Formby Dallas-E (pre war version)

Here we have the "top of the range" Model E, Dallas banjo ukulele.
Endorsed by George Formby. This one is numbered E/1300.

The instrument is in excellent condition, so it didnt need much restoring. I took the whole thing apart, cleaned and polished the wood, sonic cleaned the metal parts and then re-assembled.
Fitted with new vellum, bridge & GHS clear strings.

The original tuners work very well, and look as good as new!

The instrument itself plays very well. Has a very clear crisp tone. Its that classic UK Banjolele sound.
Can be very loud, but i find it doesnt need to played too hard, and produces a much better sound when gently strummed.

All the walnut veneer is in excellent shape, one very small scuff on the resonator. I have re-finished it, so it it almost invisible.
The original red velvet lined case is still there too, it is even padded.

Originally described as,

Top of the range of George Formby instruments made by John E. Dallas and Sons Ltd. being gold plated and having an inlaid pearl nameplate in the peg head. 
Has a walnut neck, walnut veneered maple body and resonator with edges bound in ebony cellulose, highly polished finish. Ebony fingerboard with ornamental mother of pearl position marks. Special internal geared pegs, 8 inch flush rim, extra heavy straining bezel, 12 sunk pull down tension rods, metal tone ring and tone plate.


(from the excellent site created by the late Dennis Taylor)





Thursday 4 July 2013

An unusual Walnut George Formby Dallas-D

Here is a bit of an unusual one.
Quite often these Dallas ukes pop up with different finishes. i've seen model E's with the flange from a model D, and vice versa. 
Here we have a D with a dark finish, and i'm told made from walnut instead of maple too.
Looking at the neck joint the wood does seem different.

I'm sure its not just a maple one painted. the finish round the binding is too neat.
On close examination the uke looks otherwise the same as a regular Maple one.
bit of a mystery really, if anyone has any info, please share it with me.
Its serial number is D/1411. So it was a early pre-war produced instrument.
Does this give any clues?

Who only knows? There are so many stories regarding these Dallas ukes.

One thing i can say, it plays very well and really sounds great. Maybe it is all in the wood?




Sunday 12 May 2013

My own Ludwig Wendell Hall

I have recently obtained a superb condition Ludwig for my own collection, so i thought i would share a few pictures of it here!

I bought it from the USA, and i learned a little of its history, which is always great to know bearing in mind these old ukes have been around for 90 years.
Ludwig only made these ukes from the years 1927-30, and the Wendell hall model was the cheaper option from their range, which sold for around $30.

This uke had been bought from new in Chicago in 1930. It was played and enjoyed until its owner left the USA for England as part of the 8th Air Force. The uke was packed away, and upon his return the uke was stored away in its case for the next 65 years!!

Once i received the uke i dismantled it, and polished up all the woodwork. The frets are in fantastic condition, there is very little wear to the fretboard. The metal parts are in good condition, showing only small signs of tarnish, most of which polished off. A new vellum had been fitted recently, so that was one job i didnt need to do!! I replaced the Elton tuners with a set of vintage Grovers as the Eltons slipped a little. The uke still has the Ludwig label inside the resonator, and all the original binding, and wendell hall badge on headstock is complete.

One of the best condition Ludwig Wendell hall ukes i have seen, and glad to say it is mine!!

 

Keech model A

Here is an early Keech model A. Alvin. D. Keech was credited as the inventor of the banjolele. you can read all about him on the net, so i wont bore you with it here! This uke arrived to me in a very poor state indeed. The action was about an inch high!, sharp fret ends, tatty old vellum and a worn chipped old finish too. I started by dismantling the instrument, and stripped off the old finish. The fret ends were fixed with my trusty Dremel. I re-finished the wood with my usual method, and fitted a new vellum. These ukes are designed so the vellum sits inside the pot on a metal frame, with a flat resonator plate on the back. I reset the neck angle to give the correct height for the action. Then fitted new tuners and Aquila strings. The final result was good, the uke played much better than i thought too. it has a nice tone, and a gentle volume

"Down South" Branded Banjo uke

The "Down south " was a brand produced by George Houghton & sons. Probably in the 1950's. quite basic construction. with a nice engraved flat plate resonator. These ukes were a budget range. Quite similar to the "marvel" branded ukes that GH&S also sold. This uke was in a very sorry state, it had sat in its owners cupboard for around 20 years. it was badly corroded, and also the pot was warped and looked to have had water damage at some point. I stripped the wood of its old finish, polished up the metal bits, re finished the wood with Tru-oil, fitted a new vellum, tuners & Aquila strings. its not the best uke i've ever done. but it was capable of a tune by the end.

Banjo Ukulele for sale

i have had a few enquiries recently, so i thought i'd show what i currently have for sale. Gibson UB-3 (flatback type) Dallas-D. complete with case Slingerland Maybell model 20, with hard fitted case ( not original) JR Stewart "la venicia" this is the same as the Domino range of ukes. Barnes & Mullins-Brand new ukulele, as seen on ebay for around £200. this one includes a hard case