Acacia KOA top and back

    Beautiful hand selected KOA for the top and back, joined glued and rough cut to shape. Acacia koa is a species of flowering tree in the pea family. It is found in the Hawaiian Islands, where it is the second most common tree. Its name in the Hawaiian language, koa, also means brave, bold, fearless, or warrior.
     The Maori have a long history of warriors who are renowned for their fearlessness, not to mention it is the traditional wood used in ukulele making, which makes it the perfect wood for this commission.
    Koa is truly one of my favorite timbers to work with of all the species I have used in instrument making it holds one of the highest places in my heart and mind. Acacia has been used for so many things over the years but I find it truly shines in instrument making. Because we will be using Honduras mahogany for the neck and the kerf lining and koa for the back and sides, with spruce braces, it should impart an amazing woody and warm yet bright tone. Though we can never say for certain until the strings go on and it starts to break in, after making instruments for a while you begin to have an idea of how certain instruments are going to sound by adding up ring tones in your head from each piece of wood. 
    

Maori Carving

    Delving into the Maori culture has been a fascinating study for me, the art and the vitality the richness and the spirituality, the amazing strength of the Maori peoples hearts and minds stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of humanity. We are all one people with many diverse cultures and backgrounds, some day I hope we can see that.

Hells Gate New Zealand

Maori Greeting

    There are so many things about the land of New Zealand and the Maori people that I can take inspiration from during this build. So many designs and symbols and beautiful scenery to draw from and so much culture and history to explore. Honestly I feel humbled and grateful to be able to work on this special instrument.
    This is just a quick update, my process is not blisteringly fast, I take pride in each commission that comes into my studio. Wood is always moving and changing with moisture and climate changes, even the slight moisture content in glues can cause the wood to swell and change and move. I give every single operation time to adjust before I move to the next phase, until I am sure that everything has acclimatized to its new condition.
    A quick update on the Colonial Themed Guitar project, the carbon fiber supports are almost complete and soon we will be on to the final finish work inside the guitar body before moving on to the back of the guitar, hopefully we will have pictures and more information in the next few days.
Thank you for sharing this journey with me, please come back often.

J.V.

The Maori themed concert ukulele

Wood selection and planning

    A client in New Zealand has commissioned a Maori themed Ukulele, my first "themed" ukulele build and one I am honored to take part in. The Maori are a fascinating people and culture with a rich history and humbly I can only hope to pay some homage to our amazing brothers and sisters of native New Zealand. I have spent the last several days studying the people, culture, history, art, music and religious aspects of the Maori but I will be relying largely upon the customers interpretation and expertise to bring this wonderful instrument to life.
    The instrument will be a classical concert size ukulele 14 fret with a 17.817 scale length, ebony finger board and bridge, Honduras mahogany neck and a beautiful hand selected set of KOA for the back sides and top. The final details of the instrument will be agreed upon as we proceed and with the guidance of the customer and the study of the culture.
    The Honduras mahogany is getting harder to find these days and I was especially pleased to find this beautiful chocolate colored piece to carve the neck from. Every instrument I have made with a Honduras mahogany neck has been pleasing to play and listen to. The ebony is nice and uniformly black with almost no streaking, though I find some streaking to be beautiful in the right instrument I wanted this to be subtle and classic looking so these pieces for the bridge and finger board have been carefully selected for this build.
    The basis of shape and dimensions will come from a classical Hana Lima 14 fret Concert Ukulele. Hana Lima is a renowned name in the ukulele business and one of my go to sources for many things ukulele.
    Right now we are still in the selection and planning stages of this instrument and I will try to keep you informed as we progress.

Chocolate Honduras Mahogany

    This is one of the most meaningful builds I have had the honor of undertaking to date, and I look forward to the process of its creation and design. New Zealand holds a special place in my heart for many reasons so there is a lot of sentimentality in this build for me. Add to this the theme that was chosen for the ukulele and it is a magical experience.

    I have chosen to call this ukulele Waiata, this word in Maori means Song, and to me that one word sums up the reason for its existence, to sing a song. Wood is amazing in that it can come back to life in a way that many other things can not, and it is our job as luthiers to find the hidden voice within that wood and bring it to the surface so that it can sing once more. The Maori have a rich history of music and instruments and it is my desire that the song this little ukulele sings will touch the hearts and minds of those who hear it. As I have said many times my number one goal in every commission is to create the most incredible musical instrument I can and everything else comes second. So it is that the Waiata concept is born into every instrument I make, may they all sing their songs for many years to come.
    In my next post I will be showing the selected KOA back sides and soundboard of the Waiata ukulele and discuss more of the design features we have been looking at incorporating into this piece. Stay tuned and if you like check out my other builds going on right now - another Themed instrument the Colonial Grand Symphony - based upon the Colonial Era can be found here http://valliscustomcolonial.blogspot.com/

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www.vallisguitars.com
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