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| 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.
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| 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/
and as always you can find us on the web at
www.vallisguitars.com
sales@vallisguitars.com
or check us out on Facebook or twitter
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