Ukulele Negra - a small guitar...

For a long time, my classic concert shape was based on a Redhead uke from the collection of Thom Humphrey in Ohio. One day I was looking at the form and thought, "Now that looks like a mini guitar..."

Well that got me thinking and I soon came up with the idea of moving away from all koa ukulele and trying something new - after all, the price of koa had already doubled and I needed a break from all that inflation! The concept on the right is the result...

It's called Ukulele Negra as an homage to the flamenco guitar of the same last name and although I don't use rosewood exclusively for the back and sides, the uniform feature iof these concert ukulele is the spruce top. This generally has a purfled edge in rope, herringbone or simple b/w lines. It must of course have a pin bridge and on early models had friction tuners - now that Gotoh have developed a good geared tuner I will be using these on future instruments.

Like all of my comissioned instruments there is a baseline price that starts at £475 or $975. Finish is satin cellulose lacquer with the usual ablone appointments.

If you are considering this as a style I recommend a cherry/spruce or myrtle/spruce combination for projection and tone.