Amber Resonator Ukulele
Size: Tenor
Number of Strings: 4

Wood: Western Big Leaf Curly Maple & Ebony & Andrew Jackson Hermitage Estate Maple This is a tenor scale length resonator instrument made out of solid Western Big Leaf Curly Maple which is tinted a mild amber color and coated with a smooth lacquer finish. I use a spider bridge and cone mechanism which has a significantly different sound than the biscuit bridge arrangement found on most all resonator ukuleles. This set up has slightly less volume and instead of the 'bark' the other style projects when strummed it has more of a sparky bite to it. It is loud enough to play against an accordian but don't tell anyone that I have even tried that. As with other resonator instruments its sound is mid and high biased with a weak bass response so it sounds like an old time radio when it is played. Resonator instruments I think are best played as a rhythm instrument allthough I have heard them used in all kinds of styles. The cover plate is molded ABS plastic and the stylish Pohaku tailpeices are nickle plated brass. I use Grover planetary tuners with special grained ivory-like buttons and Hilo brand strings.

In 1998 there was a tornado at "the Hermitage", which is an estate outside of Nashville, Tennessee belonging to Andrew Jackson (the seventh president of the United States). Over six hundred trees fell and of these trees over a hundred and twenty were Sugar Maples. I was fortunate to be able to buy some of this salvaged historical wood from PALS (plywood and lumber supply) in Oakland, California. I thought it an appropriate use to make necks for resonator instruments out of some of this wood. The neck is Hermitage maple, the fingerboard is ebony with diamond inlays and the body is bound with a white plastic edge binding.