Title: White Stripe Resonator
Type: Tenor
Price: $1500

This is another example of the new re-designed Pohaku Tenor size Resonator instrument. These were redesigned in the past few years to be a resonator instrument from the start and not simply a tenor ukulele that was modified to accommodate a resonator set-up. The elegant body with its slotted sound holes is shaped and proportioned to compliment the resonator hardware beautifully.

This build has a Western Big Leaf Curly Maple body and neck. The top and back plates are tinted with amber and tobacco aniline wood dyes. The sides are left “in the white”. It is finished in a smooth satin lacquer. This is a tenor 16 7/8” scale length instrument and uses a spun aluminum ‘biscuit style’ resonator cone which sits into a suspended sound well and is covered by a triple chrome plated brass cover-plate which is metalworking beauty to behold.

The neck is also left “in the white” and is satin lacquer coated. The fretboard is black African Ebony with bar shaped Mother of Pearl fret markers.

The strings terminate at a through-hole plated brass tailpiece. This design does not break strings as many other resonator string attachment methods do. There is a strap button mounted as these ukuleles are heavy compared with “normal’ ukuleles and most people manage better with a strap. Up top the strings are tuned with Grover U98-18 nickel plated tuning machines with a 18:1 gear ratio for accurate tuning. The fretwork and set up are super well done for easy in tune playing.

The neck attachment design is similar to what an electric guitar uses. There are two machine screws which enter through the back of the ukulele and are threaded into brass thread inserts set into the neck.

As expected these are pretty loud instruments. They are loud-bright sounding and not muddy-loud like some resonator instruments are. These can easily accommodate low G tuning.

Inside the instrument is a sort of ‘wallpaper’ print. For decades my shop was next to a Harpsichord maker in Berkeley. The insides of harpsichords were commonly trimmed with wallpaper on areas where no one really can see. I liked the look of it and this inked printing echos that tradition. The design is teasingly visible thru the slots on the top.

The back of the instrument is arched as are all the Pohaku instruments are helping to project tone and make the ukulele more comfortable to hold. The weight of these resonator style instruments is a hefty 35 ozs. The overall length is almost 27 inches. The instrument comes in a ‘Pohaku” hardshell case.

Fed- Ex shipping is now $70 and the instrument is packed in a sturdy and safe re-useable ukulele shipping box.