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Just finished this little soprano uke this weekend. It is a Solid Koa with cocobolo bindings, and pau abalone rosette. I had bought this body off of John Mayes over a year ago, and was just waiting for some inspiration to put it together. Then along comes John Watkins with a little soprano neck that had some laminations that were off center. This was the perfect inspiration to get this one together so my daughter can learn to play a stringed instrument. I really didn't do much on this, but finish it up. I cut all the inlays, the paw print is a request from my 9yr old daughter since she loves dogs, and the vine inlay was just a chance to brush up on my cutting skills. Actually, I could have done much better on the vine inlay, not very smooth in some areas. I also had to hand cut the mortise in the body since the neck was a tenon neck. It actually turned out better than I thought. The finish was also an experiment to test a hand mixed rubbing varnish. That didn't go over very well, so I stripped it 2 times down to the z-poxied back and sides, and just applied a few coats of gloss pratt & pratt varnish straight from the can, then put on 2 coats of satin varnish. The top and neck are all french polished. It is a combination between Robbie's method, and my own. I never used any oil during the french polish, and ended up with a very shiny top. I used a 1lb cut the whole time, and would spirit off after several rounds of application. I'm pretty happy with this finish.

Now I have a dilema, and need your input. I want to make a label for it, but don't want to take credit since John actually put the box together. Should I mention "Body by John Mayes", or not state anything. Or just don't put a label at all? Would love to hear your opinions. Enjoy the pics.







An finally, the inspection committee:

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

It's a little beauty. Make a handwritten label that says "John Mayes made the body, John Watkins made the neck and I did all the rest for -----"

I like the last photo best.

I'm with Dave. Love the paw inlay by the way!
Nice work

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Olivier Gauthier
Montreal, QC

Thanks Dave! I was actually thinking of doing this on the label. But I wonder if other builders that have necks pre-made mention the manufacturer. I've never heard of anyone doing this, but I don't feel like the builder of this instrument. Just the "assembler" with some custom touches added

I'll add the names of the builders, and say it was assembled and customized by me. That should work! Thanks for the nice words all.

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

The last picture is great!

Nice job Tracy!

as per the label, I think I'd just say who it was made for. Make it more of a personal thing instead of who it was all made by.

Maybe something like "Made for __________, With love from your Dad, with a lot of help from some friends"

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That looks great Tracy, and your daughter looks like she is enjoying it!

Only solo shops that make every wood part really can say they are 100% hand-built by one person. Many small shops have an apprentice, or a partner, or buy some CNC parts - and they still put the Breedlove or Larivee or whatever label on there. Although I do like Rod's idea.

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

Thanks everyone! Rod, that is a great idea, I think I'll go with that. I'm pretty sure John wouldn't want his name on this anyway since he didn't complete it! Thanks for the nice words everyone! This one sounds really good thanks to John's fine voicing. I'm no ukulele expert, but to my ear it sounds exceptional, and very responsive. Now back to the grand concert I'm building!

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

Looks good Tracy.

No need to mention me. I sure don't want no credit. And funny as it is those necks were actually made for me as well from John.

I'm glad it sounds good! Hope your daughter enjoys it!

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

John,
So glad to see you posting again, hope you are doing well! Sounds like you've had a nasty month. Get well soon my friend! That is so funny about the neck. It really is a very nice uke, and so glad I could complete it. Thanks again for the uke, and well wishes. My daughter loves it, and wants to show it off at school. Get well John!

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

I don't care who built what, that's a pretty little soprano! I especially like the perfling and binding combination. I keep thinking that I can build these small instruments in a fraction of the time it takes to build a guitar until I realize after the fact I spent just about as much time. When all the parts are that much smaller it tends to slow the process down. And the same little hickey that goes unnoticed on a guitar looks like a canyon on a uke. This is a long way of saying, nice job!
Craig

Tracy,

I just missed purchasing this body from John by just a couple of minutes because of work. After seeing the photo of your daughter with the ukulele I have no more regrets. She can play this for years and can show people with pride that my Dad made this for me.

I wouldn't worry about not making every single piece of ukulele. Parts are parts! There are very few who can say that every single piece of the instrument was personally made by hand. You pulled all the parts together and finished it with love. This should be indcated on the label as such.

Philip

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aka konacat

If you think my playing is bad you should hear me sing!
Practice breeds confidence and confidence breeds competence. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in practice.

Thanks Philip and Craig! Very kind of you to say. Sorry I beat you to it Philip! I'm sure you would have done a better job on it. Oh well, just know it will get played and used for a good cause. I like your suggestion and will add that to the label.

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com