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(Hope I'm posting in the right place)
I've been messing around with a baritone ukulele (tuned CGDA w/ nylon guitar strings) for about a year now. It's a pleasure to play and sounds very unique.
Are the any Uke makers who make an F-style?
If so I'd really like one of those.
Internet searches have turned up nothing.
Steve Sorensen makes something he calls a Fundolin......
https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/148895#148895
After a closer look this appears to be more mandolin then ukulele, not quite what you are looking for.
Boat Paddle Ukes might come close. You can just convince him to do a scroll.
But if you want a carved top one: Chennell Jazzbox. I have a feeling the scroll might add quite a bit of cost to the commission.
Attachment 183837 Attachment 183838
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Ah, I found it... ta-da...! Aila uke made by Hatta
Attachment 183839Quote:
Aila is a mandolin shaped ukulele "Mandolele". Please playing while drinking whiskey at sunset time.
Actually this is made in Japan and the cost is almost what a Fundolin would cost. I would go with the Sorenson. I bet, if you preferred, Sorenson would make it with four strings.
And then there is this...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bruce-Wei-F...YAAOSw8q9eVR2K
Ah, that is the one I was looking for.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles E.
Attachment 183840
If you go to youtube and type in "mandolele" there are a number of videos.
This looks interesting and about baritone size...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I55-wvXDYmo
Some great suggestions. Thank you.
I'll look them over.
That one in the video you link above looks like it might be a tenor. Usually the baritones don't have re-entrant tuning. Just a guess, of course.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles E.
The problem with searching for mandolele is that you do come up with some mandolins tuned like a uke but you also come up with ukes tuned like a mandolin. Oh well...
This one looks interesting.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles E.
I think he only works through an Ebay store? No web page?
He ships out of Taiwan and many of these instruments are made in Vietnam. I think they have improved a lot in quality over the years.Quote:
Originally Posted by BoxCarJoe
I'm in touch with Bruce Wei and he will send me a quote for a baritone F model (custom order).
But looking at the Tenor specs, it's really got mandola proportions.
That's what I'm looking for, so we will see.
Just "pulled the trigger" on a custom (no inlay) F Style Baritone.
It's more than I wanted to spend but a got a good feeling about this guy.
Over two months wait so let's see.
[QUOTE=Jim Garber;1758788]Boat Paddle Ukes might come close. You can just convince him to do a scroll.
The luthier changed his company name from “Boat Paddle Ukelele” to “Hoffman Lutherie” a few years ago. Tried to log in to his site but got a “server cannot be found” message. Did find this on Google https://sites.google.com/site/ukulel.../b/boat-paddle
Ya gotta let us know what it's like. I've been posting about how sketchy those eBay Vietnamese-made, "super-bling," one-of instruments may be. If they're getting better, I should stop dissing them. It would be a real plus to have a source of decently-made unique instruments, but experience, and all I've read, has made me cautious. Hope it lives up to your expectations!Quote:
Originally Posted by BoxCarJoe
Here is a recent thread about Bruce Wei ukes from the Ukulele Underground forums. There are a few folks there who like them and some comments about lower quality of the cheaper ukes vs. custom and some setup problems.Quote:
Originally Posted by allenhopkins
I will.Quote:
Originally Posted by allenhopkins
He supposed to send me plans for approval soon. If it's worth looking at I'll post them.
Bruce Wei sent me this for approval.
Not much info there other than basic dimensions and woods.
19" scale is making me happy. My current baritone is 20.5" and just a little uncomfortable for me.
Now for the wait.
Attachment 183906
Still waiting for my F Style Baritone Uke. Almost two months now.
It's behind schedule, but there is a world wide pandemic going on after all.
Hard to complain.
I asked Bruce to send me some progress photos.
It needs a lot of work by the looks of it.
Bruce is an easy guy to deal with an there have been no surprises so far.
Attachment 186075
Just received these photos
I'm looking forward to playing this unique instrument.
When I receive it I'll spend some time with it and give an honest review.
Attachment 186321
Attachment 186322
I received my Bruce Wei F Style Baritone yesterday.
Here are some basic facts:
It took four months from the OK to getting it in my hands.
That's a long time IMO.
But this was the first baritone F style that Bruce has built and he had to retool a bit. A world wide pandemic might also be a factor.
So maybe four months was a good turnaround.
The instrument has a lovely solid feel to it.
It is basically a mandola (CGDA) and the 19" scale is just what I wanted.
It's nice to look at and I expect to get good comments.
The tuners are very precise (surprise!). I don't know what they are.
The ebony fretboard is pretty. The fret work is good.
The action is high at the 12th fret and looks correct at the nut.
Not much room at the saddle for adjustment but I'll get on it.
I want to hold off on describing the sound to make sure I'm judging this correctly.
In a week or so I'll post a sound clip and have a few comments.
Thanks for watching this thread so far.
The Bottom Line
I’ve spent the last few days putting this instrument through the paces.
I am both happy and disappointed at the same time. This is an odd instrument.
I would ordinarily keep this to myself but some interest has been expressed in Bruce Wei as a builder, so here is my critique. (It’s not good)
The depth of the instrument body (1.5”) and the thickness of the carved top and bottom have completely killed any tone this instrument could have had. The volume is easily ½ the output of any instrument I have ever played. It’s like playing a slab body or an electric instrument unplugged. A softly played guitar would totally overpower this.
So I have decided to treat it solely as an electric instrument and I am very happy with the amplified tone.
Really happy. It’s warm and expressive. But it’s totally unsuitable in an acoustic setting. Not what I wanted obviously, but not bad.
The neck feels great, but getting the action down to my usual 3/32” is proving a problem. The way the neck is set I have very little wiggle room at the saddle. I’m pretty sure I can get it by pushing the nut and the saddle as far as they can go. But I think this is a rookie mistake on the builder. The bridge height and neck angle are wrong.
I’m playing the heck out of this thing (amplified) and have done some busking. I really like it but I would not recommend this builder to anyone looking for a traditional instrument.
My “off the rack” Cordoba baritone ukulele is far superior to this and is very inexpensive. So this build is a mystery to me.
For me it's a keeper.
Thanks for following this thread.