Monday, May 8, 2023

Ukulele #4



Ukulele #4 went home tonight! This is the first of my ukulele builds that has gone to someone outside our household and it’s an exciting day. Am I happy with the build? Overall, I am and on its faults I’m going to refer to Leonard Cohen “Forget your perfect offering. There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”
1, 2, 3, 4 all in a row



What’s next? I’m going to build a simpler instrument for the next one. It’s called a ‘pack-a-lele.’ It’s another of Jake’s very cool ideas and uses one piece of thick timber for the neck and the body. Jake cut the pieces for me quite a while ago and I’m going to take apart the first instrument I ever built (a mountain dulcimer that never was in tune) and hope I can use the top and back for the top and back of the pack-a-lele.
Back, make of deck offcuts

#4 headstock detail

#4 rosette detail



After that, I hope to build another ukulele with the intention of taking very careful notes and writing up every stage of the process so it can be turned into a book. Knowing how long it has taken me to build each instrument so far, this could be a multi-year project, and I don’t mind that at all!

2 comments:

Sue said...

Congrats Marian, that is a beautiful instrument and i'm sure the new owner will be very happy. What does the name pack-a-lele refer to?
Sue

WoodDancer said...

Hi Sue. Thanks! I think she is pleased with it. Pack-al-ele is a small travel ukulele that Jake designed.