Char Guitars

Sometimes called Bass Guitars or contra-bass guitars these instruments were very popular in the 19th century, primarily in Europe. There were many variations on the size and shape of these instruments. How the Bass strings were supported varied as well, and the number of bass strings that they used were all over the place. Starting with as few as one or two bass strings, it was not uncommon to see guitars with as many as fifteen sub bass strings. Most of these instruments were built pretty heavy by todays standards. The tops are ladder braced and often dont have any bracing below the soundhole. In spite of that they have a surprisingly sweet and intimate sound all their own. If you want to see more photos click here.

This has got to be the Mother of All Cocolele’s! Over the top as far as cocolele ukes go.If anyone has any info on this please let me know. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I’ve seen alot of ukes. Its obvious they were going after a turtle shell look for the back with the coconut shells. The scale length is almost tenor. Neck is curly Koa . Im not sure what the top is but its not Koa. It might be Mango or Monkey Pod. I have no idea who made it and there’s no label. The only possible identifying mark is an arrow head etched on the headstock. Pretty great collectors piece.Ill post more photos later as take it apart for restoration.For more photos click here.

My friend Mike asked me if I could make him a uke that he could cart around places and practice with out being heard.Hes called it His ACME uke. A Mi Si pickup was installed for the times when He wants to be heard, as well as a circuit to plug in a headphone when He wants to be in”silent mode”. It also has an onboard tuner. This is the design he He sent me. It has a decidedly Danish vibe to it so Teak seemed to be a good choice for the body. The electronics were a bit of a challenge as I had to figure out how to integrate all the components together. I had to get some help with that one.And fitting all that stuff into the cavity was also a challange. Aside from that everything went smoothly. Got a custom knob from my friend Dave King who is a fabulous bass builder and  happens to make custom knobs on the side.I figure its the one piece of jewelry on it so I might as well pick something cool.Fret board is Ebony as well as the headstock  and bridge.For more photos click here.

Since we are on the topic of Montgomry Wards coincidentally I got in this Reso uke made for  Wards by the Regal Company during the period when they were license to make Dobros for the Dobro company. This uke has the “spider” style  cone and is very cute. Not as punchy as the National style reso ukes but it has a very sweet sound.Mor photos click here.

Montgomery Wards, like Sears, was another catalogue company who sold thousands of household products many manufactured with their brand name. Also, like Sears, musical instruments were some of their offerings. This is a splendid example made by Washburn for Montgomery Wards. Spruce top, ladder braced, Brazilian rosewood, with a fair amount of “bling”. We installed a trussrod, reset neck,refret, repro bridge. One of the nice ones. For more photos click here.

So I come out one morning and there is this huge box on my porch that I havent got a clue about. People ship instruments to me all the time but usually I get a” heads up” before things arrive. This was double boxed with a ton of packing all around it. 20 min. later when I finally got it out I still couldn’t figure out what it was, but I was sure it must be something crazy . I wasn’t disappointed! First  Harp Bowlback Mandolin Ive ever seen. Can you imagine how much work it would take just to make that upper arm? This guy must have had alot of time on his hands.I dont know anything about where this originated from or who built it. Sometimes I just fix them and send them on their way.For more photos click here.

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Lil Rev emailed this link of Him playing Pig ankle Rag with Brian Hefferan on His Char uke. Rev tells me that Brian is known for his arrangements of rags for ukulele. I love this stuff! To check it out click here.

My customer, Quico, who has a love for the work of the great 19th century Italian guitar builder Louis Panormo, asked me if I could build him a 5 string tenor uke that had the  look of a Panormo guitar. Always being up for something challenging, and interesting as well, ( I am also a great fan of romantic period guitars) I talked to my friend John Doan (pictured below)  whose circa 1810 Panormo I had in my shop at one time. I asked Him if I could borrow it for a bit of poking and prodding.He let me measure it and take lots of photos.

Quico also wanted to have installed Ruck style sound ports. The back and sides are Brazilian rosewood and the top is red spruce. I used Mastodon for the nut and saddle and the bridge pins are vintage ones I got somewhere along the road. They just seemed to fit (no pun intended).The bindings and rosette are super curly Cuban Mahogany. This uke has a really amazing sound.It doesnt sound like your typical uke. It got volume  but has a very balanced sweet tone with exceptional highs that dont sound clipped but have some sustain. A very fun project. Quico suggested that I might expand the idea to make a Terz guitar. It’s a thought. More photos click here.

Lyre guitar circa 1800  Boy, 200 years old! Thats hard to think about. And you want it to play not just hang on the wall? Im suppose to finish this in a month, we’ll see.

Fortunately this one has a “fix it hole”. I found some writing on the top. I tried to take a photo of it with my camera but there is not much room in there. I can see it with a mirror but its backwards and in a different language so thats no help.Ill show this to John and see if he has a clue.More photos click here

This Martin O 18 #141739 was gifted to my customer Hiaso Shinagawa  by the late Townes Van Zandt in 1980. Hisao who is also known as, the Japanese Bob Dylan, claims an arsenal of 2,000 songs! The guitar got run over by a vending truck at a Farmers Market he was playing at on December 14 2008.I think this one is going to take a little extra time.  Click here for more photos.