LINKS
Ukulele Supply Houses
A great place for uke wood sets, materials kits and
parts. Good prices. nice folks, and they ship very quickly.
Another good source for uke materials and parts. Prices
similar to above.
Some more exotic (and more expensive) woods and parts.
Roy Cone runs a fine little online business selling
all manner of ukes and accessories. Great prices and very quick
turn- around. I buy student ukes, cases and strings from him.
Jim Beloff is The Man! He has carried the torch for
the uke for many years and has been instrumental (!) in bringing
the uke back from near-oblivion. He sells great song books, cd's,
accessories and is the force behind the Flea and Fluke ukes. Drop
him an email and tell him thanks!
Lutherie Supply Houses
I buy most of my non-wood items from Stew-Mac. They
pretty much have it all as far as lutherie and instrument repair
goes. They are friendly, knowledgeable, and quick to ship. Get
their catalog.
LMI is more lutherie-oriented than Stew-Mac (less electric
guitar and repair items) and they offer some alternatives in tools
and materials. Much more diverse wood selection. Prices
similar to Stew-Mac, but some pricier, higher-quality items as
well. Their catalog/building manual is a must-have in my opinion.
Never ordered from them, but their site looks good.
A lutherie wood supplier located on Lopez Island, Washington.
Some beautiful wood sets for guitar, mandolin and ukulele. Good
prices.
Luthier's Sites
David Hurd builds beautiful ukes and his site has tons
of useful info, including a very scholarly treatise on calculating
fret scales.
Probably the premier uke luthier on the mainland. His
instruments will make you drool first, then encourage you to build
better ukes!
Lutherie Organizations
Formed in 1972, the Tacoma, Washington-based GAL is
dedicated to providing a forum for the exchange of information
on building and repairing stringed instruments of all types. They
publish the quarterly magazine, American Lutherie, and
offer plans, discounted books, and other benefits to members.
This is the "East Coast" luthier's organization,
based in Malone, New York. Founded in 1988, they publish Guitarmaker
magazine and provide services similar to the GAL. They appear
to be more guitar-oriented, with less emphasis on other types
of stringed instruments.
Other Uke and Lutherie-Related Sites
If there is anything that Frank Ford doesn't know about
stringed instrument building, repair, collecting or selling, then
I don't know what it is. Co-Founder of Gryphon Stringed Instruments,
Ford is a perennial seminar and workshop fixture at luthier's
conventions and festivals, contributor to magazines and consultant
to lutherie businesses. His web site is huge and covers all related
subjects. there is even a cool "museum" of great instruments.
Bookmark this one!
Kathy is an English teacher who embarks on a new lutherie
project every Summer. Her work is meticulous and beautiful and
she documents each project on her site. She has a great links
page as well. Kathy really inspired me to try my hand at lutherie
and her comments and suggestions have been very helpful to me.
Brook Adams is a great guitarist, ukulele player, music
teacher, and all-around uke ambassador here in Eugene, Oregon.
He is also one of the driving forces in our local uke club, the
Ukulaneys (named after Lane County, Oregon). Brook has a great
web site, full of useful uke stuff like chord diagrams, a tuner
and a collection of great, non-traditional uke music available
as MP3's and as sheet music. Where else are you going to find
chords and lyrics for songs like Whipping Post, and The
Wind Cries Mary?
Dominic Pieranunzio has transcribed a bunch of great
songs for the uke in tab form. He also has a very nice page describing
his first attempt at building a uke from a kit, and his subsequent
building of a very fine tenor. Good info here for the first-time
builder. Obviously a man who knows his way around a workbench,
Dominic also details building a thickness sander from scratch.
I want one!
A true clearing house of all things ukulele. Interesting
and fun stuff here (and a nice mention of this site!)
Uke chords to many, many Beatles songs. Hours of fun!
The Catfish has a very eclectic and fun site devoted
to our favorite instrument and those who love it. Pages on individual
brands and types of ukes, plus an extensive photo album of uke
enthusiasts from all walks of life. A real catch!
SpruceHouse Ukulele Retail Outlets
A very ukulele-friendly music store located in Eugene,
Oregon. Many brands of commercially-produced ukes are available
as well as one brand of luthier-made instruments: SpruceHouse
"production model: ukuleles! Also a great selection
of brass, woodwind, and violin-family stringed instruments, etc.
Really nice folks!
The newest dealer for SpruceHouse
Ukuleles, Artichoke Music is located in the Hawthorne District
of Portland, Oregon. A very cool store that emphasizes folk instruments,
Artichoke has a great "community hangout" kind of vibe
and a very helpful and knowledgable staff.
