Exploring 100 year old (your) ukes

[mountain goat]

here are several pictures of my 1920s Hollywood style 8 concert
she obviously has had a pretty rough life but plays so sweetly
and that body shape is still the prettiest i've ever seen.

 

[rainbow21]

Over three years ago, I briefly had an Ah Tau Kam ukulele that once again is likely sitting forgotten in an old case at the owner's house. Here is the thread (with photos) that I posted on this ukulele:

very old Ah Tau Kam Ukulele (1920s?) "discovered" in excellent condition

So a friend whose mother grew up in Hawaii told me she had an old beat up cheap ukulele somewhere in her house that her mother had. She finally brought it over and it appears to be a Hawaii made uke, maybe from the 1920s with a "Kam" label on the headstock. It is in very good condition without...

forum.ukuleleunderground.com

 

[Poul Hansen]

I don't think there were any ukuleles in this country a hundred years ago, so you'll have to make do with my gently restored, full solid mahogany, very rare 75 years old ukulele made by Danish luthier Just Povlsen.

 

[CPG]

I love this thread! So fun to see these cool old ukes.

 

[John Colter]

This uke was given to me in a sorry state. The bridge was damaged, there were several splits in both front and back, one brace was missing and the other three braces were broken, the back was lifting from the sides. The back was crudely inscribed with, "I Love You. Frank" and the date "Feb 26th 1928".

I removed the back, fixed the cracks, fitted all new braces and repaired the bridge. I left the finish (and the inscription) as original as possible. Just a little touching up with shellac where absolutely necessary. The original tuners were fettled and work satisfactorily.

Today, 'Frank' plays sweetly and has oodles of period charm and romantic character.

 

[mountain goat]

this is how the ol Hollywood looks & sounds

 

[CPG]

this is how the ol Hollywood looks & sounds

I love that uke. I’ve always loved the look of those but never heard one (well I heard the Kepasa version of one that I damn near bought which was fricking awesome sounding but different than that).

That is how I like a concert uke to sound. Like a big soprano not a small tenor. It’s got the voice of really good vintage soprano but just a little bigger and more sustaining.

Nice song and playing and singing. Is that an original?

 

[mountain goat]

I love that uke. I’ve always loved the look of those but never heard one (well I heard the Kepasa version of one that I damn near bought which was fricking awesome sounding but different than that).

That is how I like a concert uke to sound. Like a big soprano not a small tenor. It’s got the voice of really good vintage soprano but just a little bigger and more sustaining.

Nice song and playing and singing. Is that an original?

cheers brother, i agree.
this one when it came to me wasn't really playable. had lots of issues,
but just spent a couple of hundred for some TLC and i love playing it now.
your description of the sound as 'a big soprano' is spot on i think.
bright and punchy but just a little more depth to the sound.
yep, an original song mate.

 

[Tom Snape]

Here is my Marca-Aquila made by Favilla Brothers in New York before they started putting the Favilla crest on the headstock. I believe these were made before 1910, so very early as mainland made ukes go. Some references online state that these were produced as early as 1890 and were the first mainland made ukes. The necks were painted black and note that it joins the body at the 13th fret. The tuners are unusual in that they consist of tapered brass posts fitted into matching brass sleeves in the head.

 

[Ukecaster]

Pretty close, with a 1924 Style 0. Despite the small-size, it's a real cannon.

 

[Kaelrie]

Another thought: Do the oldies hold their own, sound-wise, or has ukulele development in the intervening century improved the instrument’s voice?

There's a decent argument to be made that the reason really old instruments often sound wonderful is that only the best of the best of them survived the decades and were cared for with enough effort to make it to the modern era. The rest were neglected, thrown away, etc.

 

[kerneltime]

Here is one of my fav vintage ukuleles. It looks and sounds amazing.

VUD: Vintage Martin 3M with bow tie and diamond

This has been one of my highly desired ukes to own. I was lucky enough to be able to buy this from Gryphon Strings. Primarily I like the looks and vintage ukes from that era sound amazing. This model of the series 3 mahogany was made only for a few years before 1920 so this uke is definitely...

forum.ukuleleunderground.com

 

[mountain goat]

Here is one of my fav vintage ukulele. It looks and sounds amazing.

VUD: Vintage Martin 3M with bow tie and diamond

This has been one of my highly desired ukes to own. I was lucky enough to be able to buy this from Gryphon Strings. Primarily I like the looks and vintage ukes from that era sound amazing. This model of the series 3 mahogany was made only for a few years before 1920 so this uke is definitely...

forum.ukuleleunderground.com

incredible condition! beautiful tone!
i can hear from the demo you're playing pretty quietly
bet this barks like a beast.
gorgeous one brother

 

[Patty]

I don't think there were any ukuleles in this country a hundred years ago, so you'll have to make do with my gently restored, full solid mahogany, very rare 75 years old ukulele made by Danish luthier Just Povlsen.

View attachment 143923

Lovely old headstock! Have you ever strung it up and played it? How does it sound?

 

[Patty]

this is how the ol Hollywood looks & sounds

Like the song, like the uke, like the playing!

 

[hendulele]

Thanks. It indeed has a lovely voice. It somehow manages to be warmer than most sopranos but still maintain a lovely jangle. I have Nyltechs on it right now which add a little chunkyness to the tone but it sounds amazing with clear flourocarbon too which give it a more open vibrant tone. It is also the lightest uke I’ve ever encountered by a couple ounces. The previous owner weighed it at 8.2oz.

(see this old thread: https://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/index.php?threads/the-lightest-ukulele.134165/)

It feels like a toy when you first pick it up, but my does it sing. I don’t play it as much as some of my other ukes but it is very very special to me.

I like the tone with Nyltechs. It sounds like a vintage uke, if that makes sense.

 

[CPG]

I like the tone with Nyltechs. It sounds like a vintage uke, if that makes sense.

Thanks. Yes, that does makes sense, that’s exactly what I like about them. Even though they are made (or at least partially made) by Aquila they are surprisingly different from Nylguts. Warmer and without the boomimess that Super Nylguts impart on some ukes. They sorta bridge the gap between a Super Nylgut and a nylon. They are warm and chunky sounding like nylon but more open and resonant. I still keep fluorocarbon on my tenor but all three of my sopranos have Nyltechs on them now.

 

[Neil_O]

here are several pictures of my 1920s Hollywood style 8 concert
she obviously has had a pretty rough life but plays so sweetly
and that body shape is still the prettiest i've ever seen.
View attachment 143918

View attachment 143919

View attachment 143920

i love the old-timey proportions.

 

[Joe T]

this is how the ol Hollywood looks & sounds

You and the Hollywood sound great Jon. Lovely tone and song. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Joe T]

Here is one of my fav vintage ukuleles. It looks and sounds amazing.

VUD: Vintage Martin 3M with bow tie and diamond

This has been one of my highly desired ukes to own. I was lucky enough to be able to buy this from Gryphon Strings. Primarily I like the looks and vintage ukes from that era sound amazing. This model of the series 3 mahogany was made only for a few years before 1920 so this uke is definitely...

forum.ukuleleunderground.com

That is a beauty kerneltime!