River Red Gum Baritone
The tree this wood came from was a victim of wild weather in northern Victoria, and yes it was on the Murray River. Not a traditional instrument timber, but the figure displayed in this piece led us to take a chance with it, and we are pleased we did. A Baritone Ukulele with 508mm Scale Length and 14 frets to the body
Back and Sides - River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis)
River Red Gum, a beautiful iconic Australian Timber that comes in many colours, red to deep rich browns to near black. A dense wood not often used in instruments.
Back Bracing System - “Live Bracing Design “
The Live Bracing system has 1 less Traverse Brace than a standard, it has four radial braces that only support the centre of the lowerbout area are not connected to the instrument sides. This allows the back to move more than it would with standard bracing while keeping it stiff. The traverse braces are tuned by reducing their cross section in the centre of the brace. This system increases the backs interaction with the soundboard during playing, resulting in a fuller more complex sound. The Bracing has been made to fit a 20ft Radius, which increases the stiffness and structural integrity.
Sound Board - Port Orford Cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana )So named because it was first discovered near Port Orford in Oregon. Port Orford Cedar is perhaps a hidden gem in the realm of strong, lightweight timber, possessing superb strength-to-weight ratios in both modulus of elasticity and modulus of rupture, as well as crushing strength. It has been used for making arrow shafts, and the grain is “straight as an arrow,” with a uniform medium to fine texture.Soundboard Bracing System – “Falcate”
The soundboard bracing system has been made to fit into and was assembled in a 20ft radius dish, which increases its stiffness and structural integrity. The Bracing is made of strips of King Billy Pine, laminated into sickle shapes, the gluing edges are radiused to 20ft. The Braced tops have been profiled/tuned. This radiused and curved symmetrical bracing system is of low mass and is incredibly stiff.
Bindings– Curly Emu Apple (Owenia acidula)
Most Emu Apple is plain looking. But this tree is one in a thousand, all the timber from it has tight curl. The tree was removed during fencing from a property in central western Queensland.
Neck – Queensland Maple with Curly Emu Apple Heel Cap (Flindersia brayleyana)
Perhaps Australian’s Best Tonewood. Highly sought after by Australian Luthiers.
The Neck is fitted with a Double action Steel Trussrod
Tuners - Grover Gold ‘Sta-tite’
Exceptional High-quality tuners and recognized as such around the world.
Pickup – Misi battery-less preamp c/w LR Baggs Transducer
The preamp for this system uses Mi-Si’s custom piezo linearization scheme - allowing for the most truthful and accurate sound from the pickup. A 60 second charge using the Mi-Si Power Charger provides 16 hours of play time.
Headstock, (front) Albizia, (Albizia lebbeck)
Albizia ranges from Indomalaya to Northern Australia. The tree this headstock overlay came from grew across the road from the Railway Hotel in Calliope, Central Queensland
Headstock (rear) - New Zealand Red Beech, (Nothofagus fusca)
One of the Southern (Arctic) Beech family and closely related to Tasmanian Myrtle.
Nut and Saddle - Northern Territory Water Buffalo Horn (Syncerus caffer)
Water buffalo were imported into the NT in the 19th century as working animals and meat for the remote northern settlements. When the early settlements were abandoned, the buffalo were released, where they became feral. The Nut and Saddle are handmade and fitted into their respective locations. The 3mm saddle is a firm fit into the Bridge but can be removed if needed. It has a line scribed along the soundhole face; this indicates the orientation of the saddle in the bridge. The instruments intonation has been set using the saddle, so it’s important that the saddle goes back with the correct orientation. The Nut has been slotted to suit the as fitted Strings. The Nut is also a firm fit; a small amount of CA glue has been put under it to hold it in place while changing strings.
Strings – “Living Water” Fluorocarbon Low G tuning (gCEA)
Strings are an important part of the sound structure. We have tested numerous different string types on our Ukuleles and found that on our Baritone and Long Scale Tenor Ukuleles, Living Water Fluorocarbon Strings far outperform any others, giving a warm/mellow Classical Guitar type sound.
Finish - Hand Polished High Gloss Nitro Cellulous Lacquer
A hardwearing lacquer that is chemical resistant and easily repaired. Approximately 20 coats of Lacquer are applied over a 10-day period, after a week curing time, the lacquer is hand levelled and polished to a mirror finish using wet/dry sandpaper and micromesh pads cut.
The tree this wood came from was a victim of wild weather in northern Victoria, and yes it was on the Murray River. Not a traditional instrument timber, but the figure displayed in this piece led us to take a chance with it, and we are pleased we did. A Baritone Ukulele with 508mm Scale Length and 14 frets to the body
Back and Sides - River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis)
River Red Gum, a beautiful iconic Australian Timber that comes in many colours, red to deep rich browns to near black. A dense wood not often used in instruments.
Back Bracing System - “Live Bracing Design “
The Live Bracing system has 1 less Traverse Brace than a standard, it has four radial braces that only support the centre of the lowerbout area are not connected to the instrument sides. This allows the back to move more than it would with standard bracing while keeping it stiff. The traverse braces are tuned by reducing their cross section in the centre of the brace. This system increases the backs interaction with the soundboard during playing, resulting in a fuller more complex sound. The Bracing has been made to fit a 20ft Radius, which increases the stiffness and structural integrity.
Sound Board - Port Orford Cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana )So named because it was first discovered near Port Orford in Oregon. Port Orford Cedar is perhaps a hidden gem in the realm of strong, lightweight timber, possessing superb strength-to-weight ratios in both modulus of elasticity and modulus of rupture, as well as crushing strength. It has been used for making arrow shafts, and the grain is “straight as an arrow,” with a uniform medium to fine texture.Soundboard Bracing System – “Falcate”
The soundboard bracing system has been made to fit into and was assembled in a 20ft radius dish, which increases its stiffness and structural integrity. The Bracing is made of strips of King Billy Pine, laminated into sickle shapes, the gluing edges are radiused to 20ft. The Braced tops have been profiled/tuned. This radiused and curved symmetrical bracing system is of low mass and is incredibly stiff.
Bindings– Curly Emu Apple (Owenia acidula)
Most Emu Apple is plain looking. But this tree is one in a thousand, all the timber from it has tight curl. The tree was removed during fencing from a property in central western Queensland.
Neck – Queensland Maple with Curly Emu Apple Heel Cap (Flindersia brayleyana)
Perhaps Australian’s Best Tonewood. Highly sought after by Australian Luthiers.
The Neck is fitted with a Double action Steel Trussrod
Tuners - Grover Gold ‘Sta-tite’
Exceptional High-quality tuners and recognized as such around the world.
Pickup – Misi battery-less preamp c/w LR Baggs Transducer
The preamp for this system uses Mi-Si’s custom piezo linearization scheme - allowing for the most truthful and accurate sound from the pickup. A 60 second charge using the Mi-Si Power Charger provides 16 hours of play time.
Headstock, (front) Albizia, (Albizia lebbeck)
Albizia ranges from Indomalaya to Northern Australia. The tree this headstock overlay came from grew across the road from the Railway Hotel in Calliope, Central Queensland
Headstock (rear) - New Zealand Red Beech, (Nothofagus fusca)
One of the Southern (Arctic) Beech family and closely related to Tasmanian Myrtle.
Nut and Saddle - Northern Territory Water Buffalo Horn (Syncerus caffer)
Water buffalo were imported into the NT in the 19th century as working animals and meat for the remote northern settlements. When the early settlements were abandoned, the buffalo were released, where they became feral. The Nut and Saddle are handmade and fitted into their respective locations. The 3mm saddle is a firm fit into the Bridge but can be removed if needed. It has a line scribed along the soundhole face; this indicates the orientation of the saddle in the bridge. The instruments intonation has been set using the saddle, so it’s important that the saddle goes back with the correct orientation. The Nut has been slotted to suit the as fitted Strings. The Nut is also a firm fit; a small amount of CA glue has been put under it to hold it in place while changing strings.
Strings – “Living Water” Fluorocarbon Low G tuning (gCEA)
Strings are an important part of the sound structure. We have tested numerous different string types on our Ukuleles and found that on our Baritone and Long Scale Tenor Ukuleles, Living Water Fluorocarbon Strings far outperform any others, giving a warm/mellow Classical Guitar type sound.
Finish - Hand Polished High Gloss Nitro Cellulous Lacquer
A hardwearing lacquer that is chemical resistant and easily repaired. Approximately 20 coats of Lacquer are applied over a 10-day period, after a week curing time, the lacquer is hand levelled and polished to a mirror finish using wet/dry sandpaper and micromesh pads cut.