Appearing in catalogs from 1919 to 1965, the Martin Style 2 Soprano, tenor and concert ukuleles were built with Mahogany for the body and neck, with Brazilian Rosewood for the fingerboard and bridge. Here we’re looking at a Martin Style 2 Soprano Ukulele built during the 1940’s. Martin ukes tended to not have serial numbers, so dating can be imprecise. This example is in remarkably good, clean condition with light wear, mostly from strumming. It’s one of the best preserved we have seen from this era. It plays well, and has the warm open tone that a Mahogany top provides.
Ukuleles
The Twisted Wood Pioneer soprano ukulele body is built with Laminate Sapele. Sapele, formally Entandrophragma Cylindricum, is of the same family as Mahogany (Meliaceae) and is largely found in tropical African countries, particularly in the Congo. This wood has become more commonly used for musical instruments and is often found on Taylor guitars, among others. In the form of a Laminate, the material is considerably stabler than as Solid wood, with good resistance to cracking under stress from changing humidity and temperature conditions.
Here we have a Twisted Wood Koa Concert Ukulele. Built using solid Hawaiian Koa for the top, back and sides, the neck is Mahogany with Ebony used for the fingerboard and bridge. In a departure from traditional Ukulele construction, a pin-style bridge as found on steel string guitars is used. This type of bridge is much easier to restring than the tie-block type found on traditional Ukes, and on Classical and Flamenco nylon string guitars.
Often called a banjolele, the Deering Goodtime Banjo Concert Scale Ukulele simply strum a few chords and you will be taken to a land without the stress and distractions of the daily routine. The nylon strings make playing easy on your fingers and the small size and light weight allows you to take this instrument with you literally anywhere – the beach, the office, camping, boating – you name it!
The National Reso-Phonic Maple Concert Ukulele is one of the instruments that deliver these subtleties. It is built to National’s usual quality standards with figured maple for all wooden parts except the rosewood fingerboard. The faux tortoise binding and headplate go very well with the three-tone satin sunburst finish. For hardware, it has a 5.875 inch hand-spun resonator, black planetary geared tuners, bone nut and maple biscuit and saddle. As a concert ukulele, it has a 15 inch scale length and a 1.375 inch nut width.
A couple of times every year, we are lucky enough to get our hands on one of these beauties: the Resonator Concert Maple Ukulele from National Guitars. In the past, we have featured a few Custom versions with extra detailing and appointments. Today, we have the standard version available; same great sound and feel at an even better price. This instrument is a performer’s dream. Thanks to the 5 7/8″ spun resonator cone, the National Uke gives more volume and punch than any other Uke available. Most guitarists, myself included, get hand cramps just looking at a standard soprano Uke, but the National is built to a 15″ concert scale, making it far more comfortable to play. The Grover 4 B tuners are smooth and accurate, and like every instrument National builds, the quality and craftsmanship is top notch.