Custom Duane Noble Tenor Ukulele
Highly respected by his peers in the guitar community and by musicians worldwide for his creativity in design and tone in harp guitars and ukuleles, this beautiful custom ukulele was handcrafted with the finest materials by luthier Duane Noble of DL Noble Guitars and Ukuleles of Richland, WA.
Handcrafted with the utmost care and attention to detail, this gorgeous custom Duane Nobel tenor ukulele has a discrete presence all its own. It boasts a stunning curly figured Honduras Mahogany wood soundboard, back, and sides with a laminated Honduras Mahogany wood, Maple wood, and East-Indian Rosewood neck for added strength and increased sustain. A matching Honduras Mahogany wood head plate overlay has also been added in keeping with the overall theme of the instrument. The natural hues of the wood have an ‘earthy’ feel with an almost natural radiance to it that is both alluring and soft on the eyes. The fingerboard, bridge, and top and back binding are all crafted from Duane’s private stock of jet-black musician’s grade Madagascar Ebony wood, adding to the aesthetic of a simple but elegant build with the quality of a studio recording instrument. Simple white-black-white accent lines on the soundboard emphasize the natural colors of a beautifully hand-cut mother-of-pearl shell rosette.
The body style is uniquely designed to provide the optimum tone to the player with a side sound port that has a ‘monitor-like’ experience with sound firing both upwards toward the ears of the musician as well as projecting outward towards the audience. Duane also slightly exaggerates the lower bout on this design, emulating the design style of a dreadnaught guitar with a reduced scale and refinement to accommodate for the smaller sound box of an ukulele. This allows for a darker/warmer tone quality. The bridge placement is at the widest point of the lower bout of the instrument, allowing for maximum ‘excitement’ on the soundboard with a neck joint to the body at the 13th fret and 19 overall frets to the sound hole. Mother-of-Pearl shell side fret dot markers for a top-down quick point of reference. Bone saddle & Ebony nut. Gloss lacquer finish and 4:1 ratio professional “Pegheds” geared tuning machines for smooth and precise tuning. The Pegheds also allow for considerable weight reduction a the headstock, which is in overall alignment with Duane’s approach to his builds.
The instrument is very comfortable to hold and overall quite light in weight, likely adding to the wonderful projection and sustain offered by this ukulele. Aesthetically appealing, this instrument is a complete package of fine craftsmanship with excellent mid-range and low end, making for a more warm sound. There is a depth and richness to the instrument that is both beautiful and powerful when fingerpicking, in particular. Ideal for both solo playing or accompaniment with excellent projection and overall presence.
Price: SOLD