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 Noble concert ukulele has a discrete presence all its own. It boasts a stunning curly Hawaiian Koa wood soundboard, back, and sides with a laminated Honduras Mahogany wood, Maple wood, and East-Indian Rosewood neck for added strength and increased sustain. 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. Matching Ebony wood headstock veneer in keeping with the theme of the instrument. Simple white-black-white accent lines on the soundboard emphasize the natural colors of the wood and a beautifully hand-cut abalone shell rosette and top and back abalone shell purfling.
The body style is uniquely designed to provide optimum tone to the player and the instrument has remarkable projection and clarity. Duane also slightly exaggerated the lower bout on this design, emulating the lower bout design of a full size tenor ukulele with a concert scale and and shallow body design of the smaller sound box of a concert ukulele. This allows for a brighter and bolder tone quality. Easy reach high up on the neck with a 14th fret joint to the body and 20 overall frets to the sound hole. Abalone shell side fret dot markers for a top-down quick point of reference. Bone nut and saddle. Gorgeous and smooth hand rubbed oil 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 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 projection, sustain, and clarity and a full range of tones. 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