Custom Urabe Tenor Ukulele

Circa 2016. Preowned. Beautiful custom tenor ukulele handcrafted by luthier Hideaki Urabe of Kyoto, Japan. An accomplished luthier of ukulele, Hideaki apprenticed under famed classical guitar luthier Masao Shoji and applied his knowledge of stringed instruments to the smaller bodied ukulele.

This wonderful Custom Urabe Tenor Ukulele is crafted entirely from endemic woods to Japan. The soundboard was handcrafted from a gorgeous master grade set of spalted curly Japanese Tochi wood. The tree is characterized by its height up to 80 feet high and large leaves, which can be up to three feet wide, and flower, which are white with red or pink blotches. The seeds from the Tochi tree were traditionally eaten, after leaching, by the Jomon people of ancient Japan – roughly 14,000 BCE to 300 BCE. Today, the trees are found in Hokkaido (below Sapporo), Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Seeds are used in modern Japan to prepare “Tochimochi”- a horse chestnut rice cake that is made by boiling seeds and sticky rice together. The back and sides are of Japanese Bodaijyu, which is in the linden family of trees. It is native to Japan preferring to grow in mountainous regions up to 6,000 ft in elevation and is also the official tree  of the city of Nagano, Japan. The flowers were often steeped as a tea to relieve anxiety and the wood was used for furniture. Today, select sets are used by guitar and ukulele luthiers in Japan for its strength and tonal properties. The fretboard and bridge were carved from a set of Brazilian Rosewood.  Matching Brazilian rosewood headstock veneer and Urabe logo inlay of mother-of-pearl. Celluloid fretboard, headstock, and top and back binding. Professional Gotoh open-geared tuners for smooth and precise tuning. Abalone shell rosette with b-w-b-w-b top purfling lines in keeping with the simple but elegant feel of the instrument.

A unique and lovely sound in contrast to the traditional woods used on the ukulele such as Hawaiian Koa, Mahogany wood, or even soft wood tops such as spruce, cedar, or redwood. The ukulele has a wonderful midrange and is great for both finger picking and strumming. Wonderful note separation and clarity, this ukulele is a beautiful player ukulele handcrafted of endemic woods to Japan from Hideaki Urabe of Kyoto, Japan. ID#:220034

Price: SOLD