Custom Pegasus Tenor Ukulele
Custom ukuleles by Pegasus Ukuleles. Beautiful New Pegasus 4-String Tenor Ukulele (completed June 2009) handcrafted in the traditional shape by luthier Bob Gleason of Kurtistown, HI. Built in the traditional shape rather than the classic shape, the traditional shape is less rounded lower bout, has a radial braced top, and an X braced back. The top, back and sides of the instrument are made of Hawaiian Milo wood with elegant but subtle center spalt on the face and back of the instrument. Absolutely gorgeous and a wonderful and rare Hawaiian tone wood too!
Milo wood from the Big Island is one of Bob’s favorite woods to work with. It is very difficult to get good quality pieces because this ocean side tree does not grow straight and most of the larger pieces are hollow. Most Milo instruments are made from very poor quality wood. Bob cut this wood about 20 years ago in Puako, Hawaii, from an unusually solid piece of tree trunk. Milo makes a great instrument with a warm full tone.
The top, back, and sides are hand-crafted with Hawaiian Milo wood. The neck is Spanish cedar with an ebony reinforcement strip. The fretboard and bridge are Pheasant wood, another island wood that is difficult to find. Pheasant wood comes from large trees, but often the wood is badly stained from minerals in the soil and is unusable. It is a beautiful wood, with interesting figure in the grain that resembles the intricate patterns of pheasant feathers. The neck on this ukulele, like all Bob’s instruments, is attached with a hand cut dovetail joint. Many modern makers have turned to simple easily made joints using screws, bolts, epoxy, or other methods to secure their necks to the bodies. Bob prefers traditional methods and incorporates many of the historical building techniques in to his instruments.
The inlay on this instrument is inspired by the petroglyph fields found in the Puako area of the island. Petroglyphs are ancient rock carvings. In some areas thousands of carvings are found and they are spread out in the fashion that Bob did the headstock inlay. They are often close together, unrelated to each other, and face in all different directions. The fret marker positions at the 3, 5, 7, 10, and 12th fret are also petroglyphs. There are no duplications. All petroglyphs are hand cut from solid mother-of-pearl shell. Bob uses no lasers and all of his work is meticulously done with the highest attention to detail. The petroglyph inlays are cut to resemble the irregular shaping found in rock carvings. The bridge and neck heel have Paua abalone adornments.
The soundhole rosette is a double ring of solid Paua abalone shell with a curly koa middle ring. The top has solid Paua abalone shell border, bound with curly koa. The back, neck, and head are also bound with curly koa. Tuners are gold plated Grovers with ebony buttons. Bone nut and saddle. The finish is nitrocellulose lacquer.
Any Pegasus Ukulele is a tough find but this one is even that much more special being handcrafted in the x-braced pattern. All of Bob’s ukuleles are meticulously crafted from the finest materials and with stunning attention to detail. His instruments have perfectly set intonation, very clean and precise tones all the way up the neck, and the build with all the warmth of true ‘Aloha’. Nothing but the best in high end custom ukuleles from Bob Gleason!!!
Price: SOLD