I have recently started building ukuleles. For my first few instruments I copied old Martins as closely as possible. These turned out quite well and I was encouraged to continue building.

After talking to experienced players and hearing their observations about the sound, responsiveness and durability of various instruments they had played, I realized that a stiffer neck and better neck-to-body joint would probably be advantageous. Thus, I began making ukes with laminated necks and Spanish heel construction—a design much more common in classical guitars than in ukuleles. The laminated neck increases its stiffness, so more of the string vibration is transferred to the soundboard and the neck is less likely to warp over time. The Spanish heel integrates the neck and sides of the instrument in the tightest manner possible. A slot is cut into the neck block during the construction process and the side goes into it. Since there is not a separate joint holding the neck and sides together, they can never come apart and, just as importantly, there is no dampening of sound due to loss of string vibration from a less-than-perfect neck-to-body joint. This is a more labor intensive approach to ukulele construction, but the resulting improvement in tone, responsiveness and durability make the effort worthwhile.

I am offering three different models of ukulele: Standard, Deluxe and Special. The Standard model has a mahogany body and no ornamentation other than a strip of protective binding around the top and back edges of the body and a 12 fret fingerboard. The Deluxe model has a koa body with multi layered body binding and sound hole rings and simple position markers on the 17 fret fingerboard. The Special model uses highly figured koa, multi layered binding with abalone trim around the body and sound hole, and an ornate peghead inlay. The bound 17 fret fingerboard has Martin 5K-style position markers. All models have laminated mahogany necks. I am happy to offer these instruments in soprano, concert, tenor and baritone sizes.

	To hear a Zimnicki ukelele, check out the links below (courtesy of Rob Bourassa):
I'll See You In My Dreams (instrumental)  I'll See You In My Dreams (w/ vocal)

Additional Soprano Ukelele pictures:
         

Additional Tenor Ukelele pictures:
         

The oud is a fretless, 11 string Middle Eastern instrument. It is a “double-course” instrument, meaning the strings are positioned in pairs and tuned in unisons, except for the treble-most string, which is single. The scale length is about 620 mm. Modern oud strings are made of nylon.

The body of this instrument is made of mahogany, approximately 1 ¼” thick, which was hollowed out to reduce weight and add resonance. Hollowing the body created a surprisingly strong acoustic tone, which would not have been possible in a solid-body instrument. The soundboard is Sitka spruce. The necks were made of mahogany. The oud peghead is at a 55 degree angle to the neck (a standard guitar peghead would have a 10-12 degree angle). The oud neck is 36 mm wide at the nut; the classical neck is 52 mm wide. There are Fishman pickups installed in each bridge. The body shape was taken from an oud and widened a little to accommodate the second neck.

• The body of this instrument is made of Indian Rosewood and Sitka spruce. The neck runs completely through the body.
• The multi-layered neck is made of alternating pieces of maple and wenge, each approximately 1⁄4" thick.
• The 31 fret fretboard is made of ebony.
• The tuning machines are Hipshot.
• The pickup is an RMC system.

• Alder back
• Quilted maple top
• Bolt-on maple neck, 1 7⁄8" wide at the nut, 17 frets clear of the body
• Ebony fretboard, 25.4" scale with a 16" radius
• Schaller tuning machines
• Fishman transducer in the bridge
• Lower bout width:   14 1⁄4"
• Depth:   1 7⁄8"

This guitar was designed by my customer to closely resemble one of the instruments played by the guitarist in a popular band. The top and back are carved from solid blocks, the body is completely hollow and the neck attaches to the body the way it does on a jazz guitar. With the inclusion of a floating bridge and ebony tailpiece, this is really just an archtop guitar of a different shape, but I thought it would fit better in this part of my website.

• Flamed maple top
• Padauk back and sides
• 2 piece flamed maple neck, 1 3⁄4" wide at the nut, 22 frets clear of the body
• Ebony fretboard, 25 1⁄2" scale with a 12" radius
• Schaller tuning machines
• The floating ebony bridge has 2 pieces of brass for the saddle.
• The width is approximately 13 1⁄4" across the widest parts of the lower bout
• Depth at the edges:   2 1⁄8"

This is a larger-bodied version of the previous instrument.

• Koa top, back and sides
• 3 piece flamed maple neck, 1 3⁄4" wide at the nut, 20 frets clear of the body
• Burled walnut peghead veneers
• Ebony fretboard, 25 1⁄2" scale with a 10" radius
• Grover tuning machines
• Seymour Duncan pickups
• The width is approximately 14 1⁄2" across the widest parts of the lower bout
• Depth at the edges:   2 1⁄8"

The cavaquinho is a steel string instrument. I believe it originated in Portugal and gave rise to the ukulele when Portugese sailors introduced it in the Hawiian Islands. I am told that this instrument is very common in Brazilian jazz music. Typically cavaquinhos have 4 strings, and I have made several that way, but this customer wanted a 5 string instrument to accommodate an additional bass string.

• Sitka spruce soundboard
• Indian rosewood back and sides
• Mahogany neck, 1 5⁄16" wide at the nut on the 4 string version
• Lower bout width:  9"
• Depth:   3"

	To hear a Zimnicki cavaquinho, check out the link below (courtesy of Rob Bourassa):
Here Comes The Sun

Several years ago I took in a Gibson K1 mandocello for repair. I was intrigued by the instrument and decided to build a copy. The mandocello is among the larger instruments in the mandolin family. The body is 14 1⁄4 wide and about 3" deep at the edges. The scale length is 24 5⁄8" and the neck is 1 5⁄8" wide at the nut.

• Sitka spruce soundboard
• Mahogany back and sides
• Walnut neck
• Schaller tuning machines