c.1920 Columbia Koa Ukulele No. 2

March 21, 2009

c.1920 Columbia Koa Ukulele No. 2

Update 2015: The owner of this uke brought it back in for sale. I've updated all the info and added new pics and a soundclip. It also now comes with a nice as-new hard tweed case.

These "Columbia" brand ukes of this general makeup seem to have been made in a very small California (as I recall) workshop and while they're all very similar, none are the same. It's like every instrument was a trial in one sort of design or another. They all, however, have a great tone (this one, despite thick and odd bracing, has good volume and a rich sound) and "Island" feel: the nut width is wider while the cut to the neck is a flattened D shape.

I did work years ago on this but my most recent work was to do a fret level/dress, fresh setup, and bridge shave to get the action down to a nice ~1/16" at the 12th fret. The Aquilas I put on years ago are still healthy, too, and the only other work needed was to fill and seal a couple of tight hairline cracks that'd opened with dryness (one on top, one on back).

The uke is rope-bound on the top edge and at the soundhole rosette and the entire thing is made from actual Hawaiian koa with pretty orangey/red/yellow tones. It's quite pretty in good sunlight.

The overall build is "sturdy" along Oscar Schmidt lines.

The neck is 3-piece in build with 2 koa sections and a center maple section. This gives it a cool "stripe" down the middle but also means it's very stable. The headstock has a chunk out of it but it doesn't effect tuning stability or headstock integrity. It just has that "clipped ear" look.

Pearl dots and original nickel frets. I may have replaced the 12th fret a long time ago... can't recall. While some of the frets aren't perfectly aligned, the instrument plays well-enough in tune up the neck.

Part of my work years ago was to reglue the bridge. When it came back in I resculpted it into this shape to get the action down and also seat the strings a bit better.