c.1925 Lyon & Healy Camp Uke
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If you've followed the blog for a long enough time, you'll know that I love these old L&H "Camp Ukes" for a good reason: playability, access to higher frets, and good volume and tone. They're very much different from your typical hourglass-shaped uke, more like a pineapple in terms of "wide" on the low-end side and a little bit more plucky and poppy like a reso-uke on the high.
I think they make great practice or performance instruments, and with all those frets available, folks that like to move up the fingerboard but feel cramped on a typical soprano may very well like this setup better.
I think they make great practice or performance instruments, and with all those frets available, folks that like to move up the fingerboard but feel cramped on a typical soprano may very well like this setup better.
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This one dates around c.1925 and is very typical of a Camp Uke from the time -- looks like nyssa (black gum/tupelo) wood (solid) throughout, with the usual thin hairline cracks on the top (all glued up or not-through/stable), a turned resonator backplate which shoots the sound straight forward, and one-piece "sides."
The neck is attached with a screw through the heel block (like on many banjo ukes from the time) and I've shimmed the neck slightly at the top of the heel & tightened said screw for a better neck angle (= low action without modifying the bridge).
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This particular Camp Uke is a little bit grungier than normal but is in good shape otherwise and all-original with the typical L&H patent pegs (which work great... I love this design) and taller frets.
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Usually these dots are black but on this one they're cream celluloid.
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I love the old "smile" bridge -- note the chip-out on the G/C string loading area. I've addressed this by recutting the slot slightly and also recutting below the slot to hold the string better.
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This uke has definitely had some play in! But it's all set to go for the next 90 years. These are new Nylgut strings.
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Bound on the top edge with black celluloid.
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Good one-piece, turned resonator back.
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I like it!
Comments
These are sweeties!