1950s Favilla Baritone Ukulele

New video (2022) above, old video (2018) below.

Update 2022: this guy's back here for resale (I originally worked on it in 2018) so I've updated the post where needed -- new video, fresh photos, updated description. Now back to it...

This Favilla bari is has to definitely be on the earlier side (very late '40s or early '50s) of production. Its body shape and bracing (like a single-ladder-braced Favilla soprano uke but bigger) is a little different from the average Favillas and it sounds like nothing other than a big uke! This is in contrast to the more "flamenco" classical guitar vibe that I usually associate with Favillas. It still has the "airy sparkle" thing going on, but with a bit of a faster attack and decay that I associate more with smaller ukes. Interesting!

I worked on this for a customer and it was totally beat when it arrived. There are/were numerous hairline cracks on the top and back, the neck needed a reset, all the inlay in the fretboard was gone, and who knows what else I fixed and forgot about.

Repairs included: a fret level/dress, replacement dot inlay (I oversized it as I have lots of 1/4" pearl dots on hand), new bone saddle, and a setup. It plays spot-on.

Top wood: solid mahogany

Back & sides wood: solid mahogany

Bracing type: ladder

Bridge: rosewood

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall
String gauges: D'Addario carbon strings

Neck shape: medium C

Board radius: flat

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: low/smaller

Scale length: 19"

Nut width: 1 7/16"

Body width: 10"

Body depth: 3 1/2"

Weight: 1 lb 9 oz

Condition notes: the body is solid mahogany and so is the neck. The fretboard and bridge are rosewood. The instrument is also entirely original except for the saddle and new dots. It has a ton of wear/tear to the finish which includes a bit of picking-wear next to the fretboard and lots of little nicks, dings, and scratches. There's a healthy dose of weather-check to the finish, too. There are also numerous repaired hairline cracks to the top and back.

It comes with: no case, sorry.