1920s Favilla "Mickey Mouse" Soprano Ukulele

Update 2021: This has come back in for consignment (guy's cleaning-out his collection) so I've updated the blog post.

I've worked on a lot of odd-duck, painted, and rebranded Favilla ukes, but this is the first one of these instruments that's come in the shop in a natural finish (rather than painted) and bearing a period Mickey Mouse cutout applied to its top. I love it!

This one just needed glorified setup work and is in good order and ready to go. It's roughly the same size and shape as a Martin soprano. I'm 100% sure what these are made of -- they're solid wood and the smart money is on it being poplar. Its sound is direct, sweet, and poppy.

Repairs included: fret level dress, setup

Made by: Favilla

Made in: New York, NY, USA

Top wood: solid poplar?

Back & sides wood: solid poplar?

Bracing type: ladder

Bridge: poplar?

Fretboard: same as neck

Neck wood: poplar?

Tone: poppy, direct, sweet

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast)
String gauges: fluorocarbon Martins/medium

Neck shape: medium C/V

Board radius: flat

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: small, replacement 12th

Scale length: 13 9/16"

Nut width: 1 7/16"

Body length: 9 1/4"

Body width: 6 1/2"

Body depth: 2 1/4"

Weight: 0 lb 11 oz

Condition notes: mild wear and tear throughout and a couple cracks, both repaired -- one small hairline on the top near the edge and a longer one on the back. The Mickey Mouse bit was applied around when it was made. There's a bunch of discoloration to the finish on the back of the instrument -- looks like it was set down on something in a case for a very long time? It also has original bakelite friction pegs that work but are somewhat fussy. I always strongly-suggest replacing these with 4:1 geared Gotoh UPTs (which I'd do at cost, but they cost ~$70) or GraphTech 4:1 units (~$25) if you're going to play this daily. I know they're not original but I have one or the other on all the old ukes in our house because I like to put them down and have them be in tune months later...

It comes with: a gigbag.