1930s Favilla Concert Ukulele

Favilla concert ukes are just not around everywhere. This one's in the pattern of their standard all-mahogany soprano ukes... but bigger. It came here for a neck reset and associated work and after the job, I must say I'm impressed by it. It sounds like their soprano ukes... but bigger! It has the same sweet, mellow, mahogany voice but with ample volume. Favillas have a bit more of an open/airy quality to them compared to the Martin sound and to my ears they're a bit like a halfway point between a traditional island sound (Kamaka) and the Martin sound.

Work included: a neck reset, fret level/dress, minor crack and seam repairs, one brace repair, and a little monkeying with the saddle -- plus a setup. The saddle had been worn-down and was uneven with the string path and a little low on the bass side. I actually built it back up a bit with ebony dust and superglue and then reshaped it back to where I wanted it. Action is now 1/16" at the 12th fret (bang-on) and I have it strung with fresh D'Addario fluorocarbon strings.

Scale length: 14 15/16"

Nut width: 1 3/8"

String spacing at nut: 1 1/8"

String spacing at bridge: 1 9/16"

Body length: 10 3/4"

Lower bout width: 7 5/8"

Waist width: 4 3/4"

Upper bout width: 5 3/4"

Side depth at endpin: 2 1/2"

Top wood: solid mahogany

Back/sides wood: solid mahogany

Neck wood: mahogany

Bracing type: ladder

Fretboard: rosewood

Bridge: mahogany, ebony saddle

Neck feel: slim-to-medium C-shape, flat board

Condition notes: it's all-original and in good shape save for one small, tight, hairline crack on the treble waist-side and an ugly-looking bridge reglue (with some odd, white-yellow glue) that was done in the past.