1920s Harmony-made California-style Banjo Ukulele

I'd worked on this uke for a customer a while back but he hasn't been using it (he's a guitarist at heart), so it's now here on consignment. It was entirely ready to go, but I decided to swap its wood friction pegs out for a spare set of 4:1 Pegheds tuners and these make the instrument much more practical. No popping pegs, now!

It's unmarked but made by Harmony and dates to the mid-'20s. This style of uke (with its inline tension hoop and head and no hooks) was generically called "California style" in the late 1910s in catalogs, so that's what I call it, too. The vast majority of old American banjo ukes are of this style and the reasoning is that it's lightweight and thus closer to playing a normal uke, simple, easier to make, and doesn't have hooks to catch on clothing like a normal banjo rim would.

This guy has a poplar rim with mahogany veneer and a mahogany resonator on the back with f-holes. The neck is mahogany and has a cool contrasting center strip.

These aren't the loudest ukes but you'll be heard in an ensemble setting, for sure, and they're a lot folksier and easier on the ears than some of the later, screechier uke-jo designs. They're more fun for taking with you wherever you go because of that. I like them fingerpicked best but they do sound good for choppy, chordal playing, too.

Repairs included: (previously) a fret level/dress, replacement bridge, general cleaning, and setup. Recently -- a fresh set of fluorocarbon strings and Pegheds 4:1 tuner install.

Setup notes: action is fast and spot-on at 1/16" at the 12th fret. The neck is straight.

Scale length: 13"

Nut width: 1 1/4"

String spacing at nut: 15/16"

String spacing at bridge: 1 3/8"

Head diameter: 5 1/2"

Rim diameter: 7"

Depth overall at rim: 2 1/4"

Rim wood: poplar w/mahogany veneer

Fretboard: integral to neck (mahogany)

Bridge: maple/ebony Grover 2-foot

Neck feel: medium C-shape, flat board

Neck wood: mahogany

Weight: 1 lb 2 oz

Condition notes: it's beat-up a bit and shows plenty of usewear and playwear but is all-original save for the bridge and pegs. There are some neat bits of writing on the original head including "Montreal 1932" right under the strings.