1940s Regal Mahogany Soprano Ukulele

I've fixed half a dozen or so of this same basic design over the years, though most of them are unbraced and use thicker top/back plates to make up for it. This one must be slightly earlier as it has the '20s and '30s Regal construction -- thin tops and backs with ladder bracing. As a result, it sounds an awful lot like a same-period Favilla and has a chocolatey, sweet, choppy tone that suits old vaudeville-style strumming and picking.

The logo design and construction places it to the '40s and it's solid mahogany throughout save for the neck which is poplar and the fretboard which is rosewood. It plays bang-on fast and easy and is ready to go.

Repairs included: neck reset, fret level/dress, side dots install, tuner adjustments, bridge adjustments, restring, and setup.

Top wood: solid mahogany

Back & sides ladder

Bridge: mahogany

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: poplar (stained)

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast)
String gauges: D'Addario EJ99T fluorocarbon

Neck shape: mediun soft C/V

Board radius: flat

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: small/low

Scale length: 13 1/8"

Nut width: 1 3/8"

Body width: 6 5/8"

Body depth: 2 1/4"

Condition notes: it's all-original throughout and the finish is in pretty good shape. I modified the bridge slightly by lightly slotting the saddle to bring action down a hair. I also drilled tiny 1/16" holes through the top at the string slots for the bridge to allow for modern-style "through-top" stringing, which I've used. This places less pressure on the bridge and engages the top better, too. To use this method during stringing you send the string through the top at the bridge, pull it out the soundhole, and knot-through-knot the end until you have a ball-end. Snip any excess length and then pull it snug against the back of the top and then up to the tuner. Easy-peasy.

One last note... it has its original friction tuners. If you plan to travel around a lot with the uke, it's worth upgrading to some sort of geared tuners like the expensive Gotoh UPT units (the best: I have them on all my ukes) or the GraphTech geared units. Friction pegs work fine and hold pitch but it's good to have a screwdriver in the case with it in case the weather changes a lot and they start slipping and need some extra tension.

It comes with: its original gigbag.