1920s Schoenhut Soprano Banjo-Ukulele

Schoenhut ukuleles are not uncommon and this version of them is the most common. It's a lot like the simpler Harmony-made "California-style" banjo-ukes but... less-well-made. That doesn't mean it's bad but it's just very plain-vanilla for a banjo-uke.

At times I wonder if these were made by Globe Manufacturing and at other times I think they're simple Harmony products made with the dictate of, "make them as cheap as possible." Click here to see a nearly-identical Schoenhut and here for a sopranino one.

That said, after sprucing this guy up, it sure is a cute little thing and very slim and lightweight, too. I righted some of its design flaws and now it's got a great sound for recording... or stuffing in a backpack and pulling-out on treks.

The worst design flaw in this design is that the inner part of the rim (where the head rests) is often routed-out too flat and so the head "rattles" almost like a sitar string on its mounting edge without some sort of damping or added-tonering intervention. I've remedied that by stuffing (drum-like) damping foam all the way around where the head meets this part of the rim. It works great and I wish I'd thought of it sooner for other ukes with the same problem.

As you'd expect, it now plays spot-on fast and is ready to go.

Repairs included: fret level/dress, extra bolt for neck joint attachment, replacement (1920s) bridge, new Tune-A-Lele 4:1 geared pegs, "string tree" downpressure bar at headstock, new bone nut, side dots, etc...

Rim wood: poplar

Tonering: none

Bridge: maple 2-foot

Fretboard: part of the neck

Neck wood: poplar

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

Neck shape: medium D

Board radius: flat

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: low/small

Scale length: 13"

Nut width: 1 3/8"

Head diameter: 5 1/2"

Resonator diameter: 7"

Depth overall at rim: 1 1/4"

Weight: 13 oz

Condition notes: clearly it's a bit beat-up and has some non-original components, but it's ready to go. There are a couple tiny pinholes in the original skin head but it's stable. The headstock would have had wood pegs or friction pegs to begin-with but the new GraphTech units are much nicer to have and represent $25 worth of kit. I can't stand ukes with friction pegs anymore so I doubt my customers can, either...