So the next obvious step from collecting ukes (and by the way, my 3 ukuleles pale by comparison to some people i know who have dozens, and some people i know who own thousands of pounds worth of ukuleles)..... is to have one hand made for you.
I once had the pleasure of visiting a British luthier and spending a little bit of time in his workshop. Pete Howlett makes a lovely instrument, but its out of my league. His workshop inspired me though.
So if you cant afford to have one made for you, you think about doing one yourself.... NOTE - you are a fool if you expect to create anything like a professional luthiers instrument - that comes with years of experince and dedication - BUT its not impossible to create an instrument of sorts that makes a fair enough sound.
Pete produces a kit that enables you to build a uke without the jigs and specialist tools. And Stewart-Macdonald produce a nice kit too. For a $100 you can build an instrument worth twice that much. And ive seen some fine examples of homebuilt "Stewmacs". So building a quality ukulele yourself isnt impossible, but what i have always been rather curious about are the sort of instruments that a poor man builds. What does a man do for music when he cant even afford shoes for his children - im thinking here of coton picking slaves who despite repression and poverty, still managed to make instruments to make thier music with. Surely the ultimate homemade instrument is the one-string diddley bow - originally it would have been nailed across the doorstep of the porch - but have a look here at a simple one string diddley bow (incidently played here by Seasick Steve - I strongly recommend you look out for more of his perfomances) - notice the sound box on this instrument? Its a cigar box! a perfect size, good wood, nice resonance, and in plentiful supply from your cotton field land-master.
Which leads us nicely to the Cigarbox ukulele
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