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Lefty

Probably not the most creative name I could think of but easily recognizable to those left handed players who are usually made to turn a right handed ukulele into a lefty. It has a dedicated left handed sound port, a left handed intonated saddle, a left handed clear pick guard and left handed position markers. I’ve been using a meandering placement lately for the aluminum markers so the fifth and twelfth fret markers are closer to a left handed player.

This isn’t just a nod to left handed players though. Lefty is a robust instrument with a rich, complex voice well suited to fingerstyle play but also much more than adequate when strummed. The redwood top is a major part of this. I have three of these special tops and this is the first ukulele with one. It’s not like other redwood that I’ve used before. It has more density and less tendency to split so it should be very reliable in service. And the tap tone… beauty doesn't begin to describe it. You’ll be carried along on its journey. One of those ukuleles that I’ve made which probably shouldn’t be for sale but then I’m a right handed player. (I had to string it up backwards just to test it out.)

The back, sides and head plates are ebiara, a West African hardwood that isn’t often seen on the market but is not on any endangered lists. It has a nice natural luster and a fairly coarse grain which I find appealing under a penetrating oil finish. The tap tone doesn’t ring like a rosewood and it’s not nearly as dense but it’s pleasant like some ebonies. The figure is what some would call ropey with darker streaks. Some even call it red zebrawood and it’s also known as berlinia. The neck is Khaya. Bindings are Macassar ebony, the bridge is African ebony and the fingerboard is Malaysian Blackwood which is also an ebony.

Like other recent builds Lefty has dual bolt on attachments for the neck. One is inside the body and the other also connects the strap button on the heel.

These are new tuners for me. I’ve always appreciated the quality of the Gotoh 510 tuners with their smooth operation and solid string posts. While they work fine on guitars they are too big for ukuleles in my opinion. So I was very pleased to see these smaller 510s with shorter posts which fit a ukulele nicely. They’re a dream.

The frets are Evo Gold with polished rounded ends. The strings are Worth BT with a GHS Winter Silver wound low G. Video clip. $2900

Out of Stock

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