It's An Ill Wind That Blows No Good
We just found out that the La Connor Guitar Festival 2020 has been cancelled. That makes us sad. However, it is not all bad news.
We were making another western red cedar topped Saddle Pal from our 20 year old stash of cedar tops, with koa back and sides for La Conner - and continuing the Celtic theme. The guitar is very similar to the one we made for the BIG 2020 Festival that was cancelled. After BIG was officially cancelled and that instrument was released for sale, it lasted 2 days. The first person to play it became its new owner. This instrument is not completed, but it is now for sale. We are very backed up right now with work. This is a chance to jump the line, and own a Saddle Pal.
In Progress Photos
Top Bracing
Cedar Top Being Finished
Top Bracing
As unconventional as a Saddle Pal rosette may look at times. The bracing is not so unconventional at all.
Inside
Cedar Top Being Finished
Top Bracing
The double sides are maple finished with a Celtic pattern in keeping with the rosette.
Cedar Top Being Finished
Cedar Top Being Finished
Koa Back Undergoing Finishing
We use a special algorithm to select all our tops for the perfect density and stiffness. We carefully measure the Young's modulus, density, and longitudinal resonant frequency of all wood we are considering as guitar tops.
Koa Back Undergoing Finishing
Koa Back Undergoing Finishing
Koa Back Undergoing Finishing
The weight and resonant properties of koa seem to work extremely well for our Saddle Pal model.
Rosette and Side Ports
Koa Back Undergoing Finishing
Back, Side, Ebony Binding
A long laborious process of listening and measuring the spectrograms of the various modes of vibration of the guitar is done to achieve final voicing and determine final port sizes.
Back, Side, Ebony Binding
Koa Back Undergoing Finishing
Back, Side, Ebony Binding
And of course, in the end, it all has to look nice!
Two Lame Horse Komona Wanna Leiya Ukuleles
Both Solid Honduran Mahogany Top, Back, and Sides
We feel Honduran mahogany gives the best combination of bark and sweetness for the perfect ukulele sound.
One Tenor, One Concert
These ukuleles have almost exactly identical specifications, however, they are different sizes. One is the popular concert size, being slightly larger than a soprano uke. The other is a tenor, the next larger size up from a concert. Price -Tenor $799 - Concert $699
Specifications
Both of the instruments have a solid Honduran mahogany back, sides, and neck. They have rosewood binding, peg head overlay, fingerboard, and bridge. Both have geared Grover ukulele tuners with black buttons. Bone is used for the saddle and nut on both instruments. They both have cowgirl pinups on the back. These images are very durable. However, these images are also easily removed for anyone who just prefers a plain mahogany back to the graphic. A hardshell, green velour lined, faux alligator case is supplied with each instrument. Photos of the details of the instruments and cases are included below.
Learn the History of the Cowboy Ukes
Unlike our guitars and Gitjos which are all made in Texas, these ukuleles are made of imported parts, and only partly constructed by us in an effort to keep their price low. However, the quality of the uke and its sound is high.