There has been a resurgence in building and playing Ukuleles in recent years. One of the artists responsible for this is Jake Shimabukuro. A video posted on YouTube a few years ago went viral, and the Uke was rediscovered. See Jake's video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puSkP3uym5k . Ukulele players commonly bring their personal instruments to ukelele concerts and at certain times are invited to join in playing along with the guest musician. That sounds like a lot more fun than your usual concert.
Michael Dresdner (formerly of Tacoma Guitars and Martin Guitars) has introduced ukulele building with Cold-Bend tonewoods to the DIY retail market and runs classes and a website called Rainy Day Ukes, www.rainydayukes.com . Michael offers a kit for building a ukulele that includes Cold-Bend tonewoods for the sides. A gallery to the right has images from one of his classes. Contact Michael for supplies for ukulele building at janeandmichael@msn.com . Michael is also an industry expert on wood finishing and you can follow his blog called "Straight Talk About Wood Finishing" at www.michaeldresdner.com . For volume purchasing needs of Cold-Bend tonewoods, contact chris.mroz@puretimber.com 1-253-988-2046
Uke links - Personal Picks (please submit yours to chris.mroz@flutedbeams.com)
Jake Shimabakuro (Ukulele) and Chris Burgan (Guitar)
