MY STYLE
I believe that transparency is one of the most important things, which is why I want to explain in detail to customers my way of building instruments.
My main aim is to build quality ukuleles, optimizing the process in order to make them accessible to as many people as possible.
To do this it is naturally necessary to accept some compromises, which must be well explained to the customer, so that he/she can decide whether to accept them or not. These compromises refer to the main causes of the high cost of a handmade instrument:
- Construction time – for many builders this is usually around 100 hours. After years of practice with the traditional method, I worked to optimize it by redesigning certain critical parts of the instrument, and combining manual processes with CNC-assisted ones.
- Customization and decorations– customizing an instrument takes a lot of time, I decided to offer a range of original standard instruments, with few decorations to have a more fluid production cycle.
- Finishing – the artisanal finishes require an incredible amount of hours, while the industrial ones require suitable systems and environments, often unachievable for small craftsmen. I use minimal oil finishes, which are much quicker to use, but which do not have the hardness of industrial varnishes or the prestige of traditional luthiery finishes. On the other hand, they have a very pleasant velvety surface, are easily repairable and protect perfectly from humidity and dirt, lastly they drastically lower the final cost of an artisanal instrument.
- A bit of Wabi-Sabi – Wabi-Sabi is the acceptance of imperfection, but, as a perfectionist in my work, it is still difficult for me to embrace it in full. In the past I have re-made instruments from scratch many times because a small knot or imperfection in the wood appeared at the last moment: now I decided to only worry about the imperfections that can have a negative impact on the instrument, while leaving the harmless ones.
All these reasoning allow me to focus my efforts on the aspects that are most important to me, and to provide:
artisanal instruments with the very high sound quality, smooth playability, creative design
and a price significantly lower than that of a handcrafted instrument of equal grade.
PS. This is not to say that my method is better than the normal way of building ukuleles, it’s simply my method.
If you are interested in a 100% handmade instrument, with beautiful decorations, stunning exotic woods and possibility of customizations, I have many friends and collegues that can make you happy. I will gladly give you the contacts of these talented makers.