30 - Ukulele Builders, Luthiers and Manufactures: B

Badley Made Ukes are meant to be played and enjoyed. We love to see these beautiful instruments and their music makers out and about. Please send us pictures of you and your uke and any special story you want to share.

I custom build and repair guitars in my own shop and I couldn’t be happier. I thoroughly enjoy creating these instruments. I pay absurdly close attention to detail, but the result is very worth the extra time. My work has become my meditation as well as my creative outlet. Without it, I would be lost. And without my friends, family, and the others who have believed in me and supported my endeavors, none of this would have been possible.

Offering a full line of ukuleles crafted from Wilsonart HiDef laminate. The unique sound will amaze.

We are located in township of Russell, a picturesque township in the Bay of Islands along the Northland coast of New Zealand. Russell is renowned both as a fishing centre and as a holiday town with many historical interest.

BanjoUke started in 2012 with a radical thought – that we two, Curt & Ed, could develop and make a great banjolele that people could afford.

One that sounded as good as it looked, at a price far less than anyone else. It was a big ask, but we were totally confident we could do it.

We worked for a year – made 10 different models until we were satisfied. Voila – Our first hand made BanjoUkes!

Every instrument is fully hand made from select timbers and finished to the highest of standards. Owning a hand built instrument made to your specifications is easier than you may think and happy to discuss your options and ideas for a custom built instrument. It’s just part of the service that you should expect when commissioning a build, or buying an instrument that I have in stock.

Aaron will be Beansprout Musical Instruments in early 2018.

If you are looking for a ukulele or banjo ukulele built by Aaron Keim, go to www.myamoe.com

In Hawaii, the Ukulele is an important part of the history and culture. It is the instrument that many Hawaiian school children learn, and continue to play throughout their lives. Bear Creek Ukuleles are precisely made, with sturdy but light construction, and fine detail. These are not miniature guitars. Every facet of the instrument is scaled down to the thicknesses and dimensions of the originals, creating a sound that is sweet, punchy and responsive. They’re made with Hawaiian Koa: either highly figured or straight grain Koa is available.

The manufacturer of "BeaverCreek Guitars" has over 30 years of experience in designing, building, and distributing instruments worldwide. They continue to manufacture for several well known and respected brand names in the music industry.

Beltona began as a partnership between Steve Evans and Bill Johnson in the UK in 1990. A luthier and engineer respectively and sharing an interest in resonator instruments, they set out to produce a couple of instruments for themselves replicating the best features of the originals but also making adjustments and improvements where they were needed.

No matter how you travel, it's still you going.

The company was started to fill a need in the market for reasonably-priced, very high quality solid koa ukuleles. Having roots deep in Hawaii in the forestry industry supplying Hawaiian koa to ukulele makers around the world, we felt we could capitalize on our ability to supply high quality koa at an affordable cost for our own line of instruments. Decades of experience in the wood industry working with some of the finest luthiers in the world gave us a special insight into and access to one of the most important parts of an instrument- the wood! You cannot ever build an excellent instrument if you don’t start with excellent wood.

Bill Tapia(tm) was celebrated worldwide as the 'Duke of Uke'. He performed with Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, and just about everyone who was anyone in the early Hawaiian music scene.

He taught ukulele to Shirley Temple, Clark Gable and many others from Hollywood's Golden Era. In Bill's hands, the ukulele became a magical instrument.

Now, you can create magic of your own. Built to Bill's exacting standards, Bill Tapia ukuleles will take you wherever you want to go, musically. Bill never compromised with his music and neither do his signature ukuleles.

Each instrument is hand-crafted, using rigorous construction methods to ensure great sound, high quality, and sublime playability.

After studying performance on saxophone and guitar in the University of Wisconsin system, Gordon Bischoff proceeded to receive training in violin repair in 1974 at Redwing Technical College in Redwing, Minnesota. Using the skills and techniques from that training and incorporating every bit of printed material available on the subject he went on to pursue his true interest...guitars.

My name is Duane Heilman, and I am a luthier and owner of Black Bear Guitars and Ukuleles, a one man shop located in Yakima, Washington, in the U.S. I have been designing, building, and repairing stringed instruments since 1991, and creating ukuleles since 1998. My designs and construction techniques have grown out of years of study and observation of vintage and modern ukes. I try to incorporate my own artistic sense into each instrument as well, and sometimes the results can be quite different and full of surprises -- even to me!

Blackbird Guitars was founded by Joe Luttwak and Kyle Wolfe and now includes fellow designer Troy Stevens. After years searching for a compact guitar worth bringing along for the ride, all they could find was thin sounding and fragile. Eventually they realized that none of the established companies would tackle this problem so they decided to do it themselves.

Bluegrass Ukuleles is a two man custom ukulele shop located in Louisville, KY. Playing and building over 40 years has brought us to a passion for building ukuleles. Although our specialty in the last few years has been cigar box tenors, we also build traditional ukes ranging from mahogany to koa wood.

John (Colly) Norman was born in the late 40’s and grew up in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida. “When I was 18, hanging around as a teenager in Miami, I had a friend named Skip Ruck whose brother was always in their parents’ garage building guitars. Though I never met the brother, the idea of building a musical instrument intrigued me throughout the next thirty five years of construction, custom woodworking, aviation, and other creative endeavors.”

Allen Woody and Bruce Herron co-designed the original Konablaster electric soprano ukulele using these scientific means: The body is a tracing of a canned ham, and the peghead is shaped like a Pineapple! Hawaiian fare at its best! The scale is 14" and is tuned either high G (re-entrant) tuning, or drop G.

Bohemian Guitars is an Atlanta-based guitar manufacturer that creates one-of-a-kind electric guitars, basses, mandolins, and ukuleles, using unconventional materials such as vintage oil cans and lunch boxes. Founded by brothers Adam and Shaun Lee who grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company was inspired by the resourceful residents of the local townships who re-purpose used materials into playable instruments.

Boulder Creek Guitars was the born from an idea that was developed over 15 years ago by Mike Shellhammer. Mike, having spent his life in the music industry as a musician, store owner and product developer felt that there was a better way to brace a guitar than what was considered standard.

As a pioneer in uke-innovation, Ray came to worldwide prominence by creating a ukulele out of a Campbell’s Soup can (The Warhol Soup-A-Lele) and inventing the “Lunchbox-A-Lele,” (a ukulele/lunchbox... suitable for playing and carrying your sandwich and music book) followed by appearances on numerous International, national and local TV, radio, Internet news programs and talkshows. His pieces have been featured and displayed the world-over in numerous art gallery and museum exhibits.

Breedlove Guitars was established in 1990 by luthiers Larry Breedlove and Steve Henderson, while working at Taylor Guitars. After moving to Oregon, Breedlove and Henderson began specializing in custom, fingerstyle six and twelve string guitars. In 1991 the first Breedlove guitar model appeared, after experiments with the JLD bridge truss system and various bracing techniques. Around 1994, Larry‘s brother, Kim Breedlove, joined Larry and Steve as a master craftsman. Breedlove strives to be environmentally conscious, and is “dedicated to selecting alternatives to endangered rainforest woods.” Breedlove has since expanded to include mandolins and ukuleles.

"Brian May Guitars" has a concert model ukulele, designed by the Queen guitar legend himself. With a body shape reflecting the double cutaway curves of May's iconic Red Special guitar, the antique cherry colour is also a nod to his famous instrument.

The Brian May Uke (usually £225 but currently with a special introductory price of £195 on the Brian May Guitars site) is constructed with sapele back and sides with a spruce top. It’s also ready for the stage with an under-saddle piezo pickup and Fishman KULA preamp.

To order or find out more visit www.BrianMayGuitars.co.uk

The Daluke (derived from Dale’s Ukuleles) journey began over a decade ago when Dale made his first ukulele. His goal has always to been to build from the finest of woods, displaying the beauty found in each piece. Although luthier techniques have many commonalities, Dale has developed his own unique building style including many jigs and tools to improve his craft.

There are more than 100 years of experience in every Brüko ukulele. The tradition of our family business began in 1890, when master luthier Alois Kollitz started producing violins and working up tone woods in Rothau (Sudetenland).

One-of-a-kind 4-string, 5-string violins & violas, mandolins, bows, acoustic guitars, ukuleles and unique accessories, hand made in the shop of Brunkalla Violins.

Since 1966, we have been serving the music community through our Retail Store, Repair Shop, Teaching Center and Manufacturing Facility. The heart of our business is focused on all things related to acoustic music. We specialize in, but are not limited to, Folk, Bluegrass, Irish, Native American and World music.

No matter how you travel, it's still you going.

We offer complete services in repair and restorations. We service guitars, violins, banjos, mandolins, ukuleles and most all stringed instruments. If you have any questions about our service please feel free to contact us.

Bushman Music Works, know as a harmonica company started a line of ukuleles, Bushman Ukulele. Later sold to a company in CA. No word on what's going on with the brand as of 2020.