10 - Ukulele Builders, Luthiers and Manufactures: O

Ono Ukuleles are handmade in my workshop in Ashland, Oregon. Although I am a "hobby builder," I take my craft very seriously. I probably have as many tools, jigs, forms and other equipment as many full-time luthiers. You can view a slideshow tour of my building process and workshop here. Being retired, I have the luxury of building at my own pace. This allows me to take all the time I need to achieve the stringent quality level that gives me great satisfaction.

Opal Instruments is a family run business. All Opal products are manufactured in our Pomona, California facility.

Scott Dordick is the founder and CEO of Opal Instruments. Scott has been designing and manufacturing products for the Aerospace, automotive and photographic industries for over 25 years. Scott has over 15 US Patents. After learning the ukulele. Scott decided to put his design experience to work, crafting an electric ukulele that would really rock. Subsequently, Scott met Sam Radding. Sam is a master luthier and has generously helped Scott refine his designs and techniques. The result? So great you have to hear it to believe it.

The "Outdoor Ukulele" is injection molded from glass fiber filled polycarbonate. This high-performance composite plastic creates a very strong structure with exceptional tonal quality. Outdoor Ukulele™ is a father and daughter manufacturer of composite polycarbonate instruments. Scott does the design, development, and assembly. Grace does the marketing, photography, and customer relations.

After working in a region that supported many luthiers, Zac discovered one particularly talented luthier that specialized in small stringed instruments. Working closely together they made their first ukulele.  This was during a time when the instrument market was being flooded with cheap Chinese knock offs. Thru this experience Zac immediately recognized the uniqueness and quality of an instrument that was made with the traditions and art  that had been passed down from generation to generation.

Welcome to "Ohana", where you will find the many hand-crafted ukulele models we offer - from soprano to baritone, mahogany to selected koa from the islands of Hawaii, conventional to vintage models, plus unique ones for those who are looking for something different.

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

O Kona Ukuleles & Guitars offers an extensive 10 week course with classes held on Saturdays that last for 4 hours. All material is provided to allow the student to build a professional quality 4 string tenor ukulele. Options are available for different types of instruments as well as numbers of keys and tonewood for the top.

The "Oscar Schmidt Company" was founded in 1871 and incorporated in 1911. By the early 1900s, the company had five factories in Europe and a factory on Ferry Street in Jersey City. They made all kinds of stringed instruments, guitars, banjos, mandolins, ukuleles, zithers, and Autoharps.

The Orca tenor ukulele prototype from the makers of Elixir Carbon Fiber Violins. We're a small shop located on San Francisco Bay in California. Literally on the Bay -- in a boat; a 60', 50 net ton steel trawler. All of our instruments are made one at a time, on the bench. When Robert Edney -- who developed the Elixir Violin -- got hooked on ukuleles it just had to happen: A new and different uke with great sound and maximum durability.

(from their site) We grew up listening to guitar music, spending hours learning our favorite songs, and playing in punk bands. Knowing the transformative influence of guitars in our own upbringing, we questioned how we can empower the next generation of musicians and create a community of music lovers. Our answer was to build a modern guitar brand that offers a simpler shopping experience to reinspire guitar culture. After spending 3 years researching, testing, and building, we released our first collection in April, 2018.