Uke Making for Guitar Makers

by Bob Gleason

Originally published in American Lutherie #96, 2008



Ukuleles come in a wide variety. You’ve probably seen pineapple and cigar box ukes, so you know they are traditionally less defined than guitars. The size of the uke is defined by the scale length. There’s a guy in Japan who plays a baritone-size body with a soprano scale length, but it’s still a soprano uke. The names of the sizes, from smallest to largest, are soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone. The first three are tuned the same (GCEA), while the baritone is tuned like the highest four strings of a guitar (DGBE).

Traditionally, the shapes of the bodies are roughly guitar-like, though various builders have taken severe liberties with the shapes without incurring the wrath of most uke players. Nothing about uke construction is engraved in stone.