This week a look at a ukulele type I always enjoy - that is to say a hand built luthier instrument. This one comes from Sweden and is built by Gustaf Wettermark at Bagarmossens Ukulelemanufaktur.
That name signifies two things. Firstly, Bagarmossen is a district of south east Stockholm, Sweden and the 'Ukulelemanufaktur'.. well, you can work that out for yourselves! Gustaf tells me he a 'hobby' builder, a term I always treat with extreme caution when I am dealing with builders who say that - mainly because they tend to turn out to be wonderfully skilled creators for which the 'hobby' term I feel devalues their work. Anyway, lets just say 'small' builder, low production, sideline in this case. I've been seeing a few of his builds crop up on the socials for some time and it seems clear to me there is some serious skill going on with his work.
Looking at his stuff i've seen he's built a variety of scales, but he told me he wanted me to take a look at a sopranino he was due to be working on. In fact he told me this was a bit more of a special project as he had some space in the calendar and wanted to build what HE wanted. I mention that because whenever I review luthier built ukes you need to bear in mind that I am just looking at one example of their work. Usually these instruments are not 'off the peg' nor are you forced to get one 'just like this'. A luthier review is more a review of their skill than just the instrument at hand. In fact when we get to the price, this is a bit more of a 'special case' too as his base starting prices are much lower.
SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW
Lets look closer. This is a short scale uke at 12 inches nut to saddle (so not hugely smaller than a standard sop), and made from solid walnut... in fact there is a LOT of walnut in this one. Gustaf explains he usually builds his sopraninos in something like cherry wood but had some nice walnut he wanted to work with. So this is a double bout sopranino made from solid walnut pieces for the top back and sides. Looking at some of his photographs, it looks like the sides on these are formed in a thick ring and then they have a much thinner single piece top and back applied to complete the sound box. Whilst that's not quite the same as builds from a brand like Bonanza, they too had thick sides and to my ear sounded just great leading me to wonder just how much input the sides have a on a ukulele. Of course, those who know their old instrument history will know that Orville Gibson built arch-tops and mandolins this way and it avoids bending or the need for top and back linings. It also looks like the neck, whilst a separate piece is built 'in to' the top of the body with a joint. Interesting. The wood grain is simple, but very attractive in a coffee brown which I think looks just great, particularly on the sides. I also love the thin depth from top to back. It's a cute little thing!
The bridge is a through style, very tidily made and finished in rosewood. Some people saw the early pictures and thought it looked big but it's not - remember this is a very small bodied instrument. That holds a straight topped bone saddle in a dedicated slot and the spacing here comes in at about 37mm.
On first glance the decoration looks simple when it's actually not. The top at a distance looks like it has a dark wood binding strip around it, but when you get in closer you see this is rope binding made from lots of alternating pieces of ebony and rosewood. And the rosewood when you catch it in the right light really glows red. Understated but interesting when you know what you are looking for. I think it's wonderful. The body gets nothing else and is finished in a very traditional hand rubbed shellac. The other thing you will notice on the body is the jack socket in the base as Gustaf has fitted a simple passive pickup which uses a soundboard spot transducer. Small instrument, simple pickup, minimal weight - exactly the right choice!
There's not much to see inside on account of those thick sides, so no linings needed. The braces are simple and tidy and the bridge has an under plate.
The neck is made from a single piece of walnut which looks like it's natural extension from the body as I say above, but that's clever jointing I think and the back piece hides the connection. It's finished in more shellac and feels great tapering to a 35mm nut and 27mm between outer strings. It also has a very comfortable veloute carved into the neck where the headstock starts. I love those.
The neck is topped with a rosewood fingerboard with more subtle but clever decoration like the body. Down the middle of the neck is more ebony and red rosewood pieces with a more obvious paler chevron on the 10th space. I'd like this to be a bit more obvious, but that is really nit picking. Down the sides there is more rope binding with a paler piece at the 7th to act as a fret marker. Very clever. It's fitted with 12 frets to the body which are extremely skinny and dressed impeccably with hand done semi hemi ends. This is seriously good work.
Beyond the bone nut is a very simple but attractive headstock again with the ebony and rosewood trim which sets it off nicely.
The tuners on this example are the impeccable Gotoh UPT in gold with black buttons. Flawless!
Being something of a 'special edition' Gustaf explains he had enough walnut to make a coffin case for it too, with a beautiful red velour lining and more of the ebony and rosewood binding trim. It's awesome and probably had as much work as the uke! You also get a handmade 'fretboard' keyring which holds the keys to lock the case. What a lovely pairing making it a real 'treasure' instrument.
He's finished the uke with The Tin Man's Magic Ukulele strings (flourocarbon) which is a nice choice and he suggests tuning in D which I understand on a sopranino, though you could play around with others. And for this example we are talking a premium over his standard sopraninos which start at €325. This one has an asking price of €585, but you know what? I still think that is great value. This is all hand made in Europe with serious work in the decoration, case, fret work, polishing, UPT's. I totally get it.
The build here is both excellent and clever with a lot of attention to detail. As I always say with luthier builds there are one or two tooling marks here and there, but remember that this is all done by hand, not a robot so you will expect those - in fact i'd prefer it - it makes it feel more real. Saying that, this is on the tidier side for luthier work I have seen and that ropework and frets in particular are spectacular. It's not the lightest sopranino I have held at 420g, but that hardly makes it a heavy instrument. It's also super comfortable to hold without a strap and balances perfectly.
Basics first and two things that some of the big brand sopraninos can fail at is volume and sustain. I think it's because some of the factory sopraninos can be over built and that coupled with the smaller amount of body real estate can choke them. Some luthiers though can show what can be done though, and it's the case here. The volume punch is terrific, and whilst sustain will always be lower on a sub soprano it's not too bad here at all. I love how lively it feels in the hands and you can feel every note.
Tone wise it's also sometimes hard to describe sopraninos as the higher tuning can make it hard to sense tonal signatures amidst the brightness. This one certainly has a bright zingy tone, but I am sensing some woodiness too and a very pretty harmonic chime when you strum it. It's very pleasant and naturally peppy and jangly when strummed, but a word about accuracy too. The smaller you go with a fingerboard the harder it is to dial in the intonation. Things are terrific here right up the neck (when you ignore my fluffed playing). It's a very clear, crisp and precise sound which shows the credentials in the build. Sopraninos are not for everyone of course due to that brightness and whilst it's a bit too much for my personal tastes, I know many fans of these tiny instruments and this is clearly an accomplished one.
Tone wise it's also sometimes hard to describe sopraninos as the higher tuning can make it hard to sense tonal signatures amidst the brightness. This one certainly has a bright zingy tone, but I am sensing some woodiness too and a very pretty harmonic chime when you strum it. It's very pleasant and naturally peppy and jangly when strummed, but a word about accuracy too. The smaller you go with a fingerboard the harder it is to dial in the intonation. Things are terrific here right up the neck (when you ignore my fluffed playing). It's a very clear, crisp and precise sound which shows the credentials in the build. Sopraninos are not for everyone of course due to that brightness and whilst it's a bit too much for my personal tastes, I know many fans of these tiny instruments and this is clearly an accomplished one.
So it's a delight to be able to bring you yet another great home grown luthier, and a second one from Sweden too. There ain't half some talented people out there and i'm lucky to get to experience them. If you are a luthier build fan, then Gustaf needs to go on your shopping list to speak to. He's got the skills!
Highly recommended!
You can see more of his work on this Facebook page or his Insta, or contact through his website. Links below
UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP
Model: Bagarmossens Ukulelemanufaktur
Scale: Sopranino
Body: All solid walnut
Bridge: Rosewood, through style
Saddle: Bone
Spacing at saddle: 37mm
Finish: Shellac
Neck: Walnut
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Frets: 12
Nut: Bone
Nut width: 35mm, 27mm between outer strings
Tuners: Gotoh UPT
Tuners: Gotoh UPT
Strings: Tin Man's Magic Ukulele Strings
Extras: Passive pickup, hand made wooden case, key-ring
Country of origin: Sweden
Weight: 420g
Country of origin: Sweden
Weight: 420g
Price: €585
UKULELE PROS
Wonderfully cute look
Great tone woods
Extremely talented and clever decoration
Some of the best fret work i've seen
Superb tuners
THAT case!
Great volume
Great volume
Decent sustain
Great clarity and accuracy
Very fair price
UKULELE CONS
Nope!
UKULELE SCORES
Looks - 9.5 out of 10
Looks - 9.5 out of 10
Fit and finish - 9.5 out of 10
Sound - 9 out of 10
Value for money 9.5 out of 10
OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9.4 out of 10
Value for money 9.5 out of 10
OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9.4 out of 10
UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW
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