Austere, classic soprano ukes, built light and loud, 1920s style.

The flagship Wunderkammer instruments, packing volume and clarity in spades, Soprano Ukuleles are offered in two flavours: Ike and May. Built in tribute to the playing of Roy Smeck, Cliff Edwards and other greats of the Ukulele Boom of the 1920s.

Although built with the great pop performers in mind, Ike's clear, punchy tone and precision up the neck have made it a popular choice in the contemporary Classical Ukulele scene.

All solid mahogany, with rosewood appointments. Waverley friction tuners as standard; other options available on request.

£895

I've produced many one-off Ike variants, click here to have a look at some flights of fancy.

A ringing, resonant 8-string Taro-Patch, also available as a conventional 4-string Concert Ukulele

The Taro-Patch Fiddle is not a common sight in today's market, but it is a valuable member of the ukulele family, offering more than the simple comfort and volume benefits associated with the 'upgrade' from Soprano to Concert. The double courses, unison-tuned throughout, give a unique 'reverb' effect, whether strummed or picked. I recommend it to you highly.

That said, in a four-string configuration the Glenwood does make a full-bodied, handsome Concert Ukulele. I particularly like it tuned down to fBbDG

All solid mahogany, with rosewood appointments. Waverley friction tuners as standard; other options available on request.

£1095 as a Taro-Patch, £949 as a Concert Ukulele

A big-bodied Tenor Ukulele with full, dry tone for popular and jazz styles. Ideal for lower tunings.

A tenor uke should be something more than just bigger - a different instrument with its own tone and applications.

When Martin introduced the Tenor they intended it to be tuned dGBE (like a modern baritone, but with a high 4th string), hence the name. I really like that sound, or at least a low G GCEA - either way, the Boswell's long 17" scale and big body make for a substantial physical presence, and its light fan bracing allows the tone to open up to a loud, warm, dry jazzy fullness.

All solid mahogany, with rosewood appointments. Waverley friction tuners as standard; other options available on request.

£1095

Also available as a Tiple, with ten steel strings, Torrefied Sitka Spruce top, deep 4" body and massive jangly sound!

£POA

Ladder bracing and floating bridge for volume and clarity that belies its petite frame, a Tenor Guitar that will hold its own in the fray.

Based on an instrument produced by Regal in the 1930s, the short scale on Ruby makes it a very playable melody instrument, suiting converts from Mandolin and Tenor Banjo. The combination of relatively heavy stringing and ladder bracing give it a direct, full tone lacking in many larger X-braced instruments.

In the 1930s these would tune high at CGDA, but Rubys sound great down in GDAE. Plectrum Banjo type tunings (CGBD / DGBE) are also possible.

Rubys can come in your choice of tonewoods, but I recommend Mahogany or American White Oak for the body and neck, with Torrefied Sitka Spruce for the top. The tuners are Planetary-geared banjo tuners.

£1495

Also available as a warm-voiced Baritone Ukulele, suited to both DGBE and octave-below gCEA tuning

£1195

A burly-voiced ladder-braced parlour guitar, for the performance of the Country Blues, and the accompaniment of Hillbilly fiddling.

Compact, but with a hefty punch! The floating bridge design and simple transverse top bracing prioritise volume, mids, and fundamentals. Subtle, it is not, but subtlety is not what every performance style requires!

Riley's aesthetics borrow from pre-20th Century Martins, 1920s Stellas, and the work of my great eccentric luthiery hero, Chris Knutsen.

Rileys can be built in a variety of wood choices, but my preference, for raw, thunky, 'instant-vintage' tone, is American White Oak and Torrefied Sitka Spruce, with a Walnut neck.

£1895

Building entirely by hand means when an idea takes my fancy, I can start work without having to make up moulds and jigs, and before I can talk myself out of some of my more whimsical ideas.

I spend a lot of time looking over vintage instrument catalogues and repair blogs - when I see something unusual that I like, it often becomes a Wunderkammer project.

These instruments pop up at Guitar and Ukulele shows, festivals, or if you happen to stop by my workshop in Radstock, Somerset, which you're more than welcome to do. Drop me a line.