Venue magazine

This month finds me in the Spring 2010 issue of Venue magazine. It is an excellent arts magazine for the east of England; showcasing artist, craftsmen, galleries, exhibitions etc. You can see a PDF of the article via my website’s “press” page

NAVA GUITARS | PRESS

Martin’s baritone uke

The construction of Martin’s baritone uke is now complete and it’s under going the finishing process. You can see the last few stages of its construction below. The uke is being finished in Tru-oil; this will give Martin the “organic” look that he’s after.

I have never been a great fan of mahogany instruments on a purely aesthetic basis; the factory guitars, which we are all used to seeing, always seem to be stained dark brown, cherry or black sunburst. However, French polish or oil in this case really does bring out the natural beauty of mahogany and I’m really enjoying using it. I’ve a number of mahogany back and sides sets that I’ve had in stock for many years and I’m looking forward to building with them now.

You may remember that I’ve decided to use Gotoh guitar tuners on the uke- Martin wanted ebony buttons so I got these Allparts buttons; they’re well made and nicely finished but so, so expensive! But as Martin said, you don’t want to spoil the ship for a hap’th of tar. The added bonus is that they are noticeably lighter than the original metal ones, which will, of course help the balance of the instrument.

Honduras rosewood

I’ve just got these two sets of Honduras rosewood in- one set will be for an OO size guitar that Geoff has commissioned. I bought two sets to allow Geoff the choice- the other set will be for stock- or maybe you!!