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Signature Models
I get to meet and hear lots of incredible ukulele oriented musicians as part of my work. Many have become close friends. Some of them have purchased a DaSilva ukulele. And every now and then, some of them have commissioned custom instruments where I get to collaborate with the artist to build a special ukulele.
Development of these instruments involved discussions with the artist about their music and playing styles, desired tone, unique playability requirements and personalized aesthetic requests. The result each time has been an instrument that challenged my creativity, taught me new building skills and inspired tonal and decorative improvements in subsequent instruments.
These Signature Models are testimony to the power of collaboration as after my work is done, the musicians continue the effort with their virtuoso performances.
All Signature Models can be duplicated for purchase. Call for info.
DaSilva Ukulele Co.
2547 8th Street, Suite 28
Berkeley, CA 94710
510 649-1548
email: mike@ukemaker.com
Copyright
@ 2007 Michael DaSilva
All Rights Reserved
Pops Bayless & #063- Lucky Lady
I met Pops at the 2004 Midwest Uke Fest in Indianapolis and was immediately drawn to his infectious humor and musical style. Mostly indescribable, his music is wonderfully irreverent, always tells a story, and draws you in with toe-tapping rhythms , creative lyrics and spot-on musicality and technique. If you don't have the Shorty Long CDs or have not seen him live, your ukulele journey is not complete. Check out Pops and Shorty Long at http://www.shortylong.com.
After a quick agreement to work on a uke, I delivered #63 at the 2005 Midwest Uke Fest. Somehow Pops' character inspired the dice-rolling theme of the Lucky Lady. The look is reminiscent of a vintage LeDomino ukulele and once the decision was made to use salvaged redwood for the top, the recycled ivory inlays, fossil ivory parts and mother-of-pearl and silver decoration just made sense. Salvage redwood comes from trees that sunk decades ago in the rivers used to transport the logs to market. Lying in the cold, oxygen starved environment for so many years colors the wood and changes its properties. This wood rings like glass and combined with the dense ziricote back and sides, produces a powerful tone. I had trouble letting this one leave the shop, but it is now certainly in its proper home.
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Boulder Acoustic Society
Sometime in 2005, several friends headed down to Santa Cruz for the monthly Ukulele Club meeting. The next day each of them excitedly called or emailed about the incredible band they had witnessed. They encouraged me to get in touch with Boulder Acoustic Society and book them for a concert at the shop. A few months later, in February 2006, the band came to the shop to visit and play a show. Aaron Keim, Brad Jones, and Kailin Yong, the uke players in the group, were like kids in a candy store. Brad's regular uke was in need of repair so he borrowed my thin-body tenor for the concert. Somehow, as they headed on to their next tour stop the next day that uke went with them. But they did commission an instrument for each of them before they left.
I still can't believe my fortune in having these guys play my ukuleles. While each is a comparable master of the instrument, they have very distinct musical and playing styles. It was both a challenge and a pleasure to come up with instruments tailored to their individual requirements.
If you have not experienced Boulder Acoustic Society, please check them out at http://www.boulderacousticsociety.net.
Aaron Keim & #080 Concert
Aaron likes mahogany. So we found some very curly mahogany for a concert uke. Paying homage to Martin, we dressed it up with tortoise-shell binding. And the peghead inlay on all the ukes was designed by Kailin. Since all the Boulder Acoustic Society instruments are intended for performances on the road, Peghed tuners for ease of tuning and B-Band transducers and pre-amps are standard equipment.
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Brad Jones & #086 Tenor
Brad plays big. His flat-picking ukulele style is quite something. The tenor scale is best matched to Brad's screaming cross-picking and his flying scale runs. The spruce top/koa back and side combination was chosen to deliver a strong pure tone and maximum projection. The herringbone rosette and guitar-like styling reflects Brad's continuing connection to his main instrument, the guitar.
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Kailin Yong & #088 Concert
The only thing I enjoy more than Kailin's uke playing is his violin playing. And thus I wanted to relate his ukulele to his main instrument. So we used the same woods that go into the typical violin. Highest quality spruce for the top, fiddle- back maple for the back, sides and neck. We did forego the traditional red violin varnish so we could show off the wood.
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Michelle Kiba & #083 Tenor 6-String
My
favorite memory of Michelle Kiba, as I was working backstage at the
Midwest Ukefest in 2004, is the look on her face as she is exiting
the stage after successfully headlining the final concert thinking that
she closed out a terrific show only to realize that all was not over
because surprise guest, Jake Shimabukuro (yes, that is him in the photo)just passed her as he came on
stage! Since getting
to know her then, Michelle has been a great friend and supporter.
She has played several concerts and teaches ukulele playing at the shop
and we always have fun running into each other at
ukulele events across the country. While her musical talent,
extensive Hawaiian repertoire and her consummate ability as a music
educator makes her one of the best ukulele entertainers and teachers
today, it is her joyful attitude about everything she does that makes
her special. If you don't know of her, here is a good place
to start -
http://www.ukalady.com.
It did take a while to decide what to build for Michelle. She has played an 8-string on stage for several years as it provides a big sound for her Hawaiian style of playing. So, a little soprano, concert or even a 4-string tenor was not going to be enough for her. We decided a 6-string tenor would be perfect. The octave setup on the C and A strings broadens the sound tremendously without having to go to a low G string which would change the voice of the ukulele. Of course I had to dress up the instrument appropriately, so there is dramatic koa and abalone everywhere. Outfitted with a B-Band pickup and pre-amp, this ukulele is performance ready.
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