Da Silva - Spanish Cedar/Primavera Custom Jumbo Tenor Ukulele #430 - NAMM 2024

Mike Da Silva is the father of the modern ukulele, and he has blessed us again with this custom jumbo tenor.

For over 20 years, Mike has operated a much revered ukulele workshop in Berkeley, California. His modern ukulele designs were adopted early on in the ukulele boom of the 2000's by James Hill. The James Hill model was one of the first of its kind; creatively glowing with inspiration and using thicker, bigger proportions for a tenor ukulele. Da Silva ukuleles sound and feel completely unique. Many of the modern ukulele designs that are known across the world take inspiration from Mike Da Silva's creation in some way or another whether its the Kala Contour series, Flight Ukes like the Fireball/Comet or even aNueNue. Many well known ukulele builders site Da Silva as an inspiration and we are delighted any time we hear that our commissions are at the front of the waiting list.

This custom jumbo tenor ukulele is one of the first of its kind; it features a Spanish cedar top and primavera back and sides. Primavera is a Central American white mahogany; extremely rare to find in instrument building. Mike has always championed the world of classical guitar in his ukulele builds and this ukulele suits a percussive or flamenco style player perfectly. Cedar and primavera offers you lots of snap, attack, depth, sustain and warmth. The jumbo body fits these woods perfectly too. This instrument has a huge voice and wants to sing. It's the kind of instrument that plays itself... It is totally understandable when you feel this why the likes of James Hill would perform with a Da Silva for nearly 20 years.

The decoration on this instrument is simple and designed by the earliest ukuleles with a maple and walnut rope style rosette and some very pretty tiger stripe curly maple front, back and fingerboard binding. Basically, this is the most classical guitar-esque ukulele we've ever had at Southern Ukulele Store. Someone is going to love this and cherish it every time they pick it up!

Specification:
Solid Spanish cedar top
Solid primavera back and sides
38mm nut width (31mm string spacing at nut)
Curly maple binding
Curly maple bound fingerboard
Curly maple faceplate
Gotoh UPT planetary tuners
Strung low G with wound 4th
Off set fret markers
Mahogany neck
High gloss finish
2 tier maple and walnut rope rosette
Pao Ferro fingerboard and bridge
Bone nut and saddle
Comes in a Freestyle hard case