Naturel 'Dogu' - Prehistoric Reclaimed Japanese Cedar/Bocote Tenor Ukulele - NAMM 2024

Naturel Ukuleles are the work of Yoshiro Naoki - an experienced Luthier that set up Naturel back in 2004 in Shikatsu, Nagoya but also worked for 18 years as a jewellery maker prior to building musical instruments. With 2024 being his 20th year in the ukulele industry he set about creating some special one offs with woods that would be unforgettable and unrepeatable. The waiting list in Japan for one of his instrument is currently 4 years but we managed to jump the queue with this ukulele which was built and featured at the 2024 NAMM show. The Naturel body shape is unconventional and manages to feel incredibly powerful and delicate. 

This Naturel tenor ukulele was for many the highlight of our NAMM roundup video with a list of other dealers putting themselves down for this instrument at the show itself. The intricate hand cut and inlaid Dogu fingerboard inlay is reference to pre-historic Japanese history. The Dogu's are tiny humanoid clay figurines that many believe were made as far back as 1000-400BC as effigies of goddesses or significant women of the region.

The nod to Japanese history is echoed in the wood the ukulele itself has an extremely rare Jindai Sugi ancient cedar top. Japanese cedar that has been perfectly preserved in the ground for thousands of years. Lignitized Japanese cedar like this is almost never found in instrument manufacturing as it is extremely rare, expensive and its pure and therapeutic aroma normally makes it popular with premium incense or perfume manufacturers. Japanese cedar is a fantastic old-growth wood for premium ukuleles because the tree in question can live for up to 2000 years, it ages wonderfully in the unique Japanese climate and naturally goes a light coffee brown colour as the acidic soil of Japan dyes it differently to American or Spanish cedar.

The age of this wood has a wonderful effect on the tone of the instrument. It rings out with confidence and a beautiful sustain and doesn't bite or over compress when you play hard like a modern straight grained cedar tree might. When we saw this ukulele at NAMM we felt like we were looking at the beautifully reconstructed remains of a pirate ship. It has so much character that you can't help but admire it. The addition of Naturel's unique body shape the ornate inlays only enhance the visual impact of the wood itself.

The back and sides of this ukulele are South American bocote. Bocote is a wood Naturel have favoured for many years, it's a medium heavy - stiff wood which replicates the character of Indian rosewood and pao ferro. It is most similar in tonal quality to ebony acting almost transparently not to colour the true tone of this ukuleles ancient cedar top.

This ukulele is among the most distincive pieces of musical instrument art we have ever seen. For the same price as a production Kamaka koa tenor ukulele - this is a fantastic one off piece that will titillate and fascinate ukulele players for generations to come. The fact that Yoshiro Naoki is part of a dying breed of luthiers who build instruments with just hand tools instead of CNC machinery adds to the mystique... this instrument took hundreds of hours to build and thousands of years to mature to this point. My favourite part is the gorgeous figured and inlayed soundhole rosette which would be the centre piece of 99% of ukuleles - here it isn't as instantly admired as your eye will always be drawn first to the stunning top and dogu inlay!

Specification:
Solid ancient lignitized Japanese jindai cedar top
South American bocote back and sides
Gabon ebony fingerboard and bridge
Bone nut and saddle
Gotoh UPT planetary tuners
Clear fluorocarbon strings
Ebony front and back binding
High gloss finish (lightly buffed back so very light gloss)
36mm nut width (29mm string spacing at nut)
Pauo abalone inlays on top, fingerboard edge and headstock
'Dogu' inlay - hand cut and inlayed Dogu fingerboard motif
Spalted maple and abalone rosette
Fremont woodshell rectangular case