Pete Howlett Tenor Revelator Shropshire Yew/Korina with hard case (Final Batch)

Pete Howlett has sold his revelator ukulele design and won't be making them in the UK anymore. We are very lucky to have got hold of one of the last UK-made Pete Howlett tenor revelators. We don't expect to hang on to it long... we're sure someone will jump at the chance to own such a stunner.

Lets talk about the yew he's used on this beauty! This European wood is abundant in the UK but hard to find in instrument grade woodsets because of its knotty and weathered look. When you do find a workable set like Pete has here, the results are fantastic. Structurally yew is a softwood like cedar but maintains a lot of its stiffness like Mahogany creating a warmer sound than most with plenty of bite and clarity when you play a strident single note.

I wish Pete had made more revelators out of this wood as it is a personal favourite of ours here at SUS going back over a decade and he remarked that the team involved in his final pop-up factory were all very excited about the wood he used to make our two instruments. Amazingly, this is only the 3rd uke we have ever seen at SUS with this wood so not only is it one of the final two Howlett made revelator instruments but it is made of an extremely unusual and complex wood that Pete has dabbled with over the years.

The revelator design has been a revelation for Pete Howlett in the twilight of his career. Having built various instruments since the early 90's both in the UK and the USA, Pete has been one of the marquee builders for UK luthiery and a pioneer for a different style of ukulele to the classic Hawaiian koa builds that dominated most of the 20th century.

Pete really hit his stride about 7 years ago indulging his creative side with lots of new and interesting designs, many of which found a home after we were blessed to feature them and sell them here at SUS. The revelator however has been extra special, offering a slimline professional gigging instrument to rival things like the Godin Multiuke and Pono solid bodies but with that touch of finesse ukulele players crave.

This yew top model has a korina body with a gorgeous figured korina neck. It's one of the finest examples of a Howlett revelator sounding vibrant and bell like. As with all revelators, its slimline design means it lacks about 20% of the volume a standard tenor has but all the tone is there you could ever need.

The yew top used has so much character, we can't get enough looking at it! Its seems a shame to keep it in its hard case (which incidentally is an ABS Risa case included with the instrument at no extra cost).

Specification:
Shropshire yew top
Korina body in one piece
Korina neck
Nautilus soundhole design
17'' tenor scale length
Matte finish
Strung high G GCEA with Worth Brown strings
Indian rosewood fretboard, faceplate and bridge
Pin bridge design with matching wooden pins
Corian nut and saddle
36mm fretboard width at nut, with 29.5mm G to A string spacing
Quality open geared tuners
Artec passive undersaddle pickup
Risa ABS hard case