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Custom, Handmade M.J. Franks Concert Ukulele Review

by Brett McQueen

As many of you know, this past year was a busy one for me between writing Ukulele Exercises For Dummies and continuing to provide support and instruction in my online ukulele course Ukulele Strumming Tricks. To celebrate and reward myself, I treated myself to a new ukulele made by my friend, the master and world-renowned luthier, Mike Franks.

Needless to say, I’ve been really enjoying the new ukulele (!), and I wanted to tell you all about it. I’m also getting a lot of questions about it after playing it in one of my recent video lessons 5 Effective Strumming Patterns for Beginners, which I hope to help answer here.

MJ Franks Concert Ukulele

My new M.J. Franks concert ukulele

For the last couple years, I’ve been playing a mahogany tenor-sized ukulele crafted and made by M.J. Franks (read about that here). I love the tenor size because it’s great for my larger fingers and hands, and it’s pretty versatile because you can tune it to low G tuning. This gives the ukulele a deeper, fuller sound. I think the tenor ukulele often sounds the best in low G tuning.

The problem I’ve run into though is that I want low G tuning, but I also want the ability to play in standard tuning. There’s something about standard tuning that gives you that classic ukulele sound. I’ve known for awhile that I’ve needed to get another ukulele to have the best of both worlds.

Since I’ve had such a great experience with my M.J. Franks tenor ukulele, I called up Mike Franks last year to see if I could hire him to build me a custom concert-sized ukulele.

Custom M.J. Franks Concert Ukulele Specifications

MJ Franks Concert UkuleleThe great thing about working with Mike is that you can customize a ukulele exactly to your liking. If you aren’t sure what you want, just let Mike’s expertise guide you.

Here is the ukulele Mike built me:

  • Brazilian rosewood back, sides, fretboard, bridge, headstock, and headplate
  • Redwood top
  • Honduran mahogany neck
  • Bone and nut saddle
  • Hand-cut paua abalone shell inlay for fretboard and purfling
  • Mother of pearl headplate inlay

Needless to say, Mike pulled out all the stops on this one! I can honestly say this ukulele is one of the finest crafted and best sounding instruments I’ve ever played.

One of the coolest parts about this ukulele is the very unique story behind the redwood top. I had to ask Mike to explain the details of the story to me:

“In the 1990s, a tonewood supplier named Craig Carter salvaged redwood trees which were blown down over the years from storms and such. Craig happened upon a log which had fallen across a ravine. The portion suspended in the air proved to have such exceptional tonewood qualities that he named it the “Lucky Strike” or “LS”. The LS tops are legendary and have sold for more than $1,000. You can read about the LS tops here or Google “Craig Carter LS”. I was lucky to obtain a piece of LS redwood that was not big enough for a guitar top but yielded a few ukulele tops. As far as I know, there are only 2 ukuleles with LS tops, yours & mine!”

As you can tell, this is quite a special instrument. It has exactly that classic ukulele sound I was looking for. It’s bright, lively and warm. The tone is crisp when strummed and crystal clear when fingerpicked. The intonation is spot on and it is tremendously easy to play up and down the fretboard (Mike hand-carved the neck and fretboard).

MJ Franks Concert Ukulele

“LS” redwood top and Brazilian rosewood back and sides

Here is a video of me playing “Ain’t She Sweet” on the new ukulele:

If you are looking to invest in an heirloom-quality, custom ukulele, I highly recommend working with Mike. I’ve heard from many of you who have had Mike build you a ukulele and have had a wonderful experience. You can find him on the web at M.J. Franks Guitars, his Facebook page here, or just give him a call at 586-703-2700.

Scroll down for some more pictures of the construction of the ukulele and the finished product from my time touring Mike Franks’ workshop.

MJ Franks Concert Ukulele construction

Construction of the new ukulele in the beginning stages; plus, Mike Franks playing an old Martin ukulele

MJ Franks Concert Ukulele construction
MJ Franks Concert Ukulele construction

It’s coming together. This was before the gloss finish was applied.

Mike Franks' workshop

Mike Franks putting the final touches on the saddle

MJ Franks Concert Ukulele

Brazilian rosewood back and sides

MJ Franks Concert Ukulele
MJ Franks Concert Ukulele

I couldn’t be happier. Thanks, Mike!

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    30 Comments

    1. Tony

      Brett…you look totally happy with your new ‘ukulele. It’s gorgeous! And you can sing too…Keep it coming, buddy. Very inspirational stuff from you…A Thailand fan.

      Reply
      • Brett McQueen

        Thanks, Tony!

        Reply
    2. Todd Shuster

      Beautiful instrument. Makes me jealous. You failed to mention the super cool PegHead tuners! How do you like them?

      Reply
      • Brett McQueen

        You are right! Completely forgot about mentioning those. I can’t remember what kind of tuners they are, but they are awesome. Very accurate and give me a lot of room to get the string tuned to the right pitch.

        Reply
    3. Colleen Kronman

      after you described the redwood that was harvested and used as well as the tonal quality-I can only assume that your luthier, Mr Franks, is producing the equivalent of a Stradivarius as far as Ukes go. Congratulations on your books and your success!

      Reply
      • Brett McQueen

        Thanks, Colleen!

        Reply
    4. Isobel Rose

      SOOOO nice Brett, you do deserve it!

      Reply
      • Brett McQueen

        Thanks, Isobel!

        Reply
    5. yukio okuda

      i ordered one of your book a few months ago but is still waiting

      Reply
      • Brett McQueen

        Yikes! Sorry to hear this. Where did you order it from?

        Reply
    6. Frances

      Hi Brett,
      what a great uke, lovely sound
      you look so pleased
      I recently treated myself to custom instrument too
      It’s not yet arrived but I’ve ordered a novelty uke from Celentano Woodworks
      I’ll send you a pick when I get it – should be some time in November

      Reply
    7. Arnold Drenth

      Brett, Lovely looking instrument and a clean bright sound. Tell me why you chose friction pegs rather than machine heads – people generally say machine heads are easier to tune and hold the note more successfully. The pegs look lovely, and since they work for classical string players, I’m sure they’re good. Is it just us beginners for whom machine heads are a better choice? Thanks, Arnold, Sao Paulo.

      Reply
      • Brett McQueen

        Hi Arnold, great question. I asked Mike the same thing. I really liked the look of the pegs, which is why I wanted them, but I was concerned about the tuning. Mike assured me that tuning wouldn’t be an issue. He used some high-quality pegs on the instrument (I’m not sure of the brand). I was surprised by how easy it was to tune accurately and how well the tuning holds.

        Reply
    8. Snookybc

      Hey Brett!
      What a lovely treasure! Very interesting! Thanks for sharing! You do such a great job of everything!

      Reply
    9. Keithmj

      Nice ukulele Brett. It sounds nice. I might be wrong but the tuners look like they might be the ones called Pegheads, which are a quality tuner. I also enjoy your site and book. Just wished I had a signed copy of it. Keep up the good work.

      Reply
    10. Patricia Olivares

      Hi Brett, you made me smile. I loved the song. Thank you for sharing. Congrats on the new custom UKE she is beautiful!

      Reply
    11. Dan

      This looks absolutely stunning. Even more so than some of the higher end Kala ukuleles I`ve seen. Great work!

      Reply
      • Brett McQueen

        Thanks, Dan! Mike did a fantastic job.

        Reply
    12. Danny C

      Thanks a million for your website. I just bought my first and second Ukuleles and learning to play with your help. Your site in a word is “amazing”…………

      Reply
      • Brett McQueen

        Thanks, Danny!

        Reply
    13. Linda Sonna

      I’ve been trying to learn to play an instrument on and off during my entire life without success – first the piano, then the guitar, then the piano again, then a banjo, then Israel’s “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” inspired me to try the uke. At age 62 1/2 I signed up for your online lessons. Six months later I finished Lesson #13, and I can now play a dozen songs cool songs with the chords I learned, and I’m even picking a bit, This weekend I fulfilled my lifelong dream of “jamming” with some musician friends, and I was actually able to keep up! Thanks so much for your wonderful course!

      Reply
      • Brett McQueen

        Linda, that’s so great to hear! I’m thrilled to hear about the progress you’ve made and the success you are having. Keep up the great work!

        Reply
    14. Kelli Thurber

      Hi Brett,
      What a beautiful instrument! It sounds very bright and warm at the same time. I’m wondering if you’ve given our new ukulele a name, as is the Hawaiian custom. My first ukulele is a Lanikai soprano, and I named it Hau’oli, which means happiness in Hawaiian. It’s aptly named, because that little ukulele has brought me many hours of joy. After I’d been playing long enough to know I would want to play ukulele for the rest of my life, I treated myself to a wonderful Maui Music concert ukulele made by Peter Leiberman. It’s my pride and joy. I named it Koa, which means warrior and is also the type of wood it’s made of. Kelli also means “warrior woman” in Celtic, so there you go. Hope your new ukulele brings you much happiness!

      Reply
      • Brett McQueen

        That’s really cool, Kelli!

        Reply
    15. Michael Vassallo

      Hey Brett,
      What a neat and sweet unit! There is something really special about the beautiful patterns on the back of the Uke, and the way that the high gloss finish adds so much more depth to the pattern.
      I’ve not yet found anyone who could provide a really good understanding of the benefits of using a low G. Each time I see/hear a comparison, they never seem to play the same song (comparing apples to apples). Could you do a video of the same song with a low G?
      Thanks for everything – particularly your constant enthusiasm.
      Michael Vassallo, Melbourne, Australia

      Reply
      • Brett McQueen

        Hi Michael, thanks for the compliments on the ukulele! I’ll keep your suggestion in mind. I do have some performances playing a low G tuned ukulele. The most notable from me would be “Hallelujah”: http://www.ukuleletricks.com/hallelujah-jeff-buckley-ukulele-chords/

        Reply
    16. Eduardo

      Hi Brett,

      From what I see in the pictures there’s nothing like having your own hand crafted instrument!
      You’ve got a high quality instrument there. I can tell Mike constructed your uke with great precision and attention to detail. Definitely enjoy your uke with the one of a kind wood it has. New uke, new year!

      I’m actually a multi-instrumentalist from New York City .Your one of the reasons why I picked up the uke! So I want to say a big thank you Brett!

      BTW – I clicked on the link to Mike’s website and it timed out, I think you need to add an s after guitar in the url.

      Happy New Year Brett!
      Best regards,
      Eduardo

      Reply
      • Brett McQueen

        Thanks, Eduardo, for the compliments on the ukulele! I’m thrilled I could provide some inspiration to pick up the ukulele. Thank you for your kind words. Also, I have fixed the URL link.

        Reply
    17. Geoff

      Lovely instrument Brett.
      What key was Ain’t She Sweet in please?
      Geoff

      Reply
      • Brett McQueen

        I played it in the key of C!

        Reply

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      Brett McQueen is the founder of Ukulele Tricks and author of the internationally-published book Ukulele Exercises For Dummies. He teaches thousands of people from around the world to play ukulele in a non-intimidating, easy-to-follow style. Read more.

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