Need help identifying this Baritone Uke

[Steven D. Wilson]

Hello,

A gentleman brought in this older Baritone Uke to sell. It is fairly well made with Koa sides and Mahogany top, back and neck- all solid woods. The fretboard appears to be rosewood. He says it belonged to a guy who used to play on Oahu back in the late 1930s.

I am try to help identify the maker and come up with a value. The guys says there used to be a label inside, but it is long gone. There are no other marks or brands I can find. Does this look familiar to anyone? IF so, do you have a ballpark range for value?

Thanks,

Steve

[Frank Ford]

Looks like Harmony to me, 1950s, maybe - possibly later.  I don't see koa, just mahogany.  A Google search should provide you with some nice comparables.

[Ned Knepp]

 I don't think the sides are Koa. It looks like an all mahogany Harmony to me. I suppose it's completely possible that it was owned and played by a man from Oahu. A lot of people there play Ukulele. 1930's? I'd say more like the mid 50's to mid 60's. If it's what I think it is, the prices I see them selling for in good playing condition is somewhere around $80- $130.  Run a search on Ebay and see what you can see. I believe you will find several there to compare it to.

These are actually fairly nice baritones. They are solid wood and reasonable priced.  The pricing probably reflects the reality of fairly high volume of production on a model of Ukulele that some "purest" don't really consider a true ukulele (jumping Flea). Maybe a bit more of a "jumping" Goliath Beetle. Besides being large the real issue seems to be that they are not usually tuned with the re-entrant tuning of the smaller version of the instrument which, until fairly recently, seems to have been one of their defining attributes for a ukulele.  Their tuning and size make them something like a small, nylon strung tenor guitar. 

I have a baritone that I have used to experiment with steel strings from banjo set. It worked fairly well but I could probably do better with if I tweaked the string gauge AND, of course, changed the bracing so I don't destroy the top with too much tension. The steel helps with the somewhat washed out sound that I feel baritones have but I really didn't want to ruin a good instrument so I reverted to nylon.  Maybe someday, I  open it up and reinforce it and try the steel strings again.  

[Steven D. Wilson]

Thanks Frank & Ned!

My original thought was also Chicago made - but I was thrown off by what I thought was Koa sides. That didn't seem to make a lot of sense, but that is what it looked like to me. On further examination I find it very doubtful it is Koa, and the bridge design and headstock shape do look a lot like a Harmony. I was a bit suspicious when they guy said it was from the late 30's. I thought I had read somewhere the Baritone size was pretty much invented by Arthur Godfrey in the 50's.

Ned- I love the term jumping Goliath Beetle! From what I found on Ebay it does look like he might get lucky and get $100 on a good day. Not exactly a shortage of these things. Thank you both for your help!!!

[Steven D. Wilson]

Ned,

I was pecking away on my post when you posted the no Baritone until the 50's comment. You are absolutely correct.

Regarding your steel string Baritone uke ...I have a Brazilian Cavaquinho that is more of a tenor uke size with steel strings. I changed the string sizes so I could tune to GCEA - non re-entrant. Love the sound and it always gets lots of positive comments. Sounds a bit like a Mandolin but much easier to play for a uke or guitar guy.

[Ned Knepp]

I just realized that it can't possibly be from the '30 because most indications are that the baritone ukulele wasn't invented until the very late '40s or early '50s.

[Tim Mace]

hominy or slivertome...imo