13 - Ukulele Builders, Luthiers and Manufactures: L

LEHO means “seashell” in Hawaiian language. In the legend, seashell always delivers the most elegant and romantic sounds

Lahaina was the name of a series of mid range imported Ukes which later became Kala Music

Lanikai Beach is located in Lanikai, meaning "heavenly sea" in Hawaiian is a neighborhood within Kailua, on the windward coast of Oahu, Hawaii. This small 1/2 mile beach has been consistently ranked among the best beaches in the world.

Jean Larrivée set out in 1967 to make some of the finest guitars in the world. Many believe he is already there. While the company started out in Toronto, Jean and his family currently operate out of two facilities located in Vancouver, BC and Oxnard, Cali. Currently the 02 & 03 satin lines are built in Canada while shiney 05’s, 09’s, 10’s, 50’s & 60’s are built in the USA. In 2006 Larrivée started building high end mandolins and more recently high end electric guitars.

Fine Handmade Ukuleles in the style of the 1920’s.

We manufacture four sizes of instruments: standard or soprano, long neck soprano, concert and tenor. All our instruments are made in Portugal from beautiful Australian Blackwood, botanical name Acacia Melanoxylon, with very similar tonal and appearance characteristics to Koa Acacia, a close relative, the material of choice for Hawaiian ukuleles. All our ukes are solid wood, no laminates or plastic anywhere.

Handcrafted ukuleles and guitars built by NC luthier, Jay Lichty. Jay crafts with both domestic and exotic woods including Sycamore, Beech, Walnut, Brazilian Rosewood, Bubinga, and many others. Though he occasionally has ukuleles in stock, most instruments are custom-built and designed to meet the specific wants and needs of each client. Lichty Ukuleles are designed to look as stunning as they sound. Here is what one thrilled customer had to say: “Having an instrument you love to hold, to look at, to feel and to play inspires great music and extreme fun. My custom ukulele is a dream on all fronts.” K. Gillespie.

I have always been passionate about working with wood, and have been a professional woodworker for over 25 years. My woodworking skills have progressed from finish work, doors and cabinetry, furniture building, complex joinery, jewelry making, marquetry and inlay, and have come full circle to lutherie. Making finely crafted ukuleles is the culmination of my art and craft.

My instruments, made from selected tone woods, are constructed using a “Spanish” slip neck to body connection & finished in a fine hard wearing oil.

One of the worlds finest classical guitar builders in the world is now one of the worlds finest ukulele builders. Ukulele Hall of Fame Expo 2004 - I had the pleasure of playing a few of Augustino LoPrinzi’s ukulele at the expo show September 2004 and the are amazing. Light, responsive and reasonable priced for the quality they are. They could easily cost $1000 more than the current price. Here is a nice article titled The Duke of Uke from the St. Petersburg Times.

Yvonne de Villiers, the accomplished stained-glass artist who envisioned Luna Guitars. Yvonne’s inspiration for a line of guitars designed to maximize playing comfort came from her mother, Hilda Williers, an electric bass player for more than 40 years.

In 1978, after 8-years of experience as a guitar-player and singer in several French pop and rock bands, I started on the crazy (but so exciting) project to create and produce high-end guitars in Toulouse, in the South-West of France, a city well-known for its famous artists and its really active music scene!

I first started an efficient and reliable repair shop dedicated to all stringed instruments. This shop brought a lot of knowledge and experience, as well as many different and interesting customers through our Custom Shop models! Then, thanks to many musician friends who had built a great image for Lâg guitars on stage and in studio, we introduced our first creations to guitar dealers and players; in France first, then all around Europe, with a lot of success.