MAKAIO Ukulele Tonewoods

MAKAIO Ukuleles are made using high quality traditional and Australian tonewoods that are sourced from various locations around the world. Many of the most widely used traditional tonewoods are becoming scarce these days due to unsustainable forestry practices, making lutherie grade timber harder to source and more expensive. To help preserve the forests that remain today, MAKAIO Ukuleles are also made from more sustainable Australian timber species, that are steadily being recognised among the music industry as having tonal qualities equivalent to many of the more widely used tonewoods. As well as sounding fantastic, many native Australian timber species are among the most beautiful and striking timbers from around the world.

The following list of tonewoods has been composed from timbers that are relatively easy to obtain and have been used in MAKAIO Ukuleles previously. Please contact Matt to discuss the selection of these, or any other tonewood if you are interested in a custom MAKAIO Ukulele.

Bunya Pine (Araucaria bidwillii)

Bunya Pine is becoming one of the most popular of the Australian native timber species for guitar soundboards, and is now offered as an alternative soundboard material by several of the larger Australian guitar manufacturers. It is typically slightly heavier, stiffer, and harder than spruce, but still produces a bright sounding instrument. Mainly grown in north-eastern Australia, Bunya is one of the more sustainable native Australian soundboard timbers. Where as Spruce and Cedar trees take hundreds of years to grow to a suitable size to be harvested for use, a Bunya Pine tree may take up to only one hundred years. Bunya soundboards are light in colour, similar to spruce, but typically have greater colour and grain variations, often showing medullar rays and grey colour tones. Bunya is recommended as a good soundboard material for all round ukulele playing styles

Kauri Pine (Agathis robusta, Agathis microstachya)

Kauri Pine is a large softwood species that is native to Queensland, and unlike Bunya Pine, Australian Kauri is no longer widely available. Kauri has similar tonal qualities to Bunya, but typically presents as slightly darker in colour and having a cleaner appearance. Kauri is one of the traditional tonewoods used for Polynesian ukuleles in the Pacific Islands.

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King William Pine (Athrotaxis selaginoides)

King William Pine (King Billy Pine) has probably been the Australian native timber that has been used for the longest period of time in instrument soundboards, but is becoming harder to source these days. King Billy Pine is a medium to large softwood that grows in the high rainfall regions of western Tasmania, and is not a true pine, but is actually a distant relative of the large north American Redwood species. Unlike Bunya and Kauri Pines which have a cream colour, King Billy Pine has a pinker colour.

Australian Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon)

Australian Blackwood is a native Australian medium hardwood, typically from the wetter areas of Tasmania. Blackwood is almost identical to Hawaiian Koa in both visual appearance and tonal qualities, and makes one of the best tonewoods for use in ukuleles. Blackwood often has beautiful colour variations from darker browns through to lighter honey tones, and can have intense fiddleback grain features. Ukuleles made using a Tasmanian Blackwood soundboard have the traditional chang-a-lang ukulele sound, and are most suitable to strumming style playing.

Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii)

Various varieties of Spruce are among the most widely used timbers for construction of soundboards in stringed instruments, with Engelmann Spruce being one of the most suitable for use in ukuleles. Engelmann is slightly softer than Sitka Spruce, and produces ukuleles with clear bright tones and excellent sustain. This makes Engelmann Spruce an excellent choice for fingerstyle ukuleles. Engelmann Spruce has a white/cream colour with tight even grain. The Spruce used in MAKAIO Ukulele soundboards comes from the Canadian Kootenays, and has an extremely clean and clear appearance.

Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata)

Western Red Cedar is a large softwood that is native to North America. Compared to Spruce, it is not as stiff and slightly softer, producing a more mellow sound but having similar clarity. Western Red Cedar is a common soundboard material selected for use in classical guitars, and produces a warm rich tone. Like Spruce, the grain of Western Red Cedar is tight and straight, with the overall colour of Cedar being tan/red.

Tasmanian “Tiger” Myrtle (Nothofagus cunninghamii)

Tasmanian Myrtle is a medium sized hardwood from the wetter regions of Tasmania. “Tiger” figured Tasmanian Myrtle has one of the most striking and unique appearances of any tonewood, and is extremely rare and highly sort after. The use of “Tiger” Myrtle for ukulele back and sides is almost unique to MAKAIO Ukuleles. The denser and harder “tiger” figured Tasmanian Myrtle is very responsive, and produces instruments with a dark and intense sound.

Queensland Maple (Flindersia brayleyana)

Queensland Maple is a native rainforest hardwood from north Queensland. Although technically a part of the Maple family, Queensland Maple has the appearance and tonal properties more similar to Mahogany. Queensland Maple used for the back and sides of ukuleles often has flamed or striped figure, and produces a crisp bright sounding instrument when combined with a softwood soundboard. The strength and stability of Queensland Maple also make it one of the most suitable native Australian tonewoods for use in ukulele necks.

Honduras Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla)

South American Honduras Mahogany is one of the highly sort after traditional tonewoods used in MAKAIO Ukuleles. Although the availability of Honduras Mahogany has significantly reduced due to over-harvesting, plantation growth has helped to sustain the species. Honduras Mahogany has a straight and tight grain structure, which makes it suitable for most ukulele components, including soundboards, backs and sides, producing instruments with good mid-range punch that are particularly suited to strumming. Timber used for these components has slight colour variations from light brown through to reds, with darker brown streaking. The cross-grained structure of Honduras Mahogany gives it unique strength and stability which make it a perfect timber for ukulele necks.

Bubinga (Guibourtia demeusei)

Bubinga (African Rosewood) is a native African timber species that is dense and hard, with a great range in colour. Typically the Bubinga available in MAKAIO Ukuleles has red through to orange colours, with darker brown and purple streaks. Instruments made with Bubinga have a bright mid range tone, comparable to Brazilian or Indian Rosewood, although it is a heavier and harder timber. Bubinga is used as a tonewood for back, sides, fretboards, and bridges of MAKAIO Ukuleles.

Black Walnut (Juglans nigra)

Black (Californian) Walnut is a medium to large hardwood grown mainly in eastern USA. It has a medium density with a fine even grain that produces instruments with a crisp and dry tone, somewhere between Rosewood and Mahogany. Like Blackwood, Mahogany, and Maple, Walnut is suitable for not only ukulele back and sides, but also makes a great soundboard material, particularly for strumming. Black Walnut has dark through to light brown colour, with cream and purple streaks, making it an exciting and beautiful timber for use in ukuleles.
.Mulga (Acacia aneura)

Mulga is a small native Australian hardwood that grows in arid interior regions of northern Australia. The density and hardness of Mulga make it a good substitute for Ebony as a suitable fretboard material, although it is not as naturally oily. Mulga typically has straight grain with streaky dark brown colouring similar to Blackwood.
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Gidgee (Acacia cambagei)

Gidgee is a small native Australian hardwood that grows on the inland plains of New South Wales and Queensland. Like Mulga, the density and hardness of Gidgee make it a suitable fretboard and bridge material. Gidgee has a tight grain and a rich dark chocolate brown colour.

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Ebony (Diospyros ebonum)

The African Ebony used for fretboards and bridges in MAKAIO Ukuleles is pure black, and provides a beautiful contrast to lighter coloured instrument soundboards such as Spruce, Cedar, and Pine. African Ebony is the best timber available for ukulele fretboards due to its density and hardness, while also being a naturally oily timber.

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Macassar Ebony (Diospyros celibica)

Macassar Ebony has similar properties to standard black Ebony, making it a perfect timber for ukulele fretboards. Unlike the pure black of standard Ebony, Macassar Ebony is streaked with contrasting lighter brown colours giving it a striking beauty.