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I'm Mike, this is my first post. Years ago I was given a piece of mahogany by the guitar player in my band, he told me to build a bass. I did, it was great, cool I had no idea that I could do such a thing. Not that I don't have tools, talent and skills, it just never occurred to me.

That led me to the path, but I veered. I decided that I wanted to build acoustic instruments, electrics really didn't seem much of a challenge. I decided that I would learn the instrument piece by piece, I started with the sound board, arguably the most important component for acoustic sound, then the neck, then fretboards and scales, various bracings, inlay and on and on. 

Somewhere along the way I found my self deep into the woods and though I have built some acoustic instruments it seems like some Weird spirit is guiding my hands because the stuff I'm turning out is nothing like what I thought I'd be doing by now. Meanwhile my stack of acoustic tone wood is piling up ever higher "o)

The first home made bass, the "Cuban" it's made from Cuban Mahogany. Many of these parts are off the shelf, I differentiate between build and make in my descriptions of projects.

So my next instrument was much more acoustical, but it seems I was slipping into a bit of dementia, this one was based on a gourd, the slotted fingerboard was the only part I bought, oh, and the upholstery tacks, it is a soprano banjo ukulele.

Pictured here with my 1927 Martin ukulele,

Around this point I started missing the Ashbory I traded for a soprano travel uke for the motorcycle. I always hated the silicon strings on the Ashbory being broken all the tim. I came across Owen Holt of Road Toad Music and contacted him. After a few days of back and forth I ordered the poly strings, tuners and K&K transducers from him and made my first cigarbox bass. This is pretty close to the full on Trailer Trash version of this great little instrument, I’m up to three of these.

 Sound File 

Then another gourd ukuele, this on is build on a Chinese Bottle Gourd. I bought the tuners for this one.

In one of my forays into the cigar shop I saw in the corner the owner had a few cigar boxes for sale, I spied this Ashton imidiatly, the proportions were perfect for an instrument I promised my buddy and fellow musician Albert Castiglia. Thus I created the Ashton Tele.

Recorded at the Titanic Brewery Miami FL Albert on the Ashton Tele.

Here is a cool little cigarbox my mother gave me, I knew it was a ukuele as soon as I saw it.

 Mike in Homestead