UkeTalk Interview with
Joel Eckhaus of Earnest Instruments
February 2005

UkeTalk would like to thank Joel for lending his time to share his thoughts. We highly recommend you check out his work at: Earnest Instruments

Q: How did you get started in instrument making, and ukuleles in particular?

Joel Eckhaus: I always liked making things when I was a kid...models, toys, sculpture, and I liked playing music. I started playing the guitar at age 8, after hearing my camp counselor play one. In my early 20's, I moved to Vermont. I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do for work but I thought making instruments would be interesting. I took a basic wood working class and made a zither. My teacher suggested that I might like Rochester Institute of Technology, so I went there for a summer of intensive woodworking taught by James Krenov (noted teacher and furniture designer/maker). When I got back to Vermont, I started building a mandolin in my apartment. Peter Tourin, a local harpsichord and viol maker came over one day to play some music. I asked him a few questions about the mandolin, and that led to my working for him as an apprentice for two years. I also took some violin repair workshops and an instrument making course at the Augusta Heritage Workshop in Elkins WV (where I now teach ukulele!). Then I opened my first shop doing repair work and building mandolins and other folk instruments.   About that time, I started to get interested in the playing the ukulele. I needed an instrument, so I built myself one. Now I've built a hundred or more.

Q: How did working with renowned luthier Dana Bourgeois impact your building?

JE: I moved to Maine in the early 80's and worked with Dana in his home shop (actually in his living room!) for a few years. He was mostly doing repairs and had built some guitars. I did repair work for his customers and built a few mandolins. As he started expanding his shop, and took on a few apprentices, I moved on and re-established my own shop (and got sidetracked in the Whirligig business for a couple years). About a decade later, I went back and helped Dana start up the factory, and worked for him for another three years. I watched his business grow from a one-man shop to a small corporation (where I was an employee rep to the board of directors) I learned quite a bit about production lutherie, as well as the ups and downs of growing a business. When I left, I felt the need to go back to building my own instruments, but I had gained a lot of skills, experience, confidence, and most of all, speed, at Bourgeois Guitars.

Q: Do you have any philosophy behind the construction of your instruments?

JE: I guess part of my philosophy is "keep it simple". I personally don't care for elaborate inlay, pearl binding, or fancy carving. I think the wood alone is beautiful enough and doesn't need much adornment (except for a little Mother of Toilet Seat, now and then). I think of instruments as works of art and science, but also as tools for musical expression. They should be accessible and affordable. I'm not particularly scientific minded. I have looked at lots of old instruments, and have a few preferences for sound and design. My theories on what makes things sound good come from intuition and seat-of-the-pants experience in building and playing, rather than math or science (although I did take an acoustics class in college).

Q: What is your favorite ukulele you build?

JE: I currently favor my Sputnik design. I like the simple nouveau-retro shape, the easy access cutaway, and the sound is excellent. It originally started out as a painted uke but lately I've built a few with more attractive and figured woods and it looks great that way too.   The Tululele is a fun uke to build as well as play, with a surprisingly good sound.

Q: Do you see more "exotic" tonewoods factoring into today's uke market?

JE: Well, that's a big topic...First of all, most customers are looking for a koa or mahogany uke. It's the tradition, it's what makes ukes ukes, and they sound and look mahvelous. Mahogany has recently been listed as an endangered or threatened species, which means that the price will be going up and it may get more difficult to find. The big guitar companies get most of the real good stuff, but one of the biggest markets for mahogany is in the casket business. (Think about the logic of cutting down the rainforest, destroying habitat, biodiversity, and a way of life, so that rich people can be buried in fancy boxes!) I don't have a lot of faith in humans to preserve the resource, so I just go on, making ukes and other instruments, and hope that somebody will figure it out some day. Koa prices have been going up steadily with demand, and the supply is limited. I have experimented with many other species including walnut, maple, sassafrass, pear, padouk, bubinga, and a few others. I make my the Tululeles and Sputnik ukes out of poplar and ash and they sound great. The domestic woods sound different, but not at all bad.

Q: Are there any new or different models you're working on?

JE: I'm building a Les Paul-ish uke for a customer right now and I've got an idea for a uke that I can take on a canoe trip next summer.

Q: You seem to build lots of "off the beaten path" type of instruments. What made you take that direction?

JE: I've always been attracted to unusual instruments...bass clarinet, oboe, mandolin, ukulele, tenor guitar, musical saw. I guess they attract more attention (and we all need that). I also think there's a glut of guitar makers in the world right now (and F5 mandolin makers). I look for little niches in the market and try to fill them. When I went to the first Uke Expo in '96, there was one uke maker (me) with one uke. Now when I go to uke events, I'm competing with half a dozen or more makers and new stuff from Asia and eastern Europe that is getting better and cheaper all the time. It helps to have something unique that attracts more attention.

Q: In your opinion, what are the three most important factors of ukulele building?

JE: Size- the size and shape of the air cavity for a uke is pretty critical.

Weight- keeping the wood thin and light enough without sacrificing the structure too much.

Wood- the species, grain direction, density, and strength of each individual plank all affect the sound.

Q: You also sing and play the ukulele, quite well I might add; any tips for fellow uke players out there to improve their playing?

JE- Well, they could come to the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins WV this summer (July 16-23) and take my intermediate class, or and advanced one with Byron Yasui, who will also be there this year. (Just a little plug!) There will also be a beginner class with a teacher, as yet to be named.

Other than that, work on the right hand. There's all kinds of things you can do with it. Listen to classical and flamenco guitarists, charango, timple, and cuatro players, as well as uke masters like Roy Smeck, George Formby, and Cliff Edwards. They all have unique right hand styles. Learn as many different strums and styles of playing as you can, and then, as Roy Smeck would say..."Vary your strokes!"