With the ukulele being considered a "miniature guitar" by many, and the uke market dominated by instruments that in fact look just like mini-guitars, builders of non-standard alternative ukes can proudly consider themselves to be upstarts and rebels. Instrument-making traditions are among the most absolute and authoritarian of any set of standards in any field, and breaking with them can leave a maker feeling an outsider, a mere hobbyist, a rank amateur. So we look for those rebels who have gone before us who have set a standard, as it were, outside the usual standards--both in terms of craftsmanship and success in the marketplace. One of those trailblazers is Alvin Okami of Koaloha Ukuleles, a maker of quality conventional ukuleles with a unique bracing system. The bracing is an innovation, an alternative element for sure, but Koaloha has also come out with some uke types of very innovate and artful shape--the Sceptre and the Pineapple Sundae, for example. Of particular interest me is Koaloha's use of solid wood sawn sides instead of the usual bent sides of guitar-shaped ukuleles. Here is a link to one of Koaloha's web sites, and following that, a pic illustrating how the sides are constructed on a Sceptre (far right in the set of pics). The pics to the left of Alvin Okami and his uke show the Purto Rican Tiple, which also has sawn sides/
https://ukesahawaii.com/
I find Okami's work of interest because I make the sides of all my ukes with the same method he uses for his alt ukes. It's a method particularly suited for non-standard shapes with various angles and curves.
