Pete Howlett Master Grade Hawaiian Koa Tenor Ukulele swansong 1/6 w/Case

The term swansong is quite heartbreaking when you really delve into it. One last hurrah and big motion before the curtain goes down on a performance or career. Yet, when I looked into the sound hole of this tenor ukulele and saw that Pete Howlett had labelled it 1/6 Swansong; it felt like a lovely way to say goodbye.

Pete Howlett moved into the world of ukulele building after a chance encounter with a ukulele collector at the Texas Guitar show in 1994. 3 decades on and Pete Howlett will go down in history as a key figure in ukulele building. Whether it was his development on the first harp ukuleles or the Revelator concept that Kala have acquired and made into an industry leading brand. At the start of this career and running on the heartbeat of his builds throughout has been the Hawaiian style tenor.

A ukulele that takes influence from the early ukuleles played and loved by Hawaiians but with some key unique twists that make it lighter, stiffer and more piano like as you play up the neck than just about anything else out there. Earlier this year, Pete reached out and asked me what my favourite designs from his catalogue were and I explained that his thinner oval soundholes were to me always distinctive looking and as a player I found them impossible to put down. Loud, clean, clear and open with buckets of expression and sustain regardless of where you played them. Pete began work immediately on one of these ukuleles to start off his swansong series.

A master grade Hawaiian koa set, satin finish with a radius to the top which he and co-builder Dan Lipson explain tightens up the response and allows the instrument to really sing. Moving with current trends, this ukulele has a UK alder neck (from Shropshire) and a santos rosewood fingerboard that Pete has had laying in wait for 25 years. The nut width is a wider 38mm nut width with a 30mm string spacing. This is one of the best Hawaiian koa ukuleles I have ever played. For more information on this model and the trio of ukuleles Pete and Dan delivered; please watch our comprehensive video rundown and interview with them.

Specification
Hawaiian style tenor
All solid master grade Hawaiian koa
X-braced in alpine spruce
Custom oval sound hole
Honduras mahogany neck
Classic "Howlett" neck profile
38mm nut width
Santos rosewood fingerboard
Rosewood headstock veneer
Gold MOP fingerboard inlays
Gold MOP side dots
Gold MOP "Swansong: headstock logo
String through rosewood bridge
Hand carved bone nut and saddle
Der jung classic open back tuners
Kala Revelator hard case