Pete Howlett Windhover English Burr Brown Oak/Korina Solid Body Electric Baritone Ukulele w/gigbag

Pete Howlett has been producing some of the worlds best Ukuleles for nearly 40 years. Whilst long term health battles have limited his output; the 2020's has seen Pete work more directly in developing his vast array of well known ukulele concepts with other Luthiers. Collaborating in his final active years with Tom Ziegenspeck on showpiece ukuleles, Dan Lipson on the Californian and Hawaiian style Tenor Ukuleles and now with his final apprentice John Story on an updated professional level version of his Windhover design.

The Windhover first existed as a solidbody nylon strung solid ukulele with a passive undersaddle pickup and a scroll style headstock. Whilst it had a bit of a cult appeal, it was only produced for a short time before Pete retooled the model and invented the acoustic anomally that is the Revelator.

Around 18 months ago, Pete approached SUS and asked where we felt the Ukulele was going and what players were looking for that was not necessarily being explored in depth by other builders. Whilst many folks have gravitated towards more afforable steel strung ukuleles like the Flight Pathfinders and the Fanners; these ukuleles often behave more like a mini Electric guitar and the voicing is much more thinned out and brittle in a band setting. Pete wanted to create a Ukulele that would offer a more lyrical, melodic voicing - something that could be used as a band leaders instrument for folks that wanted a Ukulele sound but the dynamic range and flexibility of an Electric Guitar. 

With this modern Windhover; It feels like the best of Pete Howlett Ukuleles, hugely playable for long periods and streamlined against the body. The new Windhover has a British built, houndwound and voiced pickup with a custom wiring harness and brass bridge chasis. You get the widest range of tone possible and all the best components possible meaning you can split the coil on the pickup and give yourself a wider tonal range. 

The instrument itself is made from Spalted Black Limba (Korina), one of the woods most closely associated with Petes designs, such a resonant wood with bags of sustain. The top is English Brown Oak Burr; a wood that you simply do not get to see in instrument manufacturing! It looks stunning. This prototype is the second one built from Pete (because somebody walked in his workshop and swiped our first prototype before we could see it!) and will likely be the only one to feature the Pete Howlett signature inlay on the headstock. Future models will be sold and built under guidance from Pete by John Story and will feature two pickups along with a higher price tag.

Personally, as somebody lucky enough to have called Pete a mentor and a friend of my own for the last 15 years; I am thrilled that he would develop a model based on our feedback. Petes commitment to travelling the length of the Country to work with Phil and Romeo in our workshop here at SUS is not lost on me. The love of Pete, John, Phil, Romeo and myself has gone into this instrument and it is a worthy alternative to the Ohana USA Electrics with the experience, wisdom and love of a master luthier packed into the design.

The listing shows the actual instrument you will receive. We will supply the Ukulele in a Kala deluxe Sonoma Coast gigbag (pictured)

Spalted Black Limba (Korina) Body and thru-neck
English Brown Oak Burr drop top
PauRosa Fingerboard
Gold mother of pearl markers
Black hardware - Wilkinson
Custom hand wound pickup
Custom shop made bridge chasis in brass
510mm scale length
38mm nut w/30mm string spacing at nut
42mm string spacing at bridge
'Gilmore' switch and hand wired harness
Kala Sonoma Coast Gigbag