Oceana workshop in USA
Made by hand and by ear .....one at a time.
After living and working in Ecuador for the past 8 years, my family and I have moved back to the Pacific Northwest and have set up home and shop. Cuenca was an ideal place to build instruments due to its perfect climatic condition. Up here I spend a lot of time just getting my shop dried-in and heated.... Oh I miss Ecuador!
Now I have a great little shop for building great ukuleles with big sound. Also I have been learning about power tools; they are relatively cheap and abundant here. Having learned true hand built craftsmanship, I find that working the wood by hand gives me an intimacy with the wood and results in a much better sound quality that machines can't match.......but I'm finding the machines have some great uses and have been using them on specific facets of the process.
After living and working in Ecuador for the past 8 years, my family and I have moved back to the Pacific Northwest and have set up home and shop. Cuenca was an ideal place to build instruments due to its perfect climatic condition. Up here I spend a lot of time just getting my shop dried-in and heated.... Oh I miss Ecuador!
Now I have a great little shop for building great ukuleles with big sound. Also I have been learning about power tools; they are relatively cheap and abundant here. Having learned true hand built craftsmanship, I find that working the wood by hand gives me an intimacy with the wood and results in a much better sound quality that machines can't match.......but I'm finding the machines have some great uses and have been using them on specific facets of the process.
The workshop in Ecuador
Made by hand and by ear .....one at a time.
Oceana ukuleles are made in an environment with a perfect relative humidity level of 40-55%. Ecuador is a luthiers dream. At an altitude of 8,500 feet with fresh Andes Mountain air and year round spring like temperatures averaging 65-75 degrees. Being at high altitude on the equator helps eliminate cracking problems associated with too much humidity and large fluctuation in seasonal temperatures.
The tone woods we use have been air dried for a minimum of three years before utilizing a slow dry kiln. We use reclaimed woods or woods from a sustainable source whenever possible.
We use no machines and employ no production lines.
