This is a one off instrument that has now been sold.

When I first posted a few teaser photographs of this masterbuilt Japanese tenor ukulele on Facebook, there were quite a few comments along the lines that it was the most beautiful ukulele the commenters had seen. In the nature of my job, I see a lot of ukuleles and yet, looking at the wonderful quilted maple of this tenor uke, it would be difficult to disagree. Looking at that master grade maple is like looking at a photograph, high above the shifting sand dunes…

Ah… shifting sand dunes. With something this lovely I am erring on the side of the poetic in terms of the description. It’s a stunning ukulele yes, but (and here’s where my salesman of the year award goes in the bin), it is hard to justify the price. Yes, it’s a gorgeous ukulele made by one of the world’s top builders. But am I good enough a player to justify purchasing it? Are you? Probably not. Maker Shinji Takahashi has a two-year waiting list, such is the demand for his work. But to justify what you need to pay to own one? Well… it’s a tough one. Perhaps a serious collector. Perhaps someone smitten with the gorgeous looks and in posession of a windfall. Perhaps something like a retirement gift to oneself. Perhaps someone who just thinks, ‘stuff it, life’s too short!’. It’s not a case of not being worth the money, just whether you can justify owning it. Years of skill and craft, experimentation, knowledge of tonewoods, design and bracing have gone into it - a lifetime of dedication. How do you put a price on that, I suppose.

The custom inlays, depicting a deer and red maple leaves have been completed by hand by Ogawa Inlay Craft. I’d suggest looking up their Instagram account as their work (as you can tell) is totally stunning. The mixture of different mother of pearl and dyed wood inlays takes your breath away. That headstock… well… I could look at that for hours.

This Seilen tenor ukulele is made from all solid quilted maple, with ebony fingerboard and bridge and a Honduras mahogany neck. It has what they describe as a semi-gloss urethane finish, which gives it a lovely satin sheen, and mother of pearl detail around the soundhole. Black binding, with red purfling really works well with that ebony faced headstock veneer and those beautiful red leaves.

Top quality Gotoh SEP780 geared tuners are fitted and it is supplied in a great quality, really well made rectangular Fremont hard case. Interestingly this Sielen ukulele is fitted with Savarez strings. I really like these strings and would characterise them as being bright, but full. They give a sparkling burst of clarity at the outset but a more rounded finish… which is exactly how I’d describe the character of solid maple too. It’s smooth, sweet and full-sounding, not super loud like spruce, but smooth, sweet and full of harmonic richness. You can really hear the tone ‘move’ as the sustain ebbs away, with a natural resonance that seems to pulse with sonic energy (oh man, I’m off into the realms of unintelligable poetic waffle again sorry - this things does that to me!).

Just another note on the sound, it really sings well further up the fingerboard. I’ve found this with other top makers like Martin Beck, they seem to voice the ukulele’s top to carry a lovely crispness and bright volume at the upper reaches of the fingerboard. I often (lazily) play further up the neck using an open G and C string as a drone, while playing the melody on the E and A strings. That C can be dominant in these circumstances, but with this Sielen tenor, you can really hear those bright high notes competing with the softer, rounded open C string. Lovely stuff.

So, in conclusion, a stunning ukulele. An expensive ukulele. A sought after ukulele that’s been crafted by hand, with decades of experience and craft going into it to make a superb, one-of-a-kind heirloom of a ukulele. So, if you’ve won the lottery, had a handsome divorce settlement, cashed in your pension or been awarded a big contract after a game of golf with a government minister, then why not treat yourself.