This is a gorgeous long neck soprano, made from solid Sitka spruce, and paired with solid Sulawesi ebony back and sides, from Indonesia. The top has a nice, tight grain, and is highlighted by an abalone soundhole rosette, while the dark chocolate brown ebony back and sides are separated from the top by some attractive figured sapele. The headstock is faced with ebony too, with a sleek, modern design, inlaid with Millar’s equally stylish logo. Having a logo on the headstock is hardly original, but at least it’s a good looking one!

This instrument, made in Millar’s custom shop, is a one-off ukulele, with a soprano body and a longer, concert scale. It has a 35mm standard width nut, and a rosewood fingerboard featuring abalone position markers. The same material decorates the bridge pins in the compact bridge.

Of course, while it’s important for something to look nice, which this does, but it has to sound good too. And this custom long neck soprano has a focussed, clear and chiming tone. There’s an incredible amount of volume from its compact body, with good sustain and a complexity and richness. After the initual burst of clarity, the sound ebbs slowly away with a beautiful shimmer, after each strum.

I do like the fact that Millar, a small family company in Taiwan, still take time to experiment and make one-off pieces like this. If they were purely thinking on economic lines they’d concentrate on completing as many of their top-selling lines as possible. But that’s not their style. The love of the ukulele they have comes to the fore in a uke like this, and they’re happy to spend the time to make special instruments from time to time, when they get hold of some nice wood that they see a use for.