RNS Guitars and Ukuleles in Buln Buln, Victoria, Australia | Shopping & retail

RNS Guitars and Ukuleles

Locality: Buln Buln, Victoria, Australia

Phone: +61 3 5626 8356

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02.05.2022 The wood for this custom ukulele was supplied by the customer, being some very nicely figured Tasmanian Blackwood, and I was very keen to try to do it justice. Turned out to be one of the best sounding ukuleles I’ve made yet. Looks certainly don’t count for everything on a ukulele. I was also asked to try and come up with a slightly more elaborate rosette, which would complement the Blackwood soundboard. Keeping with the Blackwood theme, I made it out of a variety of differe...nt coloured pieces of Australian Blackwoods I had in my scrap collection. I was also asked to try and use fretboard dots with a more subtle look than something like mother of pearl or abalone. So hunting around my shed I found a long forgotten cylindrical metal something, which I’ve no idea what it came off and with the aid of a file and drill press managed to turn it into a dot cutter for wood. Amazingly it actually worked. So I made the dots out of the lighter Blackwood sapwood. The neck was also made of Blackwood, which came from a farm south of Warragul. However, I did move off the Blackwood theme using Ebony for the fretboard and bridge. The ukulele is now with its new owner and will hopefully help her make music for a long time to come.

24.04.2022 Recently I came by a rather unloved ‘Strat’ copy, which at first I thought was good only for the tip. On closer inspection and a bit of googling I discovered that it had some things going for it that might warrant giving it a new lease of life. The design features and STC tremolo suggested that it was a good quality 1970’s Japanese made copy. The neck heel had ‘72’ written on it, which could have been the original date of it. The body (or what was left of it) was sandwich Ma...Continue reading

18.04.2022 The concept of this guitar, with a rectangular hollow body, was something I had in the back of my mind to make for a while and then a chance phone conversation with a previous customer resulted in them commissioning this one. A key feature of the guitar is the inclusion of an LR Baggs Element acoustic pickup system (hence the acoustic type bridge) as well as a Kent Armstrong mini humbucker (with coil split). The electrics allow both pickups to be blended in mono or stereo. An...ything with the LR Baggs system sounds good in my experience and this confirmed it. The body features a King Billy Pine soundboard with Fiji Mahogany back and sides. The neck is Mountain Ash/Blackwood with Queen Ebony fretboard and 24 frets. The headstock is topped off with a bit of Wattle from my garden. Part of the order request was that it not be too ‘finished’, with a bit of character, as it was going to be used a lot for busking so I was careful not to be too careful with it and played it in plenty to give it that lived in feel. I nearly got too attached to it though so may have to make another.

16.04.2022 This custom tenor ukulele has yet again demonstrated some of the advantages of the ‘pineapple’ body shape, which, on my ukuleles, is essentially a standard shape without the waist. The larger body produces a fuller sound, shows off more timber and sits more comfortably on the knee. I’m now planning on making more with this shape. The combination of Northern Silky Oak back and sides, Huon Pine soundboard, Otways Satinwood neck and Ebony fretboard/bridge on this ukulele has produced one of the best sounding ones I’ve made yet. This one was strung and tuned to low G which further emphasised the fuller tone.

07.04.2022 This RNS electric guitar offers the familiar Tele style but with a difference. Featuring a Fender type scale length, but with a traditional Gibson type Mahogany/Maple body and set Mahogany neck, this guitar has the best of both acoustically. The Seymour Duncan JB bridge pickup and Jazz neck pickup provide a wide tonal range from Tele to Les Paul to Strat and beyond thanks to the 5 way switch and coil tap switch which give easy to access humbucker and single coil tones. Now available to try and buy at Jaks Music, Alfred Street, Warragul.

23.03.2022 This RNS tenor ukulele is now available to try and buy at Jaks Music, Alfred Street, Warragul. Featuring a solid Queensland Walnut body, Queensland Silver Ash neck and Macassar Ebony fretboard, these woods combine to produce a bright, but full tone. A radiused fretboard for improved playability, bone nut and compensated bone saddle to enhance tone and Grover tuners for tuning stability all contribute to making this ukulele a great playing experience.

21.03.2022 The Blackheart Sassafras back and sides used on this custom order ukulele have been stored in my workshop for a while waiting for the right opportunity to be used on an instrument. The customer for this ukulele selected this set from the collection of back, sides and soundboards I've made over time and chose to match it with a figured Blackwood soundboard and Sassafras neck. The beauty of a custom order is that it provides the opportunity to have a unique instrument tailored to someone’s individual taste. An additional custom feature on this ukulele was the neck width, being about 4mm wider than my standard, allowing for larger fingers. The nut and saddle were also customised to accommodate low G steel flatwound strings on the G and C strings, producing quite a different sound to a standard strung ukulele.

06.03.2022 This is the first ukulele I’ve made using homegrown Wattle I planted in my garden over 25 years ago. When it fell over and I started to saw it up, I thought the colour and grain might lend itself to an instrument or two rather just keeping me warm for a few hours. The Wattle has been used for the back, sides and headstock veneer on this custom order tenor ukulele. The soundboard is Australian Red Cedar, as is the neck, with an Ironwood fretboard and bridge. Anyway, I thought it was worth the time turning the Wattle log into something useful even though it was time consuming, with an uncertain outcome.

26.02.2022 This custom order pineapple tenor ukulele began life as a rather uninspiring block of Box Elder, which, on the outside largely hid the natural pink grain patterns within. The Box Elder was used for the top and back , with Beech (salvaged from an old wardrobe) used for the sides. The neck is Red Cedar, fretboard and bridge New Guinea Ebony, as is the binding and rosette. It’s always interesting finding out how a new to me timber might sound. This Box Elder ukulele surprisingly produced one the best sounding ukuleles I’ve made. Maybe it was the extra body resulting from the pineapple shape. Who knows.

08.02.2022 This latest RNS tenor ukulele was another custom order with a request that it feature mainly Australian tonewoods. These tonewoods include Australian Red Cedar soundboard, Blackwood back, sides and neck, Tiger Myrtle headstock veneer and Hoop Pine binding and rosette. Gombiera (Brazilian Ebony) was used for the fretboard and bridge for its darker, contrasting colour.

04.02.2022 Always up for a challenge, I was recently asked to build an octave mandolin and this is the result. Timbers include a Western Red Cedar soundboard, Northern Silky Oak back and sides, Maple neck and New Guinea Ebony fretboard and bridge. The design included my double V soundboard bracing pattern, which I have previously used on a couple of acoustic guitars and the Spanish heel neck/body joint I use on all my acoustic instruments, all with the aim of producing a rich, resonant tone.

27.01.2022 This was a slightly different commission to normal, being a 4 string solid body T style electric mandolin.

24.01.2022 This RNS tenor ukulele is very similar to the last tenor ukulele I made, featuring an Australian Red Cedar soundboard, Blackwood back and sides, Rosewood fretboard and bridge but with a Huon Pine neck and trimmings rather than Otways Satinwood.

24.01.2022 This is another RNS first, being the first baritone ukulele and the first 8 string one that I’ve made. It was also a left handed commission. It features a Northern Silky Oak soundboard and back, Sycamore sides, Red Cedar neck with Sycamore fretboard and Maple bridge. The headstock has a Camphor Laurel veneer, with a non-conventional RNS headstock design. Quite a few timber contrasts and quite a different tone to the traditional ukulele sound.

24.01.2022 Having had a spell off making ukuleles, I was inspired to make this tenor ukulele after discovering what lay within a fairly uninteresting piece of Blackheart Sassafras. Slicing the timber up through the bandsaw was a bit like finding a fossil in a stone, with it revealing very interesting and varied grain patterns and colours. Matching grain patterns and dimensions suitable for a tenor ukulele top, back and sides was a bit of a challenge but eventually seemed to work. Another piece of Sassafras was utilised to make a matching neck, topped with an Indian Rosewood fretboard. As with other Blackheart Sassafras ukuleles I have made, this one has a mellow but bright tone, good for both strumming and fingerpicking.

24.01.2022 This RNS tenor ukulele features Dorrigo Silky Oak with Purpleheart fretboard, bridge and binding.

20.01.2022 Over the last year or so I’ve been getting into the tenor guitar concept (tuned in 5ths similar to the tenor banjo or mandola, CGDA) after being introduced to this type of guitar when a customer brought one to me for a setup. After making a few short scale solidbody electric tenor guitars I decided that I needed to hear an acoustic version of one. So I made one, which is featured in these photos. Back and sides are made with recycled Mahogany from an old wardrobe that the ...customer who brought the tenor guitar for a setup gave me. So I thought it was appropriate to use it on my first acoustic tenor guitar. The top is Sitka Spruce and neck is Red Cedar. To make the build more interesting I used a double V bracing pattern I’ve used on a full scale acoustic guitar. This, together with the timbers used, has produced a bright, clear but warm tone. The tenor guitar offers a range of sounds that are hard to get out of a normal guitar, adding a bit of zing to the playing experience. This one is currently my favourite go to instrument and great for couch noodling.

19.01.2022 I spend a lot of my time doing guitar repairs and setups, trying to bring out the best in an instrument but most of these jobs are not noteworthy in themselves. However, a recent restoration job I was asked to do on an old 1961 Epiphone Emperor hollow body guitar (when Epiphone was a high quality guitar brand just recently purchased by Gibson) got me very interested. It had been sitting in a sorry state for many years and looked very unloved. It had an unusual headstock bre...ak repair, a very loose brace and neck joint which needed to be sorted before there was any hope for its resurrection. An incomplete stripping of the old finish did nothing to help its appearance and a lot of muck and the odd dead spider inside it didn’t help either. On a positive note though, the original pickups and wiring harness (minus just a couple of capacitors) when plugged in all worked just fine. The first task was to make the guitar structurally sound by redoing the headstock break (a little more in keeping with the original look), regluing the brace (a bit like doing pinhole surgery) and regluing the neck/body joint. When it all felt solid again, it was time to strip the last of the finish in preparation for giving it a bit of a facelift without making it look too new. Some tinted and clear nitro lacquer, a lot of sanding and polishing seemed to do the trick. With it starting to look like a decent guitar again, it was time to get the electrics installed. I’ve installed the electrics in quite a few hollow body guitars and always face the task with a bit of trepidation, as those volume and tone pots never seem like they want to go where I want them to. However, much to my surprise, they all went in to plan and, even better, when plugged in, all worked as they’re supposed to. Some new gold plated tuners and bridge (the old ones being too knackered), refitting the rest of the hardware, a fret dress, new bone nut and some new strings and it was time to see if the effort was worth it. Despite its large body (18 inches at the lower bout), it felt surprisingly comfortable and the neck felt very playable, being quite a slim profile. I plugged it in and the tone from the 3 mini humbuckers was well worth all that effort. It really felt and sounded like the quality instrument it was back in 1961, when they sold for over $800 then, similar in price to Gibson’s own branded high end guitars. A very satisfying job done.

18.01.2022 This RNS acoustic guitar evolved from a custom order with a fairly open brief, leaving me with plenty of scope to produce something unique. One of the main design differences is the use of a double V soundboard bracing system, which provided a very clear but full acoustic tone, which is faithfully replicated with the LR Baggs Element Active pickup system. Timbers include a Cedar soundboard, figured Blackwood back and sides, Maple neck and New Guinea Ebony fretboard and bridge. With so many elements contributing to the tone of an acoustic guitar, it is not until the strings are on and it’s tuned up that you find out whether it’s all come together. Thankfully, after all the effort, this one was very rewarding for me and also, more thankfully, for it’s new owner.

15.01.2022 These two individual, locally handbuilt RNS electric guitars are priced to sell for $1495 each at Jaks Music, Alfred Street, Warragul. Using high quality timbers and parts, including Seymour Duncan pickups, Gotoh tuners and bridges, they offer great playability, tonal quality and versatility with familiar but one off designs . For more details go to www.RNSguitarsandkuleles.com.au.

13.01.2022 This RNS tenor ukulele is a commission I’ve just finished, which features Australian Red Cedar soundboard, back and sides, Otways Satinwood neck and Rosewood fretboard and bridge. I liked the look of the Australian Red Cedar but liked the tone even more.

12.01.2022 This is another commissioned RNS tenor ukulele I’ve recently finished, similar to the last tenor ukulele I made, also featuring an Australian Red Cedar soundboard, Otways Satinwood neck and Rosewood fretboard and bridge but with Blackwood back and sides. The Blackwood back and sides seemed to produce a slightly brighter tone than the previous all cedar body ukulele but Australian Red Cedar for ukulele soundboards is definitely a current favourite of mine. More are underway.

05.01.2022 This recently completed Australian Blackwood custom RNS concert ukulele includes a few features that haven't showed up so far on many of my ukuleles. These features include a slotted headstock with Gotoh Stealth tuners, a cutaway and thinline body. The ukulele also includes a Purpleheart fretboard and bridge, which I wasn't sure would blend with the Blackwood body but I myself was very pleased with how it turned out.

04.01.2022 It is my aim to make each RNS ukulele unique, even though many aspects may appear similar. This Australian Red Cedar/ Blackwood tenor ukulele differs from other similar ones, being made entirely from Australian timbers, including Australian Red Cedar internal bracing and linings. It also features a Western Myall fretboard and bridge, which, as my saws would agree, is a very hard, but attractive outback timber. Whilst most of my ukuleles are finished entirely with an oiled finish or partial laquer, this one is entirely lacquered to preserve the new, natural colouring, whereas the oiled finish tends to darken over time.

03.01.2022 This is a slightly different take on the RNS Siren semi-hollow electric guitar. This one features a set of custom made Leddin Pickups mini-humbuckers (made in Queensland), each with a 3 way coil selector switch, giving a broad range of very useable humbucker and single coil tones. Humbucking (series) mode gives a bright but full tone, with single or parallel modes leaning more tele than strat. Gold hardware, including Gotoh 18:1 ratio tuners, are set off by the New Guinea E...bony headstock veneer and pickup surrounds. The semi-hollow Blackwood body, topped with Casuarina, makes for a lightweight but resonant guitar. Now available at Jaks Music, Alfred Street, Warragul. More details are on my website rnsguitarsandukuleles.com.au.

02.01.2022 This RNS tenor ukulele features all Australian timbers including a Silky Oak soundboard, back and sides, Celery Top Pine neck and Gidgee fretboard and bridge, with an oiled finish to maximise the timbers’ resonance. This combination of timbers produces a full, warm tone. A 12 radius fretboard and fuller neck profile makes for better playing comfort as well as tone enhancement. For those who need a bit more amplified volume it also includes an undersaddle pickup and endpin strap jack Currently available at Jaks Music, 94 Alfred Street, Warragul. For more information please check out RNSguitarsandukuleles.com.au.