Sofla soprano ukulele by Shun Yamazaki from Japan

This is a Sofla soprano by Shun Yamazaki. Brazilian Rosewood headstock, fretboard, bridge and pickguard. Body binding is Indian Rosewood. Nut saddle cowbone. Huron pine top, cuban mahogany back, mahogany neck. This is without doubt one of the sweetest sopranos that I have played, a brilliant sound and superb to play as well as a great looking instrument. I played around 20 ukuleles, before settling on this one. 

Japan remains the place for the best ukuleles at all price points and especially custom builds. There are four great stores in Tokyo alone and this one was from a store outside Osaka, “The Ohana Store” no relation to the ukulele brand. Its the second soprano I have bought from these folks and its always a joy to visit.

Shun Yamazaki is a new builder to me and this is a very different instrument to anything I have played before. Clrealy he knows his woods and I love the design on this instrument. Its sonically superb and very mellow to play. I instantly took to it and I suspect it will be a great instrument for writing. I already have dates to return to Japan in 2018 and 2019 and I’m constantly amazed at the great instruments I find there.