

Martin Beck #203 Handmade All Solid Cedar and Koa Tenor Ukulele
This is a uke made by hand in Canada by one of the world’s finest ukulele makers, Martin van Humbeck. One of the things I like about Martin’s builds when fitted with a low G (as this one is), is the fact the low G doesn’t overly domianate the tonal mix. Yes, there’s plenty of deep richness and warmth, and when you pick the strings one by one from the G string down you initially think ‘wow that’s a big low G sound’ - but when you move on to the C, E and A, you then hear a crystal clarity and punch that matches that warm depth and balances perfectly. They really are remarkable and I struggle to think of ukuleles that I think sound better.
This particular one is the 203rd instrument made by Martin in his 30 year career as a luthier. It has a master grade red cedar top which has been paired with 4A koa for the back and sides. Naturally, as a Canadian, Martin is a fan of cedar and you can understand why when you hear that balanced punch, and warm-edged clarity. It has bloodwood binding, a rosewood fingerboard, and a bloodwood and camphor burl soundhole inlay, which also includes some stuning Paua abalone. The headplate also features the cloudy appearance of camphor burl, which is particularly attractive. An interesting side sound port is also included, an abstract interpretation of the leaves of the cedar tree as they first emerge on the tree after a Canadian winter.
This Martin Beck tenor uke has a 36.5mm nut width, with bone nut and compensated saddle. It has mother of pearl position markers on the fretboard and side of the neck. It is fitted with a Worth Clear strings for the C, E and A, paired with a Fremont low G. The tuners are Gotoh SGi510 super minis with ebony buttons. It also has a 16” radius on the fretboard. It is finished with a nitrocellulose lacquer.
At the bottom of the page you’ll find some optional extras, which are standard across all of the ukes on the site. You can ignore the hard case option as this Martin Beck ukulele comes with a nice hard case. You don’t need a low G fitting as there’s one on already. And it has one strap button fitted already (though you can have another fitted if you like.
There’s a video of this exact ukulele (as it’s a one-off), if you click additional info below.






