By Harmony
Roy Smeck Vita Uke
© Frank Ford, 2002; Photos by FF

Mahogany trees grow big. Really big. And, I suppose that Harmony acquired some big boards of this fine curly figured mahogany, because they made all the Roy Smeck "Vita" instruments using the same figured mahogany for the backs and sides. They were called "Vita" after the famous Vitaphone movie shorts in which Roy Smeck appeared. I've seen ukes, tenor ukes, guitars and tenor guitars, all with this same design and materials. But the standard uke is the classic, and you have to like the seals. If, by chance, you don't know of Roy Smeck, "Wizard of the Strings," he's worth an Internet search, that's for sure!

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