T... Luthiers (21st C.)

He leaned instrument making in Canada but is now based in Sakura, Tochigi and has been running his own workshop since 2005. He specialises in Selmer and Archtop Guitars but also make more ordinary acoustic and electric flat top Guitars and Ukuleles. He uses the branding AT

He started out in luthiery in 2004 working for T's Guitars but he started on his own in 2008 and has been based in Hamamatsu since 2012. He makes acoustic and electric Guitars Plus Soprano, Concert and Tenor Ukuleles under the Blue Strings branding. As well as acoustic Ukuleles the catalogue also includes nylon strung solid body electric Concerts and Tenors. Predominantly he builds standard models on spec but he does take commissions too.

Ronald Zachary Taylor was a UK luthier, who learned the art in Spain in the early 1960's and went gone on to teach luthiery and inlay all over Europe. He has also written 14 books on the subject and in addition to his woodworking and literary skills he was a professional classical guitarist and an expert in the early guitar and its ancestral relatives. He worked on a number of other projects too, including acting as a consultant for the Mid East range of "themed" Ukuleles, for more information there is a full biography on the website. 

Most of his output has been Guitars and related instruments but this does include all of the standard scales of Ukulele and an extra one he describes as Bass? In his case this means a scale length bigger than a Baritone so like a Tenor Guitar, Chicago tuned, but with a fat neck. I have not seen him make a Sopranino though. All of the Ukuleles I have seen of his have spruce tops, but he uses a variety of different woods for the back and sides and on the headstock he puts an inlaid ZT. Towards the end of his life he had set up manufacturing of his Ukulele and some other of his chordophone designs with a firm in Vietnam He died in 2018.

He is based in Yokohama and from what I can gather of his history, he went to guitar making classes in the late 1990's while working as a Greengrocer then going on to make archtop Guitars under the brand name Yutaira. By his own admission these weren't very good and when a friend asked him to make a Ukulele in 2003 he switched production to Ukuleles. I believe that at this time he branded his Ukuleles Swallow. I have seen Sopranos, including Pineapples and Tenors models from him but his main output appears to be Concerts and from what I have seen he only builds on spec and does not take orders. His Ukuleles have a very individual two part saddle and often feature a golpeador; he is also fond of cutouts on the headstock though there is no headstock logo and some harking back to the archtop days with some archtop features, like backs, on some of his models. He says he only builds a dozen or so instruments a year and he appears to be one of those luthiers that likes to name the individual instruments with the overall brand name of Tsubame

(All using translator?) Based in Fukutsu-shi, Fukuoka Prefecture and starting in 2013, after he learned to make Ukuleles at Hana Lima 'Ia unde Mike Chock in 2012. He makes Soprano, Supersoprano, Concert and Tenor scale Ukuleles, and I have seen Pineapples but no extra string variants. As well as making Ukuleles he appears to teach Ukulele playing and Ukulele making too. 

I know the brand is Isana Ukuleles but I'm not certain that the luthiers name is Hidemaru Tsurezure, I see the name Maruo linked with him a lot? What I do know is he is based in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture and that he started out making Ukuleles as a hobby at age 30. At 35 he gave up his job and went to Hawaii to study under Bob Gleason. When he came back he continued his training in Hideaki Urabe's Workshop before starting on his own with Isana Ukuleles in 2005. The name Isana comes I believe from a mythical Japanese deep sea whale and is the reason for the whale tail on the logo and some of the headstocks. He makes Concert and Tenor scale Ukuleles including a Concert Pineapple, and I have seen double G Tenors too. He is fond of animal motifs on his Ukuleles and this often includes inlay, position markers on the fretboard, shaped sound holes and carved bridges. In fact I have seen a series of Cat themed fairly identical Concert Pineapples featuring all of this.
Nothing to do with the West German Guitar Maker Isana

He has been in business since before 1995, uses the brand name Crane and specialises in making historical Chordophones, (also providing plans of these in Japanese for other luthiers), so his output is very varied but it does include Soprano Ukuleles, Harp Ukuleles and Braguinhas too. He also makes capo's and supplies gut strings in Japan.