I am very excited to reveal what I consider my most exquisite pendant ocarina sets yet, and one of my most stunning ocarina builds to date! This set, batch 29, consists of four custom soprano Eb5 pendant ocarinas, SN 081-084, made from an utterly incredible selection of manzanita burl, wenge, and spalted curly old growth redwood.
Each ocarina in this set features its own distinct character, from the absolutely wild and raw manzanita wood, to a truly unique voicing. The manzanita burl that makes up the top and bottom of this ocarina set is absolutely incredible in every way – an unbelievable rich deep reddish-brown color, featuring wild swirling burl grain, and an amazingly raw, natural beauty exemplified by the many natural checks, cracks, and inclusions found throughout each piece. Manzanita is a relatively rarer North American hardwood, known for growing with incredibly twisted, gnarled trunks in very rocky soils on the west coast of the US. Large pieces of manzanita are rare to see on the market, often only available as smaller cookies or trunk slabs. The wood is incredibly hard, heavy, and dense, taking an incredible polish and finish with truly spectacular colors. I have always loved working with woods, and especially burls, that includes a deep array of natural features, and manzanita does not disappoint with its wild, untamed beauty. The manzanita is further complimented with a thin wenge accent stripe cutting between the top and bottom pieces of the body, which pairs beautifully with the natural black bark inclusions found in each piece. Finally, I decided to use a very unique and rare selection of spalted curly old growth redwood for the mouthpiece, with the unique dark spalting stripes pairing with the wild, natural cracked figure of the manzanita burl.
The tone of this set is characterized by a warm, rich sweetness that plays effortlessly across the range. The response is phenomenal, and with how the Eb5 size is voiced, has a bit more power to it that can be pushed if needed. Each ocarina exhibits a very slightly different feel, ranging from a super clean, pure tone across the range, to tone with a bit of texture at the upper end.
As soon as I saw the raw wood for this special custom build, I immediately knew that I had to keep one of the ocarinas for myself for my own personal collection. Each ocarina is truly unique and special – an utter gem that captures the raw, unfiltered beauty of nature, polished to bring out the most in its natural beauty, and voiced to sing with an exquisite voice. These ocarinas are truly a rarity, and would make for a stunning pinnacle in any pendant ocarina collection. With the customer and myself selecting one ocarina each from this set, that only leaves two left of these rare and precious works of art!
Batch 29 Reveal – Custom Soprano Eb5 Pendant
Ocarina Improv – Custom Soprano Eb5 Pendant
