Ukuleles by Aaron Keim
Ukulele by Aaron Keim
www.thebeansprout.com
Aaron and Nicole Keim live in Hood River, Oregon with their son Henry, building instruments, playing music, writing books, making art and embracing a hands-on life. Aaron started Beansprout in 2007 with Heidi and Rob Litke (Red Sands Ukulele) in Broomfield, Colorado. They made 100+ instruments before Aaron moved to Oregon to work for Mya-Moe Ukuleles in 2011. While at Mya-Moe under the guidance of Gordon and Char Mayer, Aaron's building skills blossomed while he learned the importance of customer service and keeping a focused shop schedule. Most importantly, they gave Aaron the opportunity to work on the 2000+ instruments that Mya-Moe put out over these years. In the meantime, Aaron developed an interest in domestic/local/salvaged woods, vintage woodworking equipment and traditional hand woodworking techniques. Since re-launching Beansprout, Aaron has consistently produced instruments that play easy, sound great and are carefully built pieces of folk art. Aaron and Nicole continue to perform and teach worldwide and publish books as The Quiet American. Nicole also makes art as Marmalade Creations.
Aaron was one of the first to embrace the use of Pistachio fingerboards in all of his instruments. Pistachio adds a rich color to each fingerboard and has a hardness equal to imported Ebony making it a great choice for any instrument. Aaron has long been an advocate for using domestic wood and embraces the same eco friendly beliefs as we do at woodfromthewest.
We continue to be impressed with amazing tone Aaron voices out of each set of Myrtle, Walnut, and Pistachio back and sides and Port Orford Cedar soundboards. We consider Aaron to be a talented and gifted luthier building Ukuleles and Banjos today. We have two of his instruments he personally built for our family. The tone, quality, and beauty of each instrument is exceptional.