CarbonDynamix

The BUKE is a unique new instrument, designed and built in Western Australia by Graeme Attey. The Buke may look something like a science fiction version of a banjo but it produces a very unique sound.

With 4 pairs of strings, the Buke sounds like equal parts guitar, banjo, dobro and sitar, with very long sustain too. It’s an instrument that will make you naturally play with more subtlety, just so you can listen more intently to the beautiful tone it produces.

Like a banjo, the Buke is essentially a carbon-fibre drum with a neck attached and is therefore like a banjo in layout and general design. What makes it unique and sets it apart from other instruments is the soundboard or head of the instrument which is ultra-thin carbon fibre under permanent pre-stress. The carbon fibres are actually placed under great stress, stretched flat across the body of the instrument prior to resin set. Carbon is much stiffer than normal banjo head Mylar (which is actually PET ‘drink bottle’ plastic) so once set, the carbon soundboard/head produces a unique sound that is sustained through the entire body and neck.

The Buke is a super light-weight instrument (typically less than 2.2 lbs or 1 kg) and is extremely easy to play. If you can play a Uke, you can play a Buke!