David

About David

Posts by David Colledge:

August 18 2026

Coming up…

We’d much rather be engineering, designing or manufacturing instruments so we often don’t have much to write here at Bunyip but I thought I’d give you a glimpse of what may be in our future plans.

The Billabong Bass has reached production status after a long period of testing across Australia by many individual bass players and bands, some of them quite famous.

So with production rolling, the scope for new instrument development will shift to the Uki bass. There has been a concept design of this around for a few months and it has been well received by ukulele bass players. Ukulele bass instruments are relatively new to the instrument market, given that ukuleles started in Hawaii in the 1880s as an adaption of Portuguese instruments. We will be featuring these in our Bunyip musos Facebook group when they are out for testing.

Following that, probably a 5 string bass, other acoustic ukuleles in both Uki and B Series, and our new concept for heavier type music players the Chugmeister. Amplifiers are still on our radar as well as manufacturing instruments, as are acoustic guitars but they are still a distance away.

: Al Salmon of The Plumdogs and his Bunyip

: Ron F at Barraba, and he won a B Series

: Red custom shop Uki

: David at Boondooma festival

: Mick on Billabong Bass

: Neil in Japan with his Billabong bass

: Spida Mann and his ukulele group in Woodburn

: Tom on Billabong Bass

August 18 2026

Donut to Bunyip

David Yarns

If you’ve ever been to the South Coast of NSW you’ll know it has lots of good foodie type places. One of these is the Berry Donut Van. Great doughnuts, terrible spelling.

So what does this have to with guitars?

When Bunyip was just an idea and we knew what we wanted to make, we needed an Australian name for the brand. Seated on that very wall we thought, what is more Australian than a Bunyip? So some searching of business registrations and names and payment of fees to the government later, we had Bunyip Musical Instruments, trading as Bunyip Guitars registered. Step one.

The tag line “The new guitar you have owned for 20 years” came from a parent of one of our early clients, who are still one of our greatest supporters.

Their daughter had just won the Junior Country Musician award for the state. One of the judges said that they had seen her come up over the past two years but this day the performance was so far above what she had done previously that there must be something that had been added to the mix. Was it a new vocal coach, a new practice routine or something else?

She replied it was her Bunyip guitar – it felt like she had owned it for 20 years, so she didn’t have to think about how to play it. The judge said it wasn’t a possibility but he was a guitar player so could he try it. She gave it to him and he struck a chord. The look on his face and the single syllable expletive said it all.

Her father rang me with the tag line. She had owned the guitar for a week.

June 17 2026

Fret Sprout

David Advice

Fretted instruments in dry conditions are often subject to fret sprout which occurs when the wood of a guitar’s neck contracts.
This is more often the case in low humidity, or hot and dry conditions. It occurs when the metal frets extend slightly beyond the neck’s edge as the neck wood shrinks.

The difference in reaction to the conditions between the wood and the metal under different temperature and humidity conditions is the root of this phenomenon. When the air gets dry, wood responds by contracting, leaving the once-flush frets feeling like tiny, unwelcome thorns along the edge of the neck.

The fix once you get fret sprout

The fix usually involves gently filing down the protruding fret ends and then polishing them to restore a smooth neck surface.

This process, while not overly complex, requires a careful hand and the right tools — a set of small fine files, multiple grades of fine-grit sandpaper and polishing cloths are essentials.

For those who are not comfortable doing this themselves, a professional luthier or guitar technician can perform the repair. Costs for such repairs vary. We encourage you to check with your local guitar shop of they can help you.

To reduce the risk of fret sprout

There are three main things you could do to avoid or at least reduce the risk of fret sprout with your Bunyip instrument:

Store your instrument in a case
Maintain stable humidity levels. Air conditioned rooms are notorious for drying out instruments
Invest in a small humidifier if needed.

Storing your instrument in a case or quality gig bag when not in use protects it from rapid changes in conditions, helping to keep those frets in place. However, it is the humidity, or lack of it, that is the root cause and if the wood has shrunk, no oil in the world will make it swell back again. Maintaining stable humidity levels during your instrument’s storage can significantly reduce the risk. A small humidifier could be a great investment.

Note: Fretboards made of maple have a protective finish and should cleaned with a damp cloth or ‘Mr Sheened’

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. Happy playing!

June 17 2026

Changing Uke strings

David Advice, Ukuleles

Bunyip ukuleles, both the B Series and the Uki Series, have easy to change string systems.

B Series

The Bunyip B series is a more affordable range of instruments that does not compromise on playability or ease of maintenance.

Nylon ukulele strings need replacing when they lose their tone, are frayed, show signs of wear or become discoloured. Strings can last up to two years if you are an infrequent player.

Changing strings on a B Series

We recommend you change the strings on your B Series Bunyip ukulele one at a time to maintain tension on the instrument.

Simply loosen each string at the headstock until is completely loose and remove it from the machine head.
Remove the string bridge pin and place it to one side.

The string can now be removed from the instrument, rolled up and prepared for disposal.

We recommend ball end construction ukulele strings for ease of changing.

Place the ball end of the new string in the string hole and push it down into the instrument
Lock the string pin down over the string
Pull up on the string to check that it is locked in place
Feed the string through the hole in the machine head and then around the machine post and back through the hole in the machine head post to lock the string in place
Ease that string up to correct tension. Nylon strings take time to “settle in” and it may take several tunings.

Proceed to the next string and repeat the procedure.

See this article on nylon vs. fleurocarbon strings.

Changing strings on a UKI Series

Uki series ukuleles have a steel truss rod in the neck and may be strung with nylon, bronze, silk and steel, or steel strings without damaging the instrument.
Uki’s have four individual bridge saddles which may be adjusted for playing action height and correct intonation.
Uki’s may have all the strings simply removed at once with no ill effects.

Once the strings have been removed, simply replace them with new strings by threading the string through hole in the back of the bridge saddle holder, through the saddle, over the top of it, and up to the tuning key on the head.

If you have a model with the EZlok tuner, pass the string through the lower hole in the tuner and pull it all the way through then wrap the string firmly around the tuning post and pass the string through the second hole to lock the string.

Tune the strings.

Reset the playing action and intonation to the correct settings.

If you have any questions, or would like any advice, we’re always here to help!

June 23 2025

Choosing your first electric

David Advice, Electric

You’ve decided that now is the time – you want to learn to play the electric guitar because the idea of playing chops and riffs on a real electric guitar like your music hero is irresistible. But when you look at the range available you quickly realise that the selection is huge.

You tube sites such as Andertons like this also help give information.

A Bunyip Tee 1 is made in Australia
It is easy to play
It is comfortable to play with a comfort cut and arm rest built in.
It is light in weight at 2 kilograms
Has a top loader bridge do it doesn’t go out of tune easily
Has Bunyip’s traditional telecaster sounding pickups
Has Wilkinson EZlok tuners for stability in tuning
Has a 22 fret neck

Other guitars may be cheaper but a Tee 1 is a professional guitar built without bling to keep it’s excellent value for money reputation.