The Ukulele / Herman Vandecauter (Brussels) hvandecauter@gmail.com The enchanting sounds of the Madeirian machete and the rajão paved the way for the ukulele as we know it today. The machete, with a scale length similar to that of the soprano ukulele, possessed a distinct tuning of GCEA, often with the G string re-entrant. Conversely, the tenor ukulele frequently featured a low G string. Within the realm of Madeiran craftsmanship, Octavianno Joao Nunes reigned supreme as an exceptional luthier. His family had been dedicated to the art of crafting musical instruments for generations, leaving an indelible mark on their creations. It is widely believed that Manuel Nunes was the pioneer who ventured to tune the machete differently. In 1879, he arrived in Hawaii aboard the German ship Ravenscrag, accompanied by Augusto Dias and Jose de Espirito Santo—two other early ukulele makers. Together, th