Since Jan 2025 Tukituki Instruments is now located in Whanganui, New Zealand.
​Musical Woodworking
Tukituki Instruments was founded in February 2009 by me, Phill Jones. Im a multi-instrumentalist, award-winning composer, and a keen woodworker. Through my business, I love to fuse my two passions of playing music and crafting with wood to create high quality and musically infused wooden objects. The Instruments that emerge from my workshop become tools for use in the wider world, whether in the hands of a professional musician, a student in school, or a practitioner of music therapy.
​
Materials I use
I use NZ native timbers such as Kauri, Kahikatea, and Matai, in combination with imported woods such as Cedar and Spruce. I enjoy using locally milled Elm, Blackwood, Alder, and other species grown and milled in Whanganui. I source high quality NZ and exotic veneers for the front "Tapa" of my Cajón drums. When I need to use Plywood, I use European Birch as it is strong and structurally sound in addition to being very good acoustically.
The Tukituki River
‘Tukituki’ comes from the name of the river and the road in Hawke’s Bay on NZ’s East Coast on which my family’s farm was situated in 2009 and for three generations before that. That is where I learned to work with timber, firstly with my grandfather, and later on my own while he watched on from the farmhouse. I carry the name Tukituki with pride, it reminds me of my roots, where I first played with timber, nails, and a hammer, and where I built my first cajón drum.
​​
A love for the Craft
I grew up near Pat Ward, a renowned violin maker/repairer in Havelock North, Hawke’s Bay. I was amazed at how he would spend so much time over small details in order to make instruments sing. Nowadays it is that focus, experience and care that I strive for with my instrument making. I’ve established myself as a renowned cajonero and have developed my skills to build marimbas for schools around New Zealand, and my lutherie skills in the building of various harps and lyres for music therapists and sound healers, and I'm trying my hand at "necked" instruments such as Citterns, Bouzoukis, and other world folk instruments.
If you're interested in following my musical projects please head here:
​
https://www.instagram.com/phill_jones_music/
https://www.facebook.com/PhillJonesMusic/
​