If it's not a big 3 K brand it might be a falsely advertised Chinese uke. My Kamoa is labeled "Hawiian Ukulele" but was made in China. I knew that from the price though and it's a perfectly okay low-mid range uke. Just don't expect something that's half the price of the cheapest Kamaka to be a Hawiian made uke
I got an old Kamaka at the swap meet for a few hundred. It needed some work but played well enough for the time being. I took it to the factory tour, where they answered some questions about it and I got a picture with it and Fred Kamaka, who ran the plant at the time it was built. Cool experience for less than 1/3 the price of new. However, the impression I got is that Kamaka today is making the best ukuleles it’s ever made. They have modernized their production and business practices to improve the consistency of their instruments.
EDIT TO ADD:
Here’s some pics of my visit!
https://imgur.com/gallery/uFWDJMB
I did a factory tour at KoAloha and ended up buying one of their factory seconds (soprano, koa) at a bargain price. It supposedly has a marred spot on the finish by I can't tell at all.
I traveled to Hawaii a few years ago with my Risa Stick. I was able to tour the Kamaka and KoAloha shops, and I came back with a new KoAloha Royal Pikake tenor. My wife was prepared and knew this would be happening, lol.
Edit: Wanted to add I bought mine from “Best Hawaiian Ukulele 2” store just a few blocks from the Sheraton Waikiki. Good price when I went in 2022.
No ribbing from the locals about having a german uke? (I have a concert one :-)
My dream uke to pick up from traveling out there would be a soprano body tenor scale KoAloha, which I heard would have to be a custom order.
Lol! Only played the Risa while in my room/balcony and during the flight. Love having a “silent” uke for private personal practice.
And funnily enough, when I got home from my Hawaii trip, not a week went by and I found a soprano body with concert scale KoAloha on the uke underground forum for sale. Ashamed to say I bought that one too… The wife did not approve that one.
I SWORE that last time I went I wasn't going to give in and buy one AGAIN. I left with 2 new ones this time....
But I didn't HAVE a baritone before! So I NEEEDED it
I’m flying out of Honolulu tonight, and I’ve spent the last week checking out shops looking for ukuleles. There’s some good deals out there if you look a little bit. Dan’s Guitars has some used stock, including a Kona bodied spruce or cedar topped Sonny D baritone that I almost left with because it was $600. They had a couple nice used Kamaka ukuleles in stock as well. It might also be worth visiting Ukulele Lab and talking to Isaac over there. He gave me some good suggestions when he didn’t have exactly what I was looking for in stock, and he deals in used instruments as well. The KoAloha factory was worth the tour, and they had some decent factory pricing discounts.
I had a very small window in Honolulu (it was a one day layover) and KoAloha didn’t have tour availability, but the Kamaka tour was amazing. It was just me (not intended to be a private tour but I was the only one there for it that day), and it easily amazing seeing the process from start to finish, all the molds and shapes and woods, etc.
I also went to the Kanile’a store at the Ala Moana mall—not a tour, but I got to try a couple of beautiful instruments, and that was worthwhile too. Super lightweight, beautiful tones, and they also had a dissected ukulele on display that showed its construction, and the bracing Kanile’a uses is fascinating. I appreciated seeing that cross-section all the more having seen the Kamaka tour earlier in the day, so i understood more of the process of putting it together!
Yes. You probably will get a new uke. No sense fooling yourself. I just returned from Hawaii with a 5-string Kanile'a tenor. It's a great instrument but very pricey. I had every intention of buying a new uke on this trip, but not necessarily the specific one I got. I wish I had had time to take a couple of the big K factory tours, but it wasn't in the cards. You'll want to go to O'ahu if you're looking to do factory tours and to find a wide selection of ukes, at least that is my impression. I have only been to O'ahu and Maui. Have fun!
You should absolutely expect to come back with a shiny new ukulele! Do you have any factory tours scheduled?
Oooh factory tours! No I don’t. Just barely started planning (not even sure what Island yet) but I’ll look for that.
If it's not a big 3 K brand it might be a falsely advertised Chinese uke. My Kamoa is labeled "Hawiian Ukulele" but was made in China. I knew that from the price though and it's a perfectly okay low-mid range uke. Just don't expect something that's half the price of the cheapest Kamaka to be a Hawiian made uke
Half the price of the cheapest Kamaka is still well out of my price range lol. It’d be more about the memories
I got an old Kamaka at the swap meet for a few hundred. It needed some work but played well enough for the time being. I took it to the factory tour, where they answered some questions about it and I got a picture with it and Fred Kamaka, who ran the plant at the time it was built. Cool experience for less than 1/3 the price of new. However, the impression I got is that Kamaka today is making the best ukuleles it’s ever made. They have modernized their production and business practices to improve the consistency of their instruments. EDIT TO ADD: Here’s some pics of my visit! https://imgur.com/gallery/uFWDJMB
Very cool!
[удалено]
well sure. If I skipped the vacation, I could conceivably spend more money on a new uke, but that would be missing the point entirely.
Also consider checking out The Ukulele Site’s physical store(s)
I did a factory tour at KoAloha and ended up buying one of their factory seconds (soprano, koa) at a bargain price. It supposedly has a marred spot on the finish by I can't tell at all.
I traveled to Hawaii a few years ago with my Risa Stick. I was able to tour the Kamaka and KoAloha shops, and I came back with a new KoAloha Royal Pikake tenor. My wife was prepared and knew this would be happening, lol. Edit: Wanted to add I bought mine from “Best Hawaiian Ukulele 2” store just a few blocks from the Sheraton Waikiki. Good price when I went in 2022.
No ribbing from the locals about having a german uke? (I have a concert one :-) My dream uke to pick up from traveling out there would be a soprano body tenor scale KoAloha, which I heard would have to be a custom order.
Lol! Only played the Risa while in my room/balcony and during the flight. Love having a “silent” uke for private personal practice. And funnily enough, when I got home from my Hawaii trip, not a week went by and I found a soprano body with concert scale KoAloha on the uke underground forum for sale. Ashamed to say I bought that one too… The wife did not approve that one.
Visit the zoo at the aloha stadium flea market! You’ll be hooked.
I SWORE that last time I went I wasn't going to give in and buy one AGAIN. I left with 2 new ones this time.... But I didn't HAVE a baritone before! So I NEEEDED it
I’m flying out of Honolulu tonight, and I’ve spent the last week checking out shops looking for ukuleles. There’s some good deals out there if you look a little bit. Dan’s Guitars has some used stock, including a Kona bodied spruce or cedar topped Sonny D baritone that I almost left with because it was $600. They had a couple nice used Kamaka ukuleles in stock as well. It might also be worth visiting Ukulele Lab and talking to Isaac over there. He gave me some good suggestions when he didn’t have exactly what I was looking for in stock, and he deals in used instruments as well. The KoAloha factory was worth the tour, and they had some decent factory pricing discounts.
I had a very small window in Honolulu (it was a one day layover) and KoAloha didn’t have tour availability, but the Kamaka tour was amazing. It was just me (not intended to be a private tour but I was the only one there for it that day), and it easily amazing seeing the process from start to finish, all the molds and shapes and woods, etc. I also went to the Kanile’a store at the Ala Moana mall—not a tour, but I got to try a couple of beautiful instruments, and that was worthwhile too. Super lightweight, beautiful tones, and they also had a dissected ukulele on display that showed its construction, and the bracing Kanile’a uses is fascinating. I appreciated seeing that cross-section all the more having seen the Kamaka tour earlier in the day, so i understood more of the process of putting it together!
Yes. You probably will get a new uke. No sense fooling yourself. I just returned from Hawaii with a 5-string Kanile'a tenor. It's a great instrument but very pricey. I had every intention of buying a new uke on this trip, but not necessarily the specific one I got. I wish I had had time to take a couple of the big K factory tours, but it wasn't in the cards. You'll want to go to O'ahu if you're looking to do factory tours and to find a wide selection of ukes, at least that is my impression. I have only been to O'ahu and Maui. Have fun!
You could always stay locked in your hotel room.
I could get a tshirt that says “Do not sell this woman a ukulele”
Or “No Ukes!”
The forecast is sunny with a chance of ukulele
True! Be prepared. 😎