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| Moderated by: Tony Provencher, Richard Hefner | Page:   1 2 3 |
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| Kamaka Ukulele | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Wed Jan 9th, 2008 07:22 am |
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41st Post |
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GX9901 Approved 
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I just toured KoAloha today (I'm in Oahu this week). Very cool experience and I learned a couple of things about KoAloha that I did not know before. I think they usually charge for the tour, but they didn't today. Brian, who was our guide, had not done the tour for a while and didn't think he did a great job for the tour so he didn't charge for it (he did just fine by my account). The people at KoAloha are great, just like I've heard. On the subject of Kamaka, I finally tried one today, a tenor. I thought it was pretty good and worth the money they charge for it, but I've tried a lot of very high end ukes so far on this trip so the Kamaka didn't exactly stand out. Man, sampling high end ukes is sure a lot of fun! 
____________________ Check out my uke blog: http://gx9901ukes.blogspot.com |
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| Posted: Wed Jan 9th, 2008 08:44 pm |
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42nd Post |
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honu Approved
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GX9901 - Wished I was there with you. Those ukes must be really getting a beating. LOL! Yeah, I felt the same way with the Kamaka, if you compare them with other high-ends. Was Benjamin still at KoAloha? Did you meet Papa and Mama Okami? Tell us which high-end ukes that were worth playing.
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| Posted: Thu Jan 10th, 2008 01:54 am |
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43rd Post |
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ezmember Approved
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Could you give us a comprehensive opinion of what you've noticed is better about the "high-end" ukes, as compared with lower priced ones? (Comprehensive meaning covering all the bases...tone, action, etc)  Thanks
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| Posted: Thu Jan 10th, 2008 09:55 am |
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44th Post |
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GX9901 Approved
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honu - I treated the high end stuff with kid gloves because I didn't want to have to pay for them! LOL! Yes, Benjamin is still there and I met with Papa & Mama Okami. Papa gave me a lesson how to better tie the strings on the Pineapple Sunday's bridge. I even got to see a stack of Pinapple Sundays being built in the factory. That was very cool since I've always wondered what it looked like without the soundboard. I plan to write a blog entry with lots of pictures shortly. I was fortunate enough to try a lot of different high end ukes so far on this trip. Some of the highlights are Koa Works, Ko'olau, G-String Custom shop tenor (at Pua Pua), Koa Rythms, Pahu Kani, Keith Ogata, KoAloha tenor Sceptre, and Moore Bettah. I also plan to put down my thoughts on as many ukes I played as I can on a blog entry for my own record, but the very best ones, in my recollection, were a Koa Works tenor and a Ko'olau 100 series tenor. Interestingly, I also tried a Ko'olau series 400 tenor and series 400 concert, and I would hands down take the series 100 tenor over them regardless of the price. It was the only one that seemed to have matched the Koa Works in terms of sound. Too bad they were not at the same place so I can't do back to back sound testing. ezmember - I will post another thread about my opinions on "high end" ukes. It may not be easy to describe, but it should be fun to try. Stay tuned.
____________________ Check out my uke blog: http://gx9901ukes.blogspot.com |
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| Posted: Thu Jan 10th, 2008 03:20 pm |
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45th Post |
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honu Approved
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I tried to do the same task two years ago, but the wife was getting tired of playing ukes. I stopped at three days. Koolaus are really nice, now you are talking about a really high end uke. Bruce Shimabukuro (Jake's brother) plays a custom Koolau. What I like about the Koolaus is the guitar-like head, the cutaway and the weight - it's very balanced. The uke can accomodate quite a few playing styles - mellow, loud, etc. Unfortunately, it's too rich for my blood. I still favor the G-String as a production uke adding extras to make it a semi-custom. It's less expensive. I have never heard of Koa Works or the others. I played a KoAloha Sceptre - there's even a tenor version - it was a prototype. I think it's a cool design. The Okamis are good people. Glad to hear that Benjamin is still there. I can't wait when you publish your blogs on the different uke brands and what your viewpoints are.
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| Posted: Thu Jan 10th, 2008 05:38 pm |
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46th Post |
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GX9901 Approved
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honu - I have tried some G-String ukes too and am still very impressed with them. The first concert I tried pretty much blew me away. And it only had the factory strings on them. The 2nd concert I tried was a Dolphin model, and that one was still good but didn't seem to be quite as great as the first one. The G-String custom shop model was excellent, and featured everything one could want (radiused figerboard, bound everything, etc), but the sound didn't seem quite as sublime as the best I've tried. Maybe I was so shocked by the fact that they let me try it (I asked for a regular G-String tenor and they didn't have one, so they gave me the custom) that I didn't pay enough attention or something. Still, the sound was great and I was really impressed by it.A lot of the stuff such as Koa Works are built by local luthiers that only build about a dozen ukes a year, so they are not well known. But they are pretty outstanding.
____________________ Check out my uke blog: http://gx9901ukes.blogspot.com |
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| Posted: Mon Jan 14th, 2008 02:42 am |
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47th Post |
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honu Approved
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Any contact names or information on Koa works? I'm surprised that you did not go to see Derek Shimizu at G-String.
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| Posted: Mon Jan 14th, 2008 03:04 am |
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48th Post |
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GX9901 Approved
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honu wrote: Any contact names or information on Koa works? I'm surprised that you did not go to see Derek Shimizu at G-String. Rich Godfrey, who builds Koa Works ukes, is an active fire fighter and makes ukes in his spare time appearantly. According to Shawn Yacavone, he builds about 10-12/year in Kaneohe (Oahu). Rich's phone number is on the label inside the uke: 808-235-1962. I only made it to KoAloha this time. I didn't want to turn the trip into a total "uke run", so unfortunately I didn't get a chance to visit G-String, Kamaka, or Kanile'a. Perhaps next time.
____________________ Check out my uke blog: http://gx9901ukes.blogspot.com |
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