Bass uke companies that seem to come and go

88 fingers

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Hadean, Ohana, Caramel, Donner and UK Dream..are they all one and the same?..I notice a similarity in models and tuners and use of the Aqulla Thundergut strings.
 
Similar if not identical also are Stagg and Oscar Schmidt, likely due to both having distribution via Saga Music Inc.

Maybe it's just 'One Asian factory to rule them all'?
 
I'm sure most of the bass ukes come from one factory in China, but Ohana is definitely not one, neither is Gold Tone or Kala.


8 tenor cutaway ukes, 3 acoustic bass ukes, 8 solid body bass ukes, 8 mini electric bass guitars

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was wondering as you'll have a company putting them out, then they suddenly disappear and a new company is now marketing what looks like the exact same uke..and yes, all seem to come from the same location in China
 
You're talking about the distributors for various areas in the world, who will have the Chinese manufacturer add their own label (Hadean, Donner, etc.). I go to the NAMM show, where manufacturers around the world show their products to retail distributors and sellers (Rondo, Guitar Center, etc.). That's where I discovered how it works.


8 tenor cutaway ukes, 3 acoustic bass ukes, 8 solid body bass ukes, 8 mini electric bass guitars

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children's hospital music therapy programs. http://.www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: https://www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/videos
 
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thanks for the info..didnt mean to lump Ohana in there, but Laka also seems like another similar one...they virtually all have the same control panel on the side of the body,...Im currently enjoying playing the UK Dream bass uke..it was the lowest price of the lot...it delivers a great sound, and the intonation is just fine
 
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China, geographically is about the same size as the US with a population 4 times that of the US. I'm sure there's more than one ukulele factory there, Ubass or otherwise. Just because they look the same and use the same components, doesn't mean they all come from the same factory. I mean, how many options are there in the Ubass world? :shaka:
 
I'm referring more to the fact that a company that is putting out a bass uke one day is suddenly no longer around, but at the same time a new company starts putting out a bass uke that is virtually identical in design (headstock/components panel especially)..just wondered if it is some sort of tax dodge...or something?
 
...just wondered if it is some sort of tax dodge...or something?

It's certainly possible, but more likely the distributor bit off more than they could chew, anticipating better sales than really happened, so their investment turned out to be a bust.


8 tenor cutaway ukes, 3 acoustic bass ukes, 8 solid body bass ukes, 8 mini electric bass guitars

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children's hospital music therapy programs. http://.www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: https://www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/videos
 
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Hadean, Ohana, Caramel, Donner and UK Dream..are they all one and the same?..I notice a similarity in models and tuners and use of the Aqulla Thundergut strings.

Hadean definitely isn't a come and go. Rondo has been around for decades, still going strong. They've used a few names for their lines to delineate quality levels and styles (SX, Douglas, Brice, Hadean, Agile) but Rondo is about as established an American importer of Asian stringed instruments for their own lines as they come.
 
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