gstring ukuleles

Kanaka916 said:
Wow, talk about old threads. You rarely see them for sale and if you can find one, it will probably cost ya. Here's a link from a 10/12 thread to give you an idea what a G-String cost . . . http://www.hawaiianukuleleonline.com/hand-made-ukuleles/gstring-ukulele.html

http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?31229-G-String-Ukulele-Closed-down

I don't know how accurate or updated the contact info is buy you can try to contact Derek through his website
http://www.gstringukuleles.com/contact.shtml
Click to expand...


Hi,Kanaka916

thank you for listing the websites, i'll check it.
I find the information of gstring in uu is also little.
How do you think of it comared to the 4K brands?
I am in Shanghai, China, and contacted a person who want to sell his tenor gstring (2009, with a soft case while the ukulele has a small imprint on top), he asked me 3600 RMB, nearly $600, Is this a good bargin?
 
Yue-Wen Fang said:
Hi,Kanaka916
thank you for listing the websites, i'll check it.
I find the information of gstring in uu is also little.
How do you think of it comared to the 4K brands?
I am in Shanghai, China, and contacted a person who want to sell his tenor gstring (2009, with a soft case while the ukulele has a small imprint on top), he asked me 3600 RMB, nearly $600, Is this a good bargin?
Click to expand...
Aloha Yu-Wen Fang,
As Others have stated.....play it first then decide....considering where you live, and if you like the sound of it....it may fair price because they are fairly rare to find a good sounding one, depending how it sounds and overall condition, make your decision from there..good luck and happy strummings..
 
They do compare favorably to the K brands, and James Hill plays Gstring. I have a long neck soprano that I love cause it's got great tone and volume, exquisite neck shape and other design work. I've had it for 7 years and it just keeps getting better, even though it's now kind of beat up. If the tenor is in good condition 600 seems like a good price to me, especially if it's one of the fancier models.
 
Comparing a G String uke to a K? I believe the G String would have held it's own. Like Ko`olau Ukes, you just don't see them for sale as much as the others. For whatever reason, it's unfortunate that Derek closed his shop in Halawa Valley. And from what I understand, he's living on the Big Island and still building instruments on a limited basis. I honestly don't know how true that is. If I were looking to get another island built instrument, I would not hesitate to contact him.
 
I've owned one of the old ones....a super soprano and it was an amazing player!!!!! It was lalso very light build so when you play it, you can feel the whole body vibrating....seriously, it was just as good as any high end ukes that I've owned...I sold it because I don't play soprano anymore....but old ones are amazing in my book....



https://soundcloud.com/baouke/lady-standby-by-lotus-notes .......some funky groove......
 
Kiernan's Music on the Big Island had 2 or 3 in stock on Nov 5. Very nice build and decoration. Sounded sweet.
 
Hi, this is my first post. I just ordered a new G-String Concert C1, and now I am a bit confused as there has been discussions in this forum about G-String having had to close or downsize their shop and even about fake ones from China (which apparently turned out to be a misunderstanding):

http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?95546-Fake-G-String&highlight=gstring

Does anyone know how many ukes they are currently building or why their ukes don't show up in stores more often? Has anyone else bought one recently?
 
I exchanged emails with Derek a year ago, and he said he was a one man shop once again, and would build me any uke I wanted, but is at least 6 to 8 months back-logged. He didn't go out of his way to try and get my business, it was more like, "let me know what you want, send a deposit, and I will put you on the list". end. I know he builds nice instruments, but was a little too vague for my comfort zone.
 
Rakelele said:
Hi, this is my first post. I just ordered a new G-String Concert C1, and now I am a bit confused as there has been discussions in this forum about G-String having had to close or downsize their shop and even about fake ones from China (which apparently turned out to be a misunderstanding):

http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?95546-Fake-G-String&highlight=gstring

Does anyone know how many ukes they are currently building or why their ukes don't show up in stores more often? Has anyone else bought one recently?
Click to expand...


where did you order your uke from?....

Pua Pua still has some from Derek...but he is a one man shop now....and lives on the Big Island...he builds very few a year
there was rumors of fake ones built in China....

send pictures of your uke to Derek if you are confused about if it is a G-String....
http://www.gstringukuleles.com/
 
Last edited:
Thanks for sharing. Knowing that there are only a few being made makes mine even more special to me. I got it from Puapua. They assured me that it was built by Derek Shimizu. It arrived today. Here's a picture:

G-String_C1.jpg
 
Is there a tag or label inside the body? Curious as to what info is on there . . .
 
Kanaka916 said:
Is there a tag or label inside the body? Curious as to what info is on there . . .
Click to expand...

The label is very neat, made of a thin wood plate and shaped like a Telecaster Guitar with the following text engraved: “GString Ukulele Co. Hilo, Hawaii”, followed by the serial number (14100514). According to another thread, the last three or four digits indicate the production date, in this case May 2014. Not sure how to interpret the first four or five digits, though.
 
Appears Derek has a new numbering system. The number on my GString consists of 5 digits. The old label was a square piece with the logo and where it was made, in my case Halawa Valley on the island of Oahu.
 
Kanaka916 said:
Appears Derek has a new numbering system. The number on my GString consists of 5 digits. The old label was a square piece with the logo and where it was made, in my case Halawa Valley on the island of Oahu.
Click to expand...

I am pretty sure this is a real G-String....with new labels but strange that it says Hilo,Hawaii...the website says Derek in Keaau,HI?

did the uke come from PuaPua Hawaii or Pua Pua Taiwan?
 
I got my G-String Concert C1 from Puapua in Honolulu. It arrived yesterday, and I am stunned by its beauty. The Koa is very dark and beautifully figured to match the shape of the Uke perfectly. The finish is done in a smooth satin, yet allowing the wood to shine. Logo and fretmarks are made of Abalone sparkling in all colors. As previously mentioned, the brand label inside the body consists of a neat wooden plate shaped like an electric guitar. The body features a curved back and a lower bout that is bigger and more rounded than on my other Ukes, producing a lot of sustain and bass. As far as I can tell after playing for a short while, intonation is spot on. It has a beautiful singing voice and sounds nicely balanced when being strummed. My first impression is that it compares very well to my Kamaka and my Kanilea (which are both very dear to me).
 
hawaii 50 said:
I am pretty sure this is a real G-String....with new labels but strange that it says Hilo,Hawaii...the website says Derek in Keaau,HI?

did the uke come from PuaPua Hawaii or Pua Pua Taiwan?
Click to expand...
Derek does reside in Keaau and Hilo is really not that far from Keaau. I guess he has his reasons for doing that. AFAIK, GString is a one man operation and Derek is it. And no, pretty sure did not come from Taiwan . . . Hawaiian made!
 
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