Kimo Jones custom tenor

[Bradley]

Hello Friends, I am looking for a custom builder, have about $1.000 to spend. Saw this luthier on Craigslist. He has a very nice website. Does any one have experience with a Kimo Jones ukulele? Really appreciate this, trying to make an informed decision. He answwered my email right away. All good so far.
Bradley

http://kimosukes.weebly.com/tenor-230.html

 

[Ronnie Aloha]

Try Mike perreira too. MP ukes

 

[Kanaka916]

Check the Custom Builders listing and the 808 Builders list.

 

[Ahnko Honu]

http://www.youtube.com/user/808ukes

 

[Bradley]

Uke hunt

http://www.youtube.com/user/808ukes

thank you Friends, most helpful
Bradley

 

[caster]

I just bought a Kimo Jones tenor uke and I love it. It's solid koa with mahogany neck. Very well made and beatiful looking and sounding!

 

[boatbrain]

I've owned a Kimo Jones Tenor for about a year. Koa sides/back, Spruce top, Ebony bridge/fretboard. Very well built using high quality parts and I get a lot of compliments on the tone and projection. He sells online for 650 to 700 delivered in a nice case. The only caveat, (which I actually see as a plus) is you can tell these are each handmade when you look carefully at the finish, because he uses an oil finish instead of multiple coats of spray. Personally, I think it accounts for the exceptional tone and projection mentioned above. If you are buying to play and enjoy, feeling a real connection with the person who crafted your uke, these fit the bill. If you're thinking of resale down the road--well, it's always a gamble, buying from a small, relatively unkown luthier as opposed to "big" guys, although years ago I bought a guitar from an as-yet unkonwn builder named James Goodall, and that worked out pretty well. I think my uke is as good, or better, than most of the more-expensive high-end ones at Sylvan Music here in Santa Cruz, and they have a large cross selection of custom and semi-custom builders.

 

[allanr]

Kimo Jones

I own a tenor with a spruce top and high-grade koa back and sides.

I bought it online (Fleamarket Music) slightly used. It is a gorgeous instrument with a beautiful tone.

The neck is narrower than on most ukes. This can be either a plus or minus, depending on how big you hands are and/or personal preference.

I would also add that when it arrived from Texas there was some fret buzz. My luthier did a little work on the frets, but said that there was a slight bow to the neck. He also advised me not to do anything about it until the uke had a chance to "settle in" to the Toronto climate. It did, and the fret buzz is completely gone now.

Overall, I think it is an excellent uke, and there is really no other well-made, hand built one-off uke in the price range.