Kaka ukuleles - "Kamaka" lookalike!

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kissing

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I was at a music store in Melbourne today that has some ukuleles, and I spotted what looked a lot like Kamakas at a glance.

Upon closer inspection, they were Chinese ukuleles called "Kaka".

Generally I'm not a fan of knock-offs, but at a distance or through a grainy webcam, it may fool some unsuspecting eyes :cool:

201308101376098568796.jpg

http://www.kakaukuleles.com/product/html/?65.html


Tone and playability were pretty average for a laminate Asian ukulele, similar to your Kalas, Oscar Schmidts, etc.


I'm not sure whether these are the exact same models I saw in store.
The store ones were actually labelled as being "Traditional Hawaiian Koa", but I didn't take a photo.
 
Few Kamakas have slotted headstocks, and the sopranos have a very differently shaped headstock. And Kamakas don't have that cheesy abalone rosette - so I'm hoping nobody who knows Kamakas would be fooled!

There was a recent thread about these poking fun at the name :)
 
I wonder if "kaka" means anything in Chinese. maybe someone needs to tell the people who are marketing these ukuleles what that word generally means in English.
 
Kaka doesn't really mean anything.
Janeray1940 is right, slotted headstocks are quite rare on a Kamaka. In fact the slotted headstock looks similar to some of the Chinese made ukes. To me the body of Kaka ukes are very similar to other Chinese ukes. If you have the time, try visiting www.taobao.com and do a search on 'ukuleles'. (taobao is Chinese ebay). Plenty of different companies but very similar body shapes (at least to me). But brands are still important. Despite having similar shapes, some have better materials quality control and setup than others.
 
As for knockoffs, though, these sure look like Ovation Applause knockoffs.
 
I bet they sound like Kaka.
 
Cheesy....I wouldn't want a knockoff anything....not a sports car, not a handbag, not a dress, not a phone, and certainly not an ukulele!
 
come on guys, it's pretty hard not to make a 'knock off' of a ukulele. they are ALL knock offs of the original design and very few 'originals' have been produced since. the use of slotted headstock and rosette says they are not trying to copy a kamaka, looks more like a copy of the kala. maybe kaka in chinese means top quality, i don't know. if someone on the forum has one and can give a review, lets not be too quick to condemn, 90% of the uku's out there are chinese knock offs. by the way, i likey the chessy rosette and slotted headstock, but then again it's possible i'm just a chessy sort of guy.
 
I have a pocket Kaka and it is a great little uke. Love to play it with my uke group it is one of the best projected sounds in the group and I am sure that most of those others cost a lot more than mine.
 
One of my best playing and sounding ukes is a Chinese made acacia koa tenor cutaway I found through the Chinese "Amazon" site Aliexpress.com. Slotted head, two hole, abalone binding, very light weight. I added Worth CT strings, a preamp/tuner, strap buttons, and give it a nice polish job.

Uku uke 2 sideways.jpg
 
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LOL...I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the name...

I wonder if they come in a nice hardshell case like this:
VBT073013-05c.jpg
 
I met them last week at the Music Expo here in Guangzhou. They're also made in this province of Guangdong - just outside of Hong Kong - what many of us Westerners learned as Canton. Here's another website which lists the wholesale prices of their products:

http://www.jiyimusical.en.alibaba.com/productlist.html

Kaka brand is their beginner model. They have nicer professional models under the "Enya" brand name. What gall that Irish singer has to rip off not only their brand name, but even the same stylized font! ;p
 
I am sure the "KaKa" means nothing. If there must be one reason, I rather believe the mainland China people are inspired by "Kala". But likely not.

In China, the information from the outside world are very limited, they know Kala much more than Kamaka. Even, it is very hard for them to access this forum, and other websites (like Uke brand's website, or HMS), to learn about Kamaka & other ukulele related things.
 
Hammond said:
I am sure the "KaKa" means nothing....In China, the information from the outside world are very limited, they know Kala much more than Kamaka. Even, it is very hard for them to access this forum, and other websites (like Uke brand's website, or HMS), to learn about Kamaka & other ukulele related things.
Click to expand...

Well, at least you got the first part right. Kaka means nothing here in mainland China. Sounds have different meanings to different people. When, for example, Croatian shops advertise "cold drinks" to thirsty summer visitors from Slovakia, the Slovaks can't help but read it as meaning "hungry vagina." (Though a more vulgar word is imagined.)

As for "information from the outside world being very limited" here in the mainland, I think a better word would be "controlled." It is not North Korea here. Educated, inquiring mainlanders know very well what is going on in their country and abroad. I can think of many of my fellow Americans who would not be able to find Hong Kong nor Adelaide on a map.

I've had no problems accessing this site and other uke sites from mainland China since I've joined this forum some years ago. But, then I'm a native English speaker. Mainlanders have their own uke site in Mandarin, they don't need this one.
 
Radio Flyer said:
...they are ALL knock offs of the original design and very few 'originals' have been produced since. ...
Click to expand...

Danger! Danger! Logic in use! Reason circuits activated... poster may not fly off into a rant unless reprogrammed. Danger! Danger!
 
kohanmike said:
One of my best playing and sounding ukes is a Chinese made acacia koa tenor cutaway I found through the Chinese "Amazon" site Aliexpress.com. Slotted head, two hole, abalone binding, very light weight. I added Worth CT strings, a preamp/tuner, strap buttons, and give it a nice polish job.

Uku uke 2 sideways.jpg
Click to expand...

BTW, I looked for that model when visiting them at the Music Expo last week. They no longer make that model, except as a special order. I was bummed, because I was hoping to get one. Yours looks fantastic.
 
Luke El U said:
Well, at least you got the first part right. Kaka means nothing here in mainland China. Sounds have different meanings to different people. When, for example, Croatian shops advertise "cold drinks" to thirsty summer visitors from Slovakia, the Slovaks can't help but read it as meaning "hungry vagina." (Though a more vulgar word is imagined.)

As for "information from the outside world being very limited" here in the mainland, I think a better word would be "controlled." It is not North Korea here. Educated, inquiring mainlanders know very well what is going on in their country and abroad. I can think of many of my fellow Americans who would not be able to find Hong Kong nor Adelaide on a map.

I've had no problems accessing this site and other uke sites from mainland China since I've joined this forum some years ago. But, then I'm a native English speaker. Mainlanders have their own uke site in Mandarin, they don't need this one.
Click to expand...

You are right, they don't need this forum & HMS, they got their own brands and sites. China got their own controlled everything, which duplicate & replace the others. The inside internet is simply a second copy of the internet itself. For example, Google, ebay, YouTube, are all filtered out, replace with China's own search engines, "TaoBao" (replace ebay), "YouKu" (replace YouTube).

You are lucky to get access from there, the experience of mine and my friends, are once we get into the border, we are almost immediately lost large part of ability, to access outside, include Hong Kong. Or perhaps I didn't take the risk to use some magic apps to get pass the firewall.
 
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