New Pineapple Day

wayfarer75

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I received my new Kamaka pineapple yesterday. I ordered it from HMS, because they're selling Kamakas with a new finish referred to as "semi-gloss." Now, I love the look of gloss on a uke, especially curly wood, but for playing, I prefer a satin finish. So, satin finish + much nicer Gotoh UPTs = happy customer. Now if only Kamaka would change their strings! (Seriously, I get that these have a Hawaiian sound, more traditional, perhaps, but it's like Kamaka decided to purposely nerf their instruments.)

It's been a long wait for this pineapple. I bought a Kelii concert early last year and have had a Kala KA-S since December 2010. But those Kamaka pineapples, so cute! I had to have one one. I don't have the UAS some UUers have, mostly because I don't have the funds. This is uke #3, and it's been worth the wait. I'm really happy with it. There's only one minor defect, and it's that the 12th fret marker has a little bulge, making it not look so round. You can't really tell until you look at it up close. I can live with that!

Below are some pics of the pineapple, including the other members of the family. I also tried to show you this new finish up close, since there hasn't been much discussion about it. Here is the link to the original HMS listing, with Andrew's much, much better photos: http://www.theukulelesite.com/kamaka-pineapple-hp-1-soprano-w-deluxe-kamaka-case.html

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Below is my entire uke collection: Kala KA-S, Kelii gold series concert (it has a Fremont Soloist low G string, with Living Waters--realllllly like this combo. I also swapped out the rosewood saddle for Tusq), and of course the new pineapple. The Kala has Martin M600 strings, which I like a lot. Lots of people talk up Aquilas for laminate ukes, but these work great. I have a new set waiting to go on the pineapple when I get sick of the Kamaka strings. The Kala is nice for strumming, but really lacks a good tone when it comes to picking.

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LOL, apparently I only buy K brands. ;)
 

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Nice family. I have a late 70s Kamaka Pineapple. The pineapples have a special aloha vibe when played or on display.
 
Hey, you need the KPK pineapple to round out your K brand collection. :) Mine looks almost as good as this one. :p
 
Congrats, that Kamaka Pineapple looks gorgeous!
 
What I great collection. I love pineapples! I don't think any uke collection is complete without one. (That's why I have one on the way! :p)
 
Nice pineapple! That was my third Uke too. I agree with you on the strings: I was never quite happy with the sound until I changed them. I'm using Worth Brown on mine now. They look a lot alike, but feel firmer.
 
Hey, you need the KPK pineapple to round out your K brand collection. :) Mine looks almost as good as this one. :p

LOL, if it doesn't start with K, it's no good!

Nice family. I have a late 70s Kamaka Pineapple. The pineapples have a special aloha vibe when played or on display.

Congrats, that Kamaka Pineapple looks gorgeous!

What I great collection. I love pineapples! I don't think any uke collection is complete without one. (That's why I have one on the way! :p)

Nice pineapple! That was my third Uke too. I agree with you on the strings: I was never quite happy with the sound until I changed them. I'm using Worth Brown on mine now. They look a lot alike, but feel firmer.

Thanks everyone! I've been wanting a Kamaka pineapple since, well, since I took up playing the ukulele. You're right, WCBarnes, everyone should have one. I hope you don't have too much of a wait for yours!

The strings are definitely weird. There's such little tension, they're like rubber bands. The C string is especially floppy. So now comes the hunt for "the" strings. Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome may subside for now, but String Acquisition Syndrome is in full force! I have Martins and Worth BMs on hand, but I'll be looking for others to try.
 
You'll probably get a million string suggestions but here's one anyway:Freemont Blacklines and Kamaka are a match made in heaven. You keep the hawaiian sound but have more depth and tension than the factory strings.
 
I have a pineapple uke coming my way very soon! Super excited; it is a Dave Talsma koa sopranino!
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Oh, that is lovely. I have a 2011 HP-1 that I just adore, and I would like to install Gotohs soon. I just can't part with it long enough to leave it at the luthier for the installation!

I've tried about a bazillion strings on mine and I keep coming back to basic Martin M600s. Fremont Blacklines (hard tension) sounded fantastic but I didn't care for the feel (too plasticky), so I went back to my tried and true Martins and have never looked back.
 
Handsome little devil. Those Fremonts Matty recommended might be a good choice. My son "transformed" his Mainland concert longneck pineapple with them.
 
That pineapple is a beauty. Love the finish on it, really brings out the wood grain of the koa. Congrats!
 
I love the little family, thanks for sharing ... very nice indeed. I agree with you regarding the strings ... have you considered PdD's for a string choice?
 
Oasis Brights! :cool:


(So bright, ya gotta wear shades!)

Interesting - I recently gave them a try on my HP-1 and while I didn't hate them, I found my usual Martin M600s to be brighter.
 
So, a few thoughts on my last 4 days of ownership...

First, I tried new strings last night. Martin M600s. My Kelii has a slot bridge, but apparently the knots I tie for that uke's strings aren't big enough for the Kamaka slot bridge, at least for the G and A strings. The Kelii came with Worth BMs, which are thinner than Kamaka strings. So that probably is the reason why. I had the A string pop off twice (which, as you can imagine, freaked me out), but got it right on the third try. I found a YouTube video from Ken Timms that seemed to help. Any knot advice would be appreciated--I'm now paranoid that I damaged the bridge.

Second, the pineapple is fabulous. Just what I wanted! You could all see that it's very nice to look at but the tone is just as wonderful. And the intonation is fantastic; much much better than the Kala, of course, and still quite a bit better than the Kelii--even with new strings that are still stretching out. The Martin strings sound great, and give it more volume and sustain. Not that I need sustain for days--this is a soprano, after all. But it's like the Kamaka strings muted the sound a bit, and now it's ringing much more like I would expect this uke to.
 
Congratulations on your new Pineapple. I have a long neck Kamaka Pineapple that I really love. I finally settled with Worth Browns on mine. I sometimes tie very "creative" knots, but here is a link from Pohaku ukes showing how to tie knots. http://www.pohakuukulele.com/pages/t_knots.html
 
Congratulations on your new Pineapple. I have a long neck Kamaka Pineapple that I really love. I finally settled with Worth Browns on mine. I sometimes tie very "creative" knots, but here is a link from Pohaku ukes showing how to tie knots. http://www.pohakuukulele.com/pages/t_knots.html

Thanks! That bottom knot's what I use for the Kelii, but it didn't work on the Martin A string. Popped out! (Funny though, a simple pretzel worked perfectly on the C string.) Whatever I did the third time seemed to work! I think from now on I'll tie a knot and sort of "test" it on the slot before I start stringing up the peg.
 
I had the A string pop off twice (which, as you can imagine, freaked me out), but got it right on the third try. I found a YouTube video from Ken Timms that seemed to help. Any knot advice would be appreciated--I'm now paranoid that I damaged the bridge.

I had that very same problem with mine. I think I ended up doing a triple knot on the A string and a double knot on the G string.
 
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