My first ukulele base on UU recommendations (Kamaka hf-3 from HMS)

seoulukulele

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Before purchasing this, I used to play on my mother's c1k. Which I fell in love with so I decided to buy myself a ukulele. I read on this forum and took the advice of spending a little more on my first uke because I would not get as frustrated practicing on a quality uke and Id want to play more if it felt, looked and sounded nice.

Before I get into all that, I have to thank all of you on here who recommended HMS. Wow, great service. With all the business they get, I am surprised at how much personal attention I was given through our email exchange. I want to keep this part short, but I highly recommend these guys. They seem to really have customer service as a top priority!

Why did I choose this Kamaka HF-3?
Honestly, I do not know much about Ukuleles, so I narrowed it down to kamaka, koaloha, and kanilea. The kanileas were beautiful, but I read about a story of someone changing strings and one of the bridge pins popping out and the string slicing him and everytime they change strings now felt like jack in the box, so no kanilea for me. I really wanted to like the looks of the koaloha as they seemed to be the best priced, but the crown design wasnt my thing, I like things more simplistic in terms of styling. So it was kamaka for me. I knew in regards to sound, I wouldnt go wrong with any of the 3.

I also love the finish on this! I do not like things too glossy, and I am loving this semi gloss finish. Makes the uke look more natural which is my thing.

It sounds lovely as well. I'm learning so much from this site. You all are so informative. My 1st song that I am teaching myself is Over the Rainbow. Loving this thing. Here are some pictures of my new uke.
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Congrats on the new uke, its a beauty!
 
Very lovely Uke. Congratulations!
 
Excellent choice - all three of my ukes are Kamakas and I love them all. I feel just the same about Kanile'a and Koaloha - scared of the bridge pins, and not fond of that headstock. Enjoy that uke!
 
Wow that is gorgeous. Andrew really likes the new batch of Kamakas so you definitely have a keeper. Enjoy
 
Nice! You made a great choice for your first ukulele!

I got a Kamaka pineapple in October from HMS. I love the semi-gloss finish too. It is the only way to go, in my opinion.
 
Lovely uke. Why not start with a high bar? ... I hope you have years of enjoyment with it.
 
Congrats on such a wonderful uke! Yep, good to raise the bar high after your humble beginnings on your mom's C1K!

Petey
 
Wise decision. I think that starting with a "high end" instrument will make the learning process more enjoyable. The bad thing is that you can not blame the ukulele for any notes you may butcher. LOL Good luck, and enjoy this wonderful instrument.
 
Congratulations! Kamakas are great! And I agree that there's value in investing in a good ukulele - they're generally more playable and, when I got my first Kamaka, I couldn't put it down, which made me want to play more. I hope yours sounds as good as it looks.
 
Congratulations! Great decision to go straight away for a Hawaiian K-Brand. I totally understand your arguments for choosing Kamaka. I love their simplicistic look too, and even more their history. You got a classic. But for anyone considering a Kanilea: don't worry about the pin bridge, it's just as easy (or hard) to change strings than with any other system.
 
Congrats on that new Kamaka. I never particularly wanted one.....until I had a chance to get my white label soprano at an incredible price. I couldn't pass it up. Glad I didn't. I looooooooove my little Kamaka and everything about it....sound, playability, etc. Now waiting on a concert size to fall in my lap at a price too good to pass up.
 
Excellent choice. Play the heck out of it! And welcome to the UU! As you have seen, there is loads of information here for everything ukulele. Including what might be the best string choice for your HF-3. Most, but not all, are not fans of the stock Kamaka strings. I personally like Savarez on mine.

Enjoy!!!!!
 
Thanks everyone for the kind words. I am looking forward to a long and happy road of uke'ing with all of you!
 
excellent choice ...that you will love for the rest of your life!!!
 
Welcome and congrats on your new baby! I would love to own a Kamaka someday, that's one heck of a first uke! I've only plyed one, my GF's 8 string tenor, it's nice but way to difficult. I know they seldom come around, but I'm keeping my eyes peeled for formerly loved concert Kamaka....
 
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