Custom Kanile'a Ukes

Littlegman · Feb 10, 2015

I am considering ordering a custom Kanile'a: bevel, compensated saddle, sand logo, UPT/Peghed tuners, radius, UV silk, etc. I was wondering if any present owners of a custom Kanile'a might be willing to share their thoughts (and photos!). According to Joe, UPT/Pegheds are options, although I have never seen one on a Kanile'a myself...

Thank you!

lancemanion · Feb 11, 2015

You can't go wrong with a Kanile'a, Joe and Kristen are the best. If you are going to order a custom uke you should consider visiting their shop on Oahu and picking it up in person. Makes the buying experience even more special. They give a great shop tour also. My Kanile'a is my favorite uke and my son loves his Islander.

Side note, I would only go with pegheds if you are buying a traditional looking soprano. The pegheads have a much lower ratio then most other tuners and this makes it a little harder to make fine adjustments. Just my two cents, they do look good on traditional tiny ukes like Mike DaSilva makes.

tangimango · Feb 11, 2015

I would go with UPT then the peghead as well. but if your building a custom, might as well go with slotted headstock , Cutaway scoop and arm bezel, now that's a custom.

Moore Bettah Ukuleles · Feb 11, 2015

lancemanion said:
Side note, I would only go with pegheds if you are buying a traditional looking soprano. The pegheads have a much lower ratio then most other tuners and this makes it a little harder to make fine adjustments. Just my two cents, they do look good on traditional tiny ukes like Mike DaSilva makes.

Just for clarification purposes both Pegheds and Gotoh UPTs have a tuning ratio of 1:4. This seems to be adequate for most players and even preferred by some, myself included.

katysax · Feb 11, 2015

The Pegheds seem a little lighter than the Gotoh UPTs. They are both 1:4, which feels just right for a uke for me. The Gotoh UPTs are very smooth. I've got both Pegheds and Gotohs on ukes and I prefer the Gotoh UPTs but the Pegheds are good too.

Ukulele Eddie · Feb 11, 2015

Will be fun to spec out. I really liked the look and feel of their 19" tenor with the Cobra slot head. It had micro Stealth tuners which look awesome but I've heard some mixed things about them, so I'd research before I went that route.

If you're getting a solid headstock, I think the Pegheds look and work great on any size uke. I have them on my Collings Concert (they're standard on all Collings). They work great. I also have Gotoh UPT's, which have a little smoother feel, though I slightly prefer the more classic look of the Pegheds. But they're both nice and I can be happy with either. Oh, and they're both 1:4.

Moore Bettah Ukuleles · Feb 11, 2015

katysax said:
The Pegheds seem a little lighter than the Gotoh UPTs. They are both 1:4, which feels just right for a uke for me. The Gotoh UPTs are very smooth. I've got both Pegheds and Gotohs on ukes and I prefer the Gotoh UPTs but the Pegheds are good too.

I agree Katy. Pegheds are not nearly as smooth as Gotoh UPTs and the adjustment of the Peghed tension can take some getting used to. I will only use Pegheds if weight is a prime consideration or if I want a minimalistic look. It's really hard to beat the Gotoh UPTs.

Littlegman · Feb 12, 2015

Thank you all for your insight! I love my Kanile'a tenor - somewhat stout, but with a sweet, clear tone (via Living Water strings). I am now pondering a custom soprano with the options mentioned in the first post. In my mind, I can visualize a Kanile'a headstock with Peghed tuners, or UPT's, for that matter; to actually see a photo of one would be awesome - a "Bigfoot sighting" photo of screensaver worthiness!

M3Ukulele · Feb 13, 2015

How do you go about ordering or specing a customer Kanilea? Do you go to your dealer of choice and ask for a price and give them the tweaks you want (i.e UPT, bevel cutaway, etc)? Can you take say a KSDLX which is spruce top/Koa back/side with normal headstock and just ask for bevel cutaway and UPT and then wait…..how long? Or do you contact Joe, talk about it, tell him the dealer you want to buy from and then get a price? Just curious.
Thanks

Custom Kanile'a Ukes

Littlegman

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lancemanion

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tangimango

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Moore Bettah Ukuleles

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katysax

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Ukulele Eddie

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Moore Bettah Ukuleles

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Littlegman

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M3Ukulele

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