Where are all the Ana'ole Ukes - Your experience ?

Ukador

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Hello everybody

I am a happy customer of Gareth Yahiku, the guy behind Ana'Ole Ukuleles. I know that he does not build a ton of instruments and therefore I am not surprised that there are hardly any reviews and yet I am wondering why there is so little to read about Ana'ole on this forum.

When I search the internet I find a few sold ukes:

Here
Here
Here
Here
Here
Here
Here
Here
Here
Here


Ukulelefriend also sold quite a lot of them over the past few years and there a several other stores that have a Ana'ole in stock from time to time.

So they are out there but why is it that they do not appear on this forum ? Yes, some of his Ukes are quite expensive (yet not that expensive compared to other luthiers) but most of his standard models can be bought for less than 1000 USD hence they are affordable for most serious Ukulele players which are most of us in here.

His Ukes are in the same league than pretty much every other high quality Uke out there and I think that he offers a very good value for the money. Gareth himself seems to be a very cool and easy going person and it was so easy to deal with him.

I owned 3 Ana'ole Ukuleles so far and each one was very light and sounded extremely good. They all were so easy to play. Of those 3 Ukes there is only one left at my home at the moment because I just don't feel the need to own more than one Ukulele.

So I currently own a Super Concert Ukulele. Thats a tenor neck on a concert body. The top is made from engelmann spruce and the back and sides are made from brazilian rosewood. I am extremely happy with this Uke. It is light, it is easy to play, it has a lovely sound and it looks good. The only thing that I might change soon are the tuners as I prefer the look of friction tuners.

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If I had too much money I would definately get another Super Concert from Ana'ole. Either a all highly figured koa made instrument or a uke with a redwood top and koa back and sides.

Are there any other Ana'ole owners in here ? What is your experience?

http://www.anaoleukulele.com/
https://www.instagram.com/anaole/
 
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In 3.5 yrs on UU I have never before heard of this brand, and maybe other folks too, so maybe that is why no discussion, because nobody knew.

Also, while I've seen lots of fads here on UU in that time, favoring certain brands and lots fevered discussion of them, I'd wager that a portion of the most active folks on UU cannot afford or do not want to spend ~$1000 or more on a uke.

In my case, I'd rather have 4-5 cheaper ukes and simultaneously be able to experiment with different tunings, scale lengths and tonewoods than a single more expensive uke, but that's just me and YMMV.

But thanks for spreading the word about Ana'Ole, as it's always nice to see new brands and models of our favorite instrument. :)
 
In 3.5 yrs on UU I have never before heard of this brand, and maybe other folks too, so maybe that is why no discussion, because nobody knew.

Also, while I've seen lots of fads here on UU in that time, favoring certain brands and lots fevered discussion of them, I'd wager that a portion of the most active folks on UU cannot afford or do not want to spend ~$1000 or more on a uke.

In my case, I'd rather have 4-5 cheaper ukes and simultaneously be able to experiment with different tunings, scale lengths and tonewoods than a single more expensive uke, but that's just me and YMMV.

But thanks for spreading the word about Ana'Ole, as it's always nice to see new brands and models of our favorite instrument. :)

Well yeah my comment "1000 USD hence they are affordable for most serious Ukulele players" is based on the assumption that you only have one Ukulele ;) I know that many people prefer to have more than one Ukulele and of course you normally can not afford having several expensive Ukes. I had to sell all my other Ukes to afford this Ana'ole
 
I know of Ana'ole, Gareth Yahiku used to work for G String. But a small shop, so not so many ukes out there to be reviewed, I guess. They seem like very special instruments.
 
Well yeah my comment "1000 USD hence they are affordable for most serious Ukulele players" is based on the assumption that you only have one Ukulele ;) I know that many people prefer to have more than one Ukulele and of course you normally can not afford having several expensive Ukes. I had to sell all my other Ukes to afford this Ana'ole

It's all good brother. We each have our own path to happiness. :music:
 
I own an Ana'Ole all Mango Concert made by Gareth. It's not only a drop dead gorgeous build using beautiful woods, but it has the volume, tone & playability that betters many other customs I've had the pleasure to play. :cool:
 
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So does this mean you sold the one listed in FMM? By the way, that thread is still "open."

I've never never seen one or heard one in person, but have heard good things. He certainly comes out of a reputable builder having spent time at G String.
 
That's an interesting design. I like how the body style ventures outside of the more common shapes.

Do fat bottomed ukes make the rockin' world go round?
 
I had never heard of his ukes until our OP introduced them here. Theyre quite lovely, but a little out of my reach, price wise. :stop:
 
I had never heard of his ukes until our OP introduced them here. Theyre quite lovely, but a little out of my reach, price wise. :stop:

His standard models are actually quite affordable compared to other (hawaiian) luthiers - 560 USD for his entry Soprano / 700 USD for his entry Concert / 880 USD for his entry Tenor

But of course even 560 USD is not a little amount itself and a lot of money for most of us.
 
I had never heard of his ukes until our OP introduced them here. Theyre quite lovely, but a little out of my reach, price wise. :stop:

He's been around for a long time Nickie, and just started in increase in production, and Andrew and Shawn have been selling his ukes. The ukulele store has some too
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I know the name and have seen a lot of lovely photos, but have yet to meet one in person.
 
He has a beautiful mango tenor for sale at the moment. I can not afford that and I do not play tenors anyway but maybe this is a nice christmas present for somebody else :)
 
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The 6 string he built for Moke Boy is killer

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGcpMDjDbMC/
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs3yfoiB2xU/

I wish there would be more Ana'Ole Ukes out there but then again I guess they wouldn't be so special ;)

Anyway, I am happy that I was able to get back my Ana'Ole after I sold it. I play it every day and my daughter loves it. Awesome instruments that deserve so much more attention.
 
The 6 string he built for Moke Boy is killer

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGcpMDjDbMC/
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs3yfoiB2xU/

I wish there would be more Ana'Ole Ukes out there but then again I guess they wouldn't be so special ;)

Anyway, I am happy that I was able to get back my Ana'Ole after I sold it. I play it every day and my daughter loves it. Awesome instruments that deserve so much more attention.

It's funny that when you first posted this, many people commented about the high price, though they are luthier made. Now, I see many posts where people happily pay as much for imports from Rebel and Anuenue, and consider them good values.
 
It's funny that when you first posted this, many people commented about the high price, though they are luthier made. Now, I see many posts where people happily pay as much for imports from Rebel and Anuenue, and consider them good values.

I can't say I disagree with you. Three years after the OP, my eyes are more open now. I'd consider his ukes just as good as, if not better, than any import.

And, allowing for inflation, his prices really aren't that bad.
 
HMS once sold a few of them. I am really wondering why there haven't been one of his Ukes for sale for a long time.
 
I'm buying an Ana'ole all solid mango tenor. Very pretty piece of wood and sounds great. We have only one dealer in the UK.IMG_20210212_094647.jpg
 
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