Last week I started a thread for a friend looking for a Kamaka Gold or white label soprano.
WCBarnes replied saying Several months ago he was looking for a nice koa soprano and found this ukulele on his local Craigslist. He said it was mint and looked like it had been sealed in a time capsule! It has the original Kamaka strings (in good shape), the Kamaka sales receipt from 1971, a Mel Bay uke book, an extra set of sealed Kamaka strings, a tuning pipe, felt pick and the original box in like new condition. It was Made In Japan. (Kamaka did this in the 60s/70s to keep up with demand and combat forgeries), but it is a koa deluxe model, not mahogany, and was sold in the Kamaka shop in Hawaii. It sounded like the person bought the uke as a tourist, got home and stuck it in a closet for 46 years. He had since bought a wonderful little Laughlin soprano and decided to pass this find to someone else.
My friend decided to buy a 100th Ann. concert longneck. I inquired about the uke and bought it.
It arrived today and definitely is a time capsule. My Kamaka is much more refined; the slots for the cross braces are more precise, neck thinner and more graceful. As I played and looked over the MIJ closely, the more I can see the uke was truly handmade. The heel is off centered because of the way the neck is shaped. The V in the neck sides have a different curve. Same with the head, sides just a bit different. The fretboard is a bit wider. All together this little guy has some minor flaws adding up to a of character.
I don't want to compare sounds yet as the MIJ has 46 year old strings. It'll be interesting hearing the differences of the two after I change MIJ's strings. It'll be a cannon for sure. I think I just found a name for it; MIJ.
When I'm done with it and considering it's a unique deluxe complete package; I'll ensure the package stays together and goes to the right person.
This is cool little uke. Thanks Colin for the seamless transaction. This forum has honest and upright people.
Link to Photos in next post. Thanks Colin for reposting them.: https://photos.app.goo.gl/YyqdxJpNb91dn0hIt .
WCBarnes replied saying Several months ago he was looking for a nice koa soprano and found this ukulele on his local Craigslist. He said it was mint and looked like it had been sealed in a time capsule! It has the original Kamaka strings (in good shape), the Kamaka sales receipt from 1971, a Mel Bay uke book, an extra set of sealed Kamaka strings, a tuning pipe, felt pick and the original box in like new condition. It was Made In Japan. (Kamaka did this in the 60s/70s to keep up with demand and combat forgeries), but it is a koa deluxe model, not mahogany, and was sold in the Kamaka shop in Hawaii. It sounded like the person bought the uke as a tourist, got home and stuck it in a closet for 46 years. He had since bought a wonderful little Laughlin soprano and decided to pass this find to someone else.
My friend decided to buy a 100th Ann. concert longneck. I inquired about the uke and bought it.
It arrived today and definitely is a time capsule. My Kamaka is much more refined; the slots for the cross braces are more precise, neck thinner and more graceful. As I played and looked over the MIJ closely, the more I can see the uke was truly handmade. The heel is off centered because of the way the neck is shaped. The V in the neck sides have a different curve. Same with the head, sides just a bit different. The fretboard is a bit wider. All together this little guy has some minor flaws adding up to a of character.
I don't want to compare sounds yet as the MIJ has 46 year old strings. It'll be interesting hearing the differences of the two after I change MIJ's strings. It'll be a cannon for sure. I think I just found a name for it; MIJ.
When I'm done with it and considering it's a unique deluxe complete package; I'll ensure the package stays together and goes to the right person.
This is cool little uke. Thanks Colin for the seamless transaction. This forum has honest and upright people.
Link to Photos in next post. Thanks Colin for reposting them.: https://photos.app.goo.gl/YyqdxJpNb91dn0hIt .
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