Amahi ukuleles?

whistleman123

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Does anyone have any experience / impressions with Amahi ukes? I want to step up to an intermediate all wood uke. Thinking about a C-26 or a C-31. Thanks
 
I've never owned one. I had never even heard of them until my local music store started carrying them last year instead of Kala. But Amahi, Penguin, and Snail all come from the same company. That doesn't really mean anything I guess.
 
Until last month, I owned an Amahi UK660T. It's a Koa laminate construction and is well made. Absolutely no complaints from a workmanship and set-up standpoint. I ended up trading it in for a soprano (Lanikai SPS-S), because I never could get comfortable with the fret spacing on the tenor. The other ukuleles I own and play regularly (Gold label Kamaka and c. 1950s Martin SO) are sopranos, and that size just seems to suit me better.
Amahi tenor 1.jpg
 
I have a laminate tenor I picked-up used on Ebay for $101 shipped and can't complain. I do my own set-up (lower nut grooves, lower saddle to achieve 2mm action at 12th fret) and it sounds pretty good for the price. You can learn how to do set up easily from YouTube or pay to have it done. Makes a inexpensive uke play easily. So no complaints IF set up properly.
 
We also have a dealer here who switched from Kala to selling Amahi. He sells quite a few. A friend bought a Snail, and he likes it.
 
My wife has a Snail (Amahi's budget line, I believe) and likes it a lot. Shuff's Music here in Franklin tried several other brands and found Amahi/Snail to provide better quality.

I met the folks from Amahi at Summer NAMM, where they told me they set up their 'ukuleles before passing them on to the store owners.
 
Does anyone have any experience / impressions with Amahi ukes?

Yes...All good experiences. High quality products.
 
I bought an Amahi zebra-laminate concert a year ago as a starter instrument. It didn't need any adjustments. A great starter instrument for those of us with larger fingers, as it has a wide nut. Comes with clear Aquilas which I changed to red. My travel uke, for right now.
 
Snail (Amahi's budget line, I believe)

I think you have it reversed Snail is the higher end. They also have some entry level Penguin and a higher end called Rainie.
 
I just got a TU222, solid mahogany top/laminate sides/back. I bought mine as a 'demo' and got a killer deal. It's a lovely instrument, a smaller body than my Kala tenor but a wider, 38mm, nut. It took a couple weeks for my newby ears to really appreciate the difference between a solid top and laminate, but it's my go-to uku now.
 
I have one of Amahi's higher end Snail concert ukuleles (SUC model), and I really like it. Solid mahogany top, laminated sides and back. The uke is well made, came with Martin strings, sounds great, and is very easy to play. Highly recommend spending the extra money for a Snail. I think they are a far better playing experience than most of the Amahi line-up.
 
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