A new “Sun” at HMS

YogiTom

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5,500. for that instrument?
what raises the price tag to that much? the figure of the wood? the black label headstock?
the MOP dots on the board which are a trifle in overall build cost?
you buy a standard issue KoAloha tenor and it will sound the same.
sorry. no way.
sure, it's gorgeous
but i can buy a custom ukulele from more than a dozen high class US builders
and from around the world (Australia, Europe, Asia) for less - way less - than 1/2 that price.
Pohaku. Barron River. Ono. Gerard Guasch. Black Bear and I can go on and on...
 
5,500. for that instrument? what raises the price tag to that much?
who built it. and how.

Look at the interview starting about 17:00 where Paul Okami talks about the instrument. At 23:20 there is a comparison between this one($5500), a KTM-00 ($1200), and a KTO-10 ($655). Is there more than $4K difference between the first and second? Not in my book. Is the second worth twice as much as the third? Hmm, probably not either, but I feel like I can hear the difference more distinctly between those two than the first two.
 
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yes, I agree....that is a lot of moola....for over a standard nice koaloha. I personally think spending more than $ 1500 bucks, and that is a lot or money, for any uke, is overkill, unless your looking at it like an artistic addition, a work of art to be appreciated, like a sculpture or painting.

that said, however, I would take that BL over a martin 5 k soprano for same price.
 
who built it. and how.

Look at the interview starting about 17:00 where Paul Okami talks about the instrument. At 23:20 there is a comparison between this one($5500), a KTM-00 ($1200), and a KTO-10 ($655). Is there more than $4K difference between the first and second? Not in my book. Is the second worth twice as much as the third? Hmm, probably not either, but I feel like I can hear the difference more distinctly between those two than the first two.

I listened to the interview Jim, and heard them.
No.
KoAloha make high class instruments at what we would call "entry" point -
you tell me please how they can justify an extra 4K on what is an instrument built in the same way
with a few extra appointments and pretty wood.
 
It's a unique custom build. It is a little over the price of other custom K-brand ukuleles but if I won the lottery I would happily pay that much. As long as Paul Okami delivered it to me in London by hand :D
 
Why do they have to justify the price? Its not a court of law, its a marketplace. The seller sets a price, if you don't like it don't buy the item or make an offer and see what happens.
There are lots of ukes for sale in excess of $5k, the sellers just don't bother marketing them on UU. UU members are not in the market for $5k ukes as we can see from these comments.

I love your posts Bill but no-one since Dickens takes comments more literally than you.
what you say is of course, undeniable, but take a Valium and relax my friend.
as a matter of fact, I am and have often been in the market for ukes of that value and above.
such a fact does not deflect from the comment I made however in terms of this instruments
build process and sound when compared to standard models from same builder.
 
...with a few extra appointments and pretty wood.

That's why people are willing to pay more. It will definitely stand out in a crowd as something special, and many people like that. Also, it's one of a kind. There will never be another one just like it. This was a solo build, rather than two or three at the same time, as Paul indicated. I wonder if they will deal at all on that price, since it is pretty high.
 
Why do they have to justify the price? Its not a court of law, its a marketplace. The seller sets a price, if you don't like it don't buy the item or make an offer and see what happens.
There are lots of ukes for sale in excess of $5k, the sellers just don't bother marketing them on UU. UU members are not in the market for $5k ukes as we can see from these comments.

Lots of people have lots of money. And the others have credit cards. : )
 
Didn’t know this would turn into this kind of thread! My OP was meant as much as a “can you believe this s#!t?!” as much as it was a genuine drool over something I’ll never own but I think is gorgeous.

It has sold, btw. Probably from the HMS email blast and not this post. :p

And fwiw, I agree; this is an insane amount of money for a custom uke you wouldn’t get to customize yourself. *says the guy with a Kanile‘a Platinum...*:rolleyes:
 
That's why people are willing to pay more. It will definitely stand out in a crowd as something special, and many people like that. Also, it's one of a kind. There will never be another one just like it. This was a solo build, rather than two or three at the same time, as Paul indicated. I wonder if they will deal at all on that price, since it is pretty high.

hearing you Jerry and I agree.
even so, any custom build is exactly that; one of a kind and built for you.
and, to repeat, it is not difficult to find many luthiers with amazing wood sets with proven records
of tone and workmanship who would afford you 1/2 and lower the price on what we have here as a
production model mould with some stars attached.
folks - support your local builders! Peter Hurney, Duane Heilman, David Ingalls, Brian Griffin,
Covered Bridge, Aaron Keim, Michael Smith, LoPrinzi, et al.
 
How easy is it to get a custom Black Label made for a personal individual right now? That’s what I thought.
 
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