Nud :d

kkimura

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I went down to The Music Emporium in Lexington, MA to look at mid-line Pono and Martin concerts. They're the only place within driving distance that stocks mid to high end ukuleles. They had a few Kamakas and Kanileas too. Nice to see and try them in person.

Long story short, they also had a used Ko'olau C1 concert. From what I gather that model is from early 2000 and was Noa Bonk's attempt to make an affordable Ko'olau selling for less than a grand but built with the same attention to detail and quality that the more expensive Ko'olau models have. I don't think they made any money with them because they don't sell them anymore. Instead Ko'olau came out with the less expensive Pono brand and now all Ko'olau branded ukuleles are wicked expensive custom builds.

This C1 sounds as good as any of the other "K" brands in the store and sold for significantly less. Great intonation up the neck and no loss of volume up there either.

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Did you buy it. Looks like a great Uke. I’m a tenor player but if I ever run into one of these in Tenor at a good price, I’d buy it. Great sounding ukes. Great quality. Under stated beauty.
 
I should add I own a Pono AT and MTD-SP which I really like. The Ko’olau by Noa will be a big jump up in everything!
 
Did you buy it. Looks like a great Uke. I’m a tenor player but if I ever run into one of these in Tenor at a good price, I’d buy it. Great sounding ukes. Great quality. Under stated beauty.

Yup, I couldn't resist buying it! It was a little more than what I budgeted for but a lot less than a comparable new "K" brand.
 
I went down to The Music Emporium in Lexington, MA to look at mid-line Pono and Martin concerts. They're the only place within driving distance that stocks mid to high end ukuleles. They had a few Kamakas and Kanileas too. Nice to see and try them in person.

Long story short, they also had a used Ko'olau C1 concert. From what I gather that model is from early 2000 and was Noa Bonk's attempt to make an affordable Ko'olau selling for less than a grand but built with the same attention to detail and quality that the more expensive Ko'olau models have. I don't think they made any money with them because they don't sell them anymore. Instead Ko'olau came out with the less expensive Pono brand and now all Ko'olau branded ukuleles are wicked expensive custom builds.

This C1 sounds as good as any of the other "K" brands in the store and sold for significantly less. Great intonation up the neck and no loss of volume up there either.

That's a beauty, especially for its age.
 
I assumed you bought it as the title was “NUD” (new uke day, for those unaware).

Congratulations that is an awesome score. That koa is as primo, with all the curl and color as a $2500 custom Koolau.

If you paid less then a standard K brand you really did SCORE.
 
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Good choice. Enjoy playing your beautiful uke. And if you can - videos :)
 
I assumed you bought it as the title was “NUD” (new uke day, for those unaware).

Congratulations that is an awesome score. That koa is as primo, with all the curl and color as a $2500 custom Koolau.

If you paid less then a standard K brand you really did SCORE.

Wait, wait, there's more. The salesman and I noticed a small hole in the tail pin. Too small for a 1/4 jack but there was an 1/8 to 1/4 adapter in the case. Plugging into an amp reveled that it has a passive pickup too. A Seiko ST01 tuner was in the case also.
 
Wow, you scored BIG TIME! Congratulations on such a nice find. Noa from Ko'olau makes some of the finest instruments and nowadays, you'd have to pay a large upgrade for such curly Koa. So cool that a pickup was hidden to make it an even better deal.
 
Thank you all for your kind comments. I can hardly believe my luck and am somewhat humbled by need to up my playing level to match.
 
According to the Pono information on the Ukulele Resources page on the HMS theukulelesite.com site, Noa started Pono Ukuleles in 2001 to make a more affordable Ko'olau quality ukulele. I suspect that yours was a prototype to meet that target. But, since it has the Ko'olau logo on it, it is probably built to a higher standard in the Ko'olau factory in Hawaii than the subsequent Ponos. Does the label state where it was made?

The wood on yours is beautiful. Satin finishes are cheaper to produce and less labor intensive. Today, many people prefer satin finishes.

I think you did really good. Congratulations. :shaka:
 
According to the Pono information on the Ukulele Resources page on the HMS theukulelesite.com site, Noa started Pono Ukuleles in 2001 to make a more affordable Ko'olau quality ukulele. I suspect that yours was a prototype to meet that target. But, since it has the Ko'olau logo on it, it is probably built to a higher standard in the Ko'olau factory in Hawaii than the subsequent Ponos. Does the label state where it was made?

The wood on yours is beautiful. Satin finishes are cheaper to produce and less labor intensive. Today, many people prefer satin finishes.

I think you did really good. Congratulations. :shaka:

Thanks! I prefer satin finishes too. The label says. "Hand crafted in Wahiawa, Oahu, Hawaii".
 
Nice score! Geez, you don't see many used Ko'olau ukes around! I need to check out that shop, I used to stop in all the time when I played guitar and mando.

Lots of impressive high end guitars there. Don't know anything about mandolins or banjos but I'm guessing they're top of the line too.
 
Lots of impressive high end guitars there. Don't know anything about mandolins or banjos but I'm guessing they're top of the line too.

They previously took in repair work, did setups etc on almost any instrument, but now apparently only offer that on instruments purchased there. They had a great luthier on staff, and I had a couple of real nice setups done there on guitars. Last time I inquired for a uke setup, they said no, they were not taking in repair work any more. Got too busy I guess.
 
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