Greetings (and questions, of course) from Ohio!

CDysert75

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Good afternoon musicians and enthusiasts - I am a newbie with a few questions for the ukulele world.

Last summer I purchased a vintage Kamaka concert uke at a local garage sale. I have absolutely fallen in love with the instrument and it has grown to be one of my most cherished possessions. The look and sound is amazing and most importantly, it has done great things for my musical direction. However, it has wreaked havoc on the historically curious portion of my mind. I have searched all over the internet to find out exactly what I have landed but my search has been largely fruitless.

The instrument is dated 'Dec 10 1971' and has a small intricately carved Tiki man on the headstock just above the Kamaka logo. That adornment on the headstock is what immediately caught my eye and ultimately led me to buy it. At the time, I assumed that it was a cheap entry-level instrument but I've since learned to appreciate the Kamaka namesake and their booming market. In all of my searching, I've not been able to find any information regarding the above description with the exception of this website:

http://web.me.com/syacavone/Site/Kamaka_Ukulele_(カマカ・ウクレレ・7).html#5

This is the EXACT instrument that I have and I am fairly certain that it is of a rare breed but I was wondering if anyone here could validate those suspicions or offer any direction or information as to this particular model's identity/market value.

Like I said, this is one of my prized possessions so I'm not looking to sell it - basically, I just need to know whether or not it is something that I need to insure.

I apologize for joining the forum for such selfish purposes but after looking around the site, it is apparent that you all know your stuff and I can't wait to join your ranks!

Anywho, thanks in advance from Northwestern Ohio - I look forward to meeting everyone and hopefully reading your replies!

Cody
 
You are indeed a lucky man. You have a gem of a ukulele. Kamaka is the most sought after brand of ukuleles to date. In my opinion they have the best ukes and to find one like that at a garage sale is incredible. In ohio nonetheless. I live in Lawrence County, PA, and the best uke ive seen was down in nashville. You have a great uke. although Im not the best person to ask, concerning kamakas, I do know that you have a rare piece. I would cling to it like a new born baby. I would insure it. I would even stop playing it regularly and get a new uke and keep this kamaka for another 50 years.
 
btw, market value is probably through the roof, but dont quote me on that. ask MGM here on UU. He would know a lot more about it than I do. use the community function on the toolbar and search for him.
 
Oh my, it looks like snagged yourself a real piece of history. I'm really curious ( if it's not too rude to ask) but how much did you get it for?
 
Yeah I would ask MGM or some of the other more knowledgeable guys on here... But I would say you have a great find!

BTW what part of Ohio are you from?
 
No offense taken, friends - I am just happy to finally speak to a group of individuals that are enlightened and passionate in the field of ukuleles.

I paid $75 for the instrument.

It was purchased from a WWII veteran that had visited Hawaii on a reunion tour in the early 70s. This individual has become a dear friend of mine for reasons far beyond this instrument. The most ironic part of the story falls in the fact that just a few years prior he had selected me from a group of 300 Ohio high school students to receive a fairly large scholarship on behalf of the American Legion.

Also, I think it is worth noting that my mother originally found the uke and attempted to purchase it for 75 cents. Her and I still laugh about the mishap..."no ma'am, that says 75 dollars not 75 cents."

This thread is making me really glad that I had money burning a hole in my pocket that morning - like I said, I just loved that Tiki man, I had no idea that it may be an esteemed piece of artwork.
 
BTW what part of Ohio are you from?

I live in a small town named Ada, OH - it is about an hour and a half Northwest of Columbus.

I'm thinking about picking up and taking this thing to Madison, Wisconsin for an Antiques Roadshow taping as a spontaneous road trip/vacation to see if my story and find are worthy of the big screen. If I do and things go well, I'll try to slip in a 'Ukulele Underground' plug as a sign of gratuity for your help! :D
 
I live in a small town named Ada, OH - it is about an hour and a half Northwest of Columbus.

Cool I am about an hour and a half away from you... in the opposite direction of columbus... Dayton Ohio!

Welcome to the site!
 
Its especially nice to meet you then, Mr. Hill!

O-H!

And as for Mr. Shawn and his ukulele website...what are the odds?

I'm starting to get kind of freaked out by all the irony and connections made
by this little beauty of an instrument. lol
:worship:
 
Cody,

Welcome. I'm from Cincinnati.

Central Ohio Ukulele Peeps (COUP) meets in Columbus. Wonderful bunch, other than me. I'll keep you posted on the next meeting.

Kevin
 
70......5...... dollars. I love it when people find gems in garage sales. hey if you go to antiques road show, just get one of the new ukulele underground tees from the store and wear it then!! Plus if you order from the store you get a free ukulele underground sticker!
 
Wow what a great find, no chance of that happening here in the UK, if it did it would be a sponge bob square pants one, but I'm happy for you, some things are just meant to be.
 
Lucky find! We'd love to see a picture of your new treasure! :D
 
I live in a small town named Ada, OH - it is about an hour and a half Northwest of Columbus.

I'm thinking about picking up and taking this thing to Madison, Wisconsin for an Antiques Roadshow taping as a spontaneous road trip/vacation to see if my story and find are worthy of the big screen. If I do and things go well, I'll try to slip in a 'Ukulele Underground' plug as a sign of gratuity for your help! :D

I am in Columbus, Ohio. We have a local ukulele club here (COUP Columbus Ohio Ukulele Peeps). I also publish Ukulele Player Magazine. Your uke might make a nice feature uke story and I can contact Kamaka and get some history of it. If you came to Columbus, we could photograph the uke with my equipment and send some detailed images to Kamaka and also keep some photographs on file for the magazine. Doing an article like that would be of interest to a lot of readers.

Mickey
 
This is a great story so far. You have to let us know the rest of the story. If you take it to that Roadshow place, let us know. It's all intriguing.
 
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