Hello,
recently, I gave an ukulele as a birthday present to a friend (I dare not drop the holy D-bomb
), and in my search for a nice budget uke in a land where Kala, Mainland, Kamoa, Lanikai and friends are not very well represented (Japan), I stumbled upon an Ilikai SOP-150 uke.
Playing it in the shop and later at home, it was actually a very nice and loud uke for the money (around 10.000 yen / $100). Then I looked up the specs, and it turns out to be an all-solid mahogany! Action is fine but could be tweaked (this one was not fondled by the shop owner yet), tuning pegs are OK frictions, finish was very nice and clean, semi-glossy but thin and with a smooth neck/frets. "Breaking it in" over the weekend, I was sorry to let it go, but glad to send it to a friend. Dirty pics under a yellowish lights here.
But... no Ilikai website, I only see them in Japan, and I wondered. Has anyone ever encountered one of these babies overseas (seen from "the island nation")? Do they resemble other Chinese-made ukes?
Sorry for patting myself on the back, I was just so glad to get a good deal and a good present :music:
recently, I gave an ukulele as a birthday present to a friend (I dare not drop the holy D-bomb
), and in my search for a nice budget uke in a land where Kala, Mainland, Kamoa, Lanikai and friends are not very well represented (Japan), I stumbled upon an Ilikai SOP-150 uke.Playing it in the shop and later at home, it was actually a very nice and loud uke for the money (around 10.000 yen / $100). Then I looked up the specs, and it turns out to be an all-solid mahogany! Action is fine but could be tweaked (this one was not fondled by the shop owner yet), tuning pegs are OK frictions, finish was very nice and clean, semi-glossy but thin and with a smooth neck/frets. "Breaking it in" over the weekend, I was sorry to let it go, but glad to send it to a friend. Dirty pics under a yellowish lights here.
But... no Ilikai website, I only see them in Japan, and I wondered. Has anyone ever encountered one of these babies overseas (seen from "the island nation")? Do they resemble other Chinese-made ukes?
Sorry for patting myself on the back, I was just so glad to get a good deal and a good present :music:
