Melokia 'Ukuleles

Ahnko Honu · Jul 10, 2009

I noticed this brand "Melokia" 'ukulele on the local Hawaii Craigslist.
http://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/msg/1260796295.html

Double checking I see whom I think is same seller posting around the country. His ads in the Portland, Oregon, and SF, Ca. Craigslist were quickly flagged.
http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/msg/1260798849.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/msg/1260800857.html

I believe it's the same seller JacGlobal who was selling the exact same Acacia 'ukuleles under the Koa Pili Koko label. I'm wondering if Casey Moore of Keli'i whom I think had legal right to the KPK brand name caught up with this guy thus the name change. Anyone hear anything about this guy?

I see he has deleted all his JacGlobal ads in the Craigslist and started new with Melokia. Note the similarities in websites.
http://melokiaukulele.com/ http://jacukulele.ocnk.biz/
Makes you wonder how legit he is. Caution advised.

Not to be confused with eBay seller localz.kine who has a 100% rating and whom I've dealt with face to face, good guy from my experience.

Check this thread: http://ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15202

Ukeffect · Jul 10, 2009

Sigh, why do people get sooo greedy and try to cash in like this? I suppose they could be from the same factory and just relabled...but I bet they are cheap Chinese knockoffs...they do seem to have a (ahem) loose interpretation of patent laws!
:wtf:

bbycrts · Jul 10, 2009

Ahnko Honu said:
I noticed this brand "Melokia" 'ukulele on the local Hawaii Craigslist.
http://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/msg/1260796295.html

Double checking I see whom I think is same seller posting around the country. His ads in the Portland, Oregon, and SF, Ca. Craigslist were quickly flagged.
http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/msg/1260798849.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/msg/1260800857.html

I believe it's the same seller JacGlobal who was selling the exact same Acacia 'ukuleles under the Koa Pili Koko label. I'm wondering if Casey Moore of Keli'i whom I think had legal right to the KPK brand name caught up with this guy thus the name change. Anyone hear anything about this guy?

I see he has deleted all his JacGlobal ads in the Craigslist and started new with Melokia. Note the similarities in websites.
http://melokiaukulele.com/ http://jacukulele.ocnk.biz/
Makes you wonder how legit he is. Caution advised.

Not to be confused with eBay seller localz.kine who has a 100% rating and whom I've dealt with face to face, good guy from my experience.

Check this thread: http://ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15202

Rosewood saddles in the pics on the melokiaukulele website. They look like perfect KPKs. Pirate copies being shipped out of the factory for renaming? I wouldn't be too surprised if Casey has a copyright on the headstock shape or other elements of the design...

bbycrts · Jul 10, 2009

bbycrts said:
Rosewood saddles in the pics on the melokiaukulele website. They look like perfect KPKs. Pirate copies being shipped out of the factory for renaming? I wouldn't be too surprised if Casey has a copyright on the headstock shape or other elements of the design...

I just noticed that the jacglobal website actually has a link to the melokiaukulele website on their home page...

shimpiphany · Jul 10, 2009

i just purchased a kpk from local.kinz, and emailed pics to casey to see if he thought it was a knockoff.

casey said he had no idea who local.kinz was, and he wasn't authorized to sell the kpks, and he offered no warranty on the uke i purchased.

that said, he also said it was one of his, and probably a blemish or second from the factory. as far as i can tell, the uke is perfect and i'm totally happy with it.

since these look exactly the same as kpks (esp. the bridge) maybe this dude is just getting them directly from the manufacturer? that isn't unprecedented in chinese production.

Ukeunclekenji · Aug 3, 2009

I just bought a Melokia Ukulele

I just bought a Tenor size of Melokia Uke. It have so nice sounds, and the guy gave me a really good price. Nice uke ! I love it .

hoosierhiver · Aug 3, 2009

Ukeffect said:
Sigh, why do people get sooo greedy and try to cash in like this? I suppose they could be from the same factory and just relabled...but I bet they are cheap Chinese knockoffs...they do seem to have a (ahem) loose interpretation of patent laws!
:wtf:

I hate rip-offs at least as much as most people, but consider
Patent/copyright/trademark laws differ in each country and are not international.
The ukes may be patented here, but maybe not in China.

generem · Aug 3, 2009

I just recently bought a Melokia Tenor too and the person I bought it from said that its just a rebadged KPK... Same maker just different name. I dont know how true that is but I'm happy with this purchase.. I got a solid tenor that looks and sounds good and inexpensive enough that I wouldn't feel too bad if it gets trashed a bit

:shaka:

Uncle Rod Higuchi · Aug 3, 2009

while here in Honolulu (Still here until Aug 15th), I try to go to the Kam Drive In Swapmeet near my sister in PearlRidge. I bought a Melokia because it sounded great and was relatively inexpensive for being solid koa. I generally play a soprano or concert and this one felt like a tenor. I checked the size later and now think it's like a super concert with a fretboard maybe one fret shy of a tenor-size.

Anyway, as long as it's not breaking the law, these Melokias appear to be wonderful ukes. The body seems, to me, to be a little thinner than normal, but the sound is great. I've already played it on the sidewalks of Waikiki and at the Adult Day Care where my Mom spends most of her days.

LasWages · Aug 3, 2009

My opinion

I am not picking sides here at all but I will give my 2cents on the Melokia and KPK ukes. I own a Tenor KPK and a Melokia C-Tenor so I can tell you from personal experience that its the same exact uke, spec for spec that I can see without taking it apart. From what I been told, Casey moore (correct me if I am wrong on his name) shares the rights of the name and uke with his partner (something most of the board probably didn't know). So basically, the uke is not violating any copyrights/trademarks.

Generem, I also got that Tenor also, as the KPK did not come out in that style. The grain is beautiful, eh?

Ukuloco · Sep 19, 2009

KPK-melokia

If you check out http://melokiaukulele.com you may find some interesting info. The Acacia wood comes from the near east, so I would imagine that they are produced also in the Far East (China etc.). The web site shows other Hawaiian type products made from this Far East Acacia. They also state that they will produce their product to your specifications. Melokia ukuleles are said to be a re badged Koa Pili Kokos (meaning koa's blood relative... and it is, Koa is actually called "Acacia Koa"), but seeing this would make one wonder if the KPK is a re badged Melokia. I own a concert Melokia in Acacia, purchased from takesijson@gmail.com AKA islandstylemusic on ebay. It plays in tune all the way up the fretboard, looks great and sounds even better. I've seen where KPKs apparently have a tendency to sometimes crack, has anyone seen a report of a cracked Melokia? Just curious.

Ukuloco · Sep 21, 2009

I mean Far East

Sorry, I meant to say "the Acacia wood comes from the Far East"

Melokia 'Ukuleles

Ahnko Honu

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Ukeffect

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bbycrts

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bbycrts

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shimpiphany

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Ukeunclekenji

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hoosierhiver

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generem

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Uncle Rod Higuchi

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LasWages

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Ukuloco

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Ukuloco

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