Looking for a new tenor uke!

nukulele0

nukulele0

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I currently have a cheap lanikai soprano been playing for a couple of months and want something bigger, looking for a tenor, I've narrowed it down to a melokia solid acacia cutaway tenor(rebadged KPK), pono ohai with solid cedartop, or should I wait for a kala solid acacia which are currently backorder for i dont know how long. I'm open to any suggestions my budget is about $300, Thanks for any suggestions ;)
 
I haven't heard a bad thing yet about a mainland uke, and seem like the most bang for your buck. You can get a mahogany tenor for 250, or a red ceder for 300, I believe.
Also, there's currently a 10% discount and free shipping for mainland ukes at boutiquemusic.com. I'd really like to buy one with this deal since I'm kind of strapped for cash right now, but does anyone know if it's the real deal (aka, it'll get setup by Mike, which obviously is an extremely important bit)?
 
Have you cruised musicguymic on eBay? He's extremely reputable, has good prices and often there are sound clips on YouTube for most of what he sells. If he doesn't have one up someone else will. If you can't buy local, that might be a way to get an idea of what you like the looks and sound of before you buy.

You can also look on Craigslist in your area, I found my Pono koa tenor for $350. that way, barely played and still with it's case. New (if they still made them) was $600.

You might want to do some searches for threads on this subject, as there have been some problems reported with both the KPKs and Pono Ohais cracking, maybe see if that has been resolved.
 
sleepsinashoe said:
I haven't heard a bad thing yet about a mainland uke, and seem like the most bang for your buck. You can get a mahogany tenor for 250, or a red ceder for 300, I believe.
Also, there's currently a 10% discount and free shipping for mainland ukes at boutiquemusic.com. I'd really like to buy one with this deal since I'm kind of strapped for cash right now, but does anyone know if it's the real deal (aka, it'll get setup by Mike, which obviously is an extremely important bit)?
Click to expand...

Hey sleeps thanks for the quick response, I have been looking at mainlands but everybody seems to be sold out, would u know the tonal differences between the mahogany and red cedar.
Thanks
 
Well you can always buy from mainlandukuleles.com, he should have most things in stock, but either way I think the site says he's restocking at the end of August, which happens to be now.
And from what I know, mahogany is a more mellow sound, and ceder is brighter, to be very simple about it. You can go to youtube and google "mainland ukulele reviews", and hear different wood types (there's a decent mix of them on there), but be sure to compare the same size uke to the same size. In fact, because of mic quality differences, this might not be the most reliable method, so I'll leave it to more experienced members of the UU tribe to answer it better.
 
nukulele0 said:
I currently have a cheap lanikai soprano been playing for a couple of months and want something bigger, looking for a tenor, I've narrowed it down to a melokia solid acacia cutaway tenor(rebadged KPK), pono ohai with solid cedartop, or should I wait for a kala solid acacia which are currently backorder for i dont know how long. I'm open to any suggestions my budget is about $300, Thanks for any suggestions ;)
Click to expand...

if youre thinking about sticking with Lanikai, I have one of their Koa models on the marketplace. its open to offers now.
 
I have the Melokia solid acacia tenor (not cutaway model) and love it. Great looks and nice mellow sound. I also have a Mainland Mahog Tenor and like that a lot also. My opinion is that the Mainland is slightly better quality and is set up super by Mike. I think the Melokia is much prettier and really catches your eye. I am more into the plain-jane look of the Melokia. You can't lose either way. If quality is most important... go Mainland.
 
wow thanks for all the great responses, ive narrowed it down to a mainland solid mahogany or kala solid acacia, ahh decisions decisions
 
nukulele0 said:
wow thanks for all the great responses, ive narrowed it down to a mainland solid mahogany or kala solid acacia, ahh decisions decisions
Click to expand...

I just saw someone post an ad on Craigslist Hawaii for a Koa Tangi Ukulele. Ad says its a concert, but I counted the frets and its actually a tenor. The seller is asking $300 and this one also has 2 sound holes. Check it out.

http://honolulu.craigslist.org/kau/msg/1352713825.html
 
Dino said:
I just saw someone post an ad on Craigslist Hawaii for a Koa Tangi Ukulele. Ad says its a concert, but I counted the frets and its actually a tenor. The seller is asking $300 and this one also has 2 sound holes. Check it out.

http://honolulu.craigslist.org/kau/msg/1352713825.html
Click to expand...

Craigslist rocks!

If you're on Oahu then call Michael at MGM. Go to his shop in Kaneohe and check out what he has. He could really help you out. This way you could actually try out what you're interested in.
 
The cedar Mainlands are supposed to be a little brighter than the mahogany. I just got a cedar and can't say enough nice things about it. It's beautiful and sounds gorgeous.
 
I am wondering how you came to the conclusion the tangi was a tenor by counting frets its not number of frets but scale length...Dino i looked at the pics but really cant tell cause Tangi made them in both concert and Tenor
 
Last edited:
Have Ohana Tenor for Sale

Just today I got the opportunity to purchase a used Koaloha tenor. This transactions is dependant on me selling my current one. I have an Ohana which I wish to sell. It is 3 - 4 Months old and comes with a hard shell case.
I paid $239 for it without the case. I am asking $200 which includes shipping.
It is like new with a solid mahogony top and gloss finish. I can send pictures if you like. Looks/Sounds/Plays great - if I could keep both ukes I would but due to finances I need to sell the Ohana to get the upgrade to Koaloha...
 
Mike,
I understand your talking about the scale and all, but compared it to the custom tenor I have from Tangi and the frets are same like mine 14 to the body / 18 total. another thing I went on was the head stock. Tangi's concert headstocks are open except for his older concerts. Finally, to satisfy any questions i called Tangi, described it, and he said its a Tenor.
 
I can tell you it has varied in price originally many should have arrived and stock was to be plentiful then it came hardly any were coming and everybody wanted one. They list without case at 409.00....... I can tell you the price is not lowest it could be at the moment Simple supply and demand..
 
if you're still trying to decide, have a look into Kamoa. I played a few while I was in Kauai and they're a very nice uke, especially for the price (and you can get UU points for them if you buy it from the UU store).
 
While I was on ebay the other day i stumbled across a solid acacia tenor! I paid 370 shipped with a semi hard case, do u know if i can put a humidifier in the same case, or would I even want to( I live in Huntington Beach) :cool:
 
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