Return Mitchell MU-100 for Kamoa Pineapple?

I've been playing the Mitchell MU-100 for about a week, and like it enough, but don't love it. I still have the stock GHS strings on it, and was about to put the D'Addario J53 strings on this morning, but I don't know if it's worth it.

I've been watching some videos online of different ukes. The comparison Aldrine did of the Kamoa line was very useful, and after seeing that, I really like the Kamoa Pineapple. I'm a guitar player, and have acoustic guitars with warm tones. So I'm really looking for that brighter, traditional Hawaiian ukulele sound. So of all the Kamoas, I liked the tone of the pineapple the best, even compared to the other soprano.

It looks like the shipping in the UU store is $35, which is more than I was expecting. I was hoping for about half that, and I think I even read in another thread that the shipping in the store said $35, but the person actually paid $18. Does anyone know?

So basically, my thoughts are that if I put new strings on the Mitchell, it might sound decent, but I doubt it will sound better than the Pineapple....and I could use those savings to buy a case. What do you think?

As always, thanks everyone

Whatever you do make sure you get what you truly want or you will never be satisfied, just remember the pineapple will be smaller than the m-100 which isn't really a big deal and it has friction tuners, which some people prefer, but in my opinion if i were in your situation i would go with the kamoa:smileybounce:

i own a kamoa pineapple. i sold 2 leolani's (a tenor and a long-neck soprano) to finance the purchase of my kamoa pineapple. it did cost me $135, purchased and shipped to texas. i've owned it for over a month, maybe a month and a half. currently, it is the only ukulele that i own. i'm happy with it, no regrets. my former ukuleles, i owned for well over 2 years.

i bought the pineapple because i liked the way it sounded as well. it really does have some volume to it. also, i wanted to help the guys at uu. y'know, i wanted to show some support by purchasing from the uu store because i've learned so much from this wonderful website. i don't think i would have learned as much or as fast without the support here.

the main difference i noticed between my former ukuleles and my current one is, of course, the size. there was a slight noticeable difference in the size of the frets. most notably with the first fret. maybe, you being a guitar player (i am not) may find this as a hinderance. no real problems for me. also, my kamoa is lighter in weight than my former ukuleles. i think it's because of the friction tuners as well as the thinner wood. it does have a solid feel to it however, it doesn't feel fragile or brittle. i don't worry that i'm going to break it or something.

an added advantage that you will have because it's a soprano is the strings. i own a set of the strings that you have (d'addario j53). i think this will work with any set of concert strings. currently i have d'addario j92 strung on my kamoa. anyway, if you do it properly, you can string your a soprano twice with one set of concert strings. unless of course you're buying worth brand strings you can save a bit of cash. however, you might want to file the nut so the strings will fit or lay inside the groove instead of on top, particularly the c-string. the c-string will sit on top of the groove. which will make the c-string more difficult to press down on the first fret. i haven't filed the nut on my kamoa, it appears it has finally settled down as much as possible into the grooves of the nut.

i don't know anything about the other ukulele in question (the mitchell mu-100) so i can't tell you anything about it in comparison to the kamoa. i can't tell you for certain that it is or isn't a major upgrade from one to the other. i can only speak for the kamoa and personally, i am happy with it.

the only thing i would like to change about the kamoa is to make it a long-neck. i like the soprano body size, i just wish it had a concert sized neck.

:spam.s. to the website administrators, if you're reading this, thanks for everything and keep up the great job

Thanks

nuku,

Thanks for the advice.

Cent,

cent said:

anyway, if you do it properly, you can string your a soprano twice with one set of concert strings.

Click to expand...

What do mean by this? I wasn't really following this paragraph.

Thanks for sharing your experience with the Pineapple, though. You made some helpful points, and more for me to think about .

kjmphoto said:

What do mean by this? I wasn't really following this paragraph.

Click to expand...

ok, i'm going to try and break this down simpler.

the situation:
a) you have a soprano with a scale (the space between the nut and the bridge) of 350mm (almost 14") that also has a bridge that uses stopper knots, (this is important) not the type of bridge that you wind over and under
b) you have one set of concert strings (not soprano strings) that measure 1003mm (around 40.5")

the theory:
if you were to take one of those concert strings, let's take the c-string for example. take the c-string and fold it into half (making sure it is folded into equal halves). now if you hold that string that has been doubled into halves up against your soprano uke starting from the bridge all the way up to peg, you'll notice that it is slightly longer. so if i were to cut the string in half making two strings, i would be able to string it once then and there, and have another string to string at a later date and time.

important:
to pull this off you need to place the knot as close to end of the string as possible. if you're going to try this for the first time, i suggest that you take the string in it's entirety (do not cut it in half), place a knot on one end as close to the end as possible (don't place it so close that one end might slip through and come undone due to the tension). slip that knot under the bridge and lay the string down the neck, placing it into the nut as well. stick the other end of the string through the peg hole and pull the string all the way through making sure there isn't any slack (be sure to keep a finger on the string at the part of the nut to make sure it stays in the groove). you don't need to pull hard at all just enough where there is no slack. while keeping a finger on the nut to make sure the string stays in the groove and while there is no slack either, turn the tuning peg to tighten. in fact, just tune the darn thing. after you're done tuning, all that excess string at headstock pull it down and it should reach the bridge and then some. cut that excess string off and you can use it later again to re-string your ukulele when the strings you currently have become a flat/dead sound or just break/snap.

advantage:
"you can string your soprano twice with one set of concert strings." -cent
do you kind of get what i'm saying now? it's a bit long winded but i wanted to be as thorough as possible, make sure there was no misunderstanding. i've done this with my pineapple so it's a theory i'm currently practicing. technically a set of strings will last me twice as long or you can say i buy two for the price of one, however you look at it, i'm saving a bit of cash unless of course i'm buying the brand worth strings. i hope this helps, if not i concede.

Cent

Sorry for the delayed response. I was moving out of an apartment, which ended up being much more time consuming than I was planning.

Anywho, I know exactly what you are talking about now. I really had no clue what you were talking about with your first post. So thanks for the detailed response. That's a pretty smart idea. If I get adventurous, i'll give it a try.

Thanks again.