I love this tenor

I started thinking about trading in my Kala lacewood a while ago - the sprucetop "brightness" just wasn't settling well with me. The price of the higher end "K" ukes kept me from considering them but my local shop got a shipment of Kamakas ... wow. Blew my mind. I tried the Kanilea out of curiosity but it just didn't feel as right or hear as good to me as the Kamaka. So after a lot of debating, research, and serious groveling with my wife, I decided (read: given permission) to get the HF-3.

Huge thanks to Todd over at Island Legends in Torrance. He went way out of his way to work with me on this one.

So between the Kamaka tenor and the KoAloha concert and not really interested in "vintage" or collector ukes, I really think I'm going to be very very happy with these two alone.

wow that looks fantastic. im deciding to pull the trigger on the same uke or the koaloha version.
also what strings are you using? stock?

I have been awful at experimenting with strings. I've only tried Aquilas (low and hi g) and Worths (low and hi g, brown and clears). I've grown increasingly partial to Worth browns which is what I've put on my Kamaka (low g, medium tension). I think the browns really bring out the mellow tone which is the sound I like.

One of the Kamakas came stock with GHS and the one I went with came with Aquilas.

Thats a awesome looking uke!

I love that tenor. A sound sample with that low G is a must! :drool:

There is something really awesome about a Kamaka uke.

Looks great, got any videos?

the.ronin said:

Huge thanks to Todd over at Island Legends in Torrance. He went way out of his way to work with me on this one.

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So you're the one that bought that one. I was in there this morning and he had a six string and an HF3. Did you buy it today?

the.ronin said:

So between the Kamaka tenor and the KoAloha concert and not really interested in "vintage" or collector ukes, I really think I'm going to be very very happy with these two alone.

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Taking bets on that?

Congratulations on two fine pieces!

is there two different gloss types on that uke??? like half and half

the.ronin said:

I started thinking about trading in my Kala lacewood a while ago - the sprucetop "brightness" just wasn't settling well with me. The price of the higher end "K" ukes kept me from considering them but my local shop got a shipment of Kamakas ... wow. Blew my mind. I tried the Kanilea out of curiosity but it just didn't feel as right or hear as good to me as the Kamaka. So after a lot of debating, research, and serious groveling with my wife, I decided (read: given permission) to get the HF-3.

Huge thanks to Todd over at Island Legends in Torrance. He went way out of his way to work with me on this one.

So between the Kamaka tenor and the KoAloha concert and not really interested in "vintage" or collector ukes, I really think I'm going to be very very happy with these two alone.

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Well, in my experience, groveling for forgiveness tends to be easier than groveling for permission. You should keep that in mind, because I'm pretty sure that you'll be getting more ukes sometime in the future when something that you really dig comes along.

keithy351 said:

is there two different gloss types on that uke??? like half and half

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That's one thing I've noticed with current generation Kamakas. The two halves of the bookmatched wood show up very clearly different in photographs sometimes. In person it looks fine at most angles, but then you just get that massive contrast sometimes. The bookmatching is good, but the halves looks like they different colors or something. And it seems to only happen on their non-flamed models, b/c their flamed tops have always blown me away, and I've never noticed that left-side, right-side contrast issue. I have not seen that effect as much or as pronounced in other brands of ukes or acoustic guitars. And I'd say that it is (at least to me) one of the more unattractive features of Kamakas...wonder why that happens...

experimentjon said:

That's one thing I've noticed with current generation Kamakas. The two halves of the bookmatched wood show up very clearly different in photographs sometimes. In person it looks fine at most angles, but then you just get that massive contrast sometimes. The bookmatching is good, but the halves looks like they different colors or something. And it seems to only happen on their non-flamed models, b/c their flamed tops have always blown me away, and I've never noticed that left-side, right-side contrast issue. I have not seen that effect as much or as pronounced in other brands of ukes or acoustic guitars. And I'd say that it is (at least to me) one of the more unattractive features of Kamakas...wonder why that happens...

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Boy I'm glad it wasn't just me noticing that...

I've really only noticed it on the ones that have heavy curls. However, I'm sure that that is what makes it so hard to book match in the first place. No matter though. I still think they are beautiful and would pick one up if I could afford it.

I think that is a nice looking ukulele, but besides that the thing that is important is that it sounds good, and I bet it sounds better than good.

Congratulations on your new one.

Take care,
Thomas

Congrats on the new uke. I'm sure the contrast isn't pronounced in person and it's just the angle....I'm sure this would have put you off in person otherwise. I'm sure it plays beautifully.

You sure did move up the ladder rather quickly Vids or it didn't happen

Oh man, I was so caught up in the two-color thing that I totally forgot to congratulate you on your beautiful new uke. Yeah, the subtle two-tone is one thing, but hey man, it's a Kamaka, and I'm sure it sounds great and I know you dig it. I'd love to have a Kamaka tenor myself someday.

Congrats on the uke. Awesome!

keithy351 said:

defiently agree this is one of the more unattractive kamakas

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Ooh harsh! Okay you don't like Kamakas that is fine, but why say something so hard in a forum thread dedicated to his pride over his new uke? I support your right to dis the brand, I just wouldn't have slammed his purchase so bad in his own thread...

I think it looks beautiful and I'm sure it sounds great as well. Don't let others dampen your enthusiasm. Enjoy your Kanaka in good health and I look forward to seeing videos of it.

Dont forget to join the Kamaka Klub!

keithy351 said:

defiently agree this is one of the more unattractive kamakas, i personally think kamakas popularity are going off by the actual name rather then the uke its self, ie people buying billabong over say some walmart brand and these other companies like koaloha, koolau and kanilea seem to be becoming a step better

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Runner up for one of the worst posts in the history of UU :wtf:

Congrats. Lovely instrument.

wickedwahine11 said:

Ooh harsh! Okay you don't like Kamakas that is fine, but why say something so hard in a forum thread dedicated to his pride over his new uke? I support your right to dis the brand, I just wouldn't have slammed his purchase so bad in his own thread...

I think it looks beautiful and I'm sure it sounds great as well. Don't let others dampen your enthusiasm. Enjoy your Kanaka in good health and I look forward to seeing videos of it.

Dont forget to join the Kamaka Klub!

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no no no no no, i didnt mean anything like that, i like kamakas im not dissing them i was just not sure about the two tone, weather thats how they come stock, or was it chosen and my second response was just agreeing with the person above me, and asking why kamakas are so popular, is it cause the brand name or quality... pms much... jeez i deleted it

Runner up for one of the worst posts in the history of UU

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ok i think your being a drama queen princess


congrats on the uke dude, was just interested in the two tone cause it seems oposiite on the head stock, wondering ie bottom right and top left is the darker and bottom left and top right lighter thats all mate, but ppl here enjoy causein a little drama but i was just curious, a sound file would be sweet

Whoa ... lots of responses!!

Hey let's not jump on keithy351. We all have our own opinions and sometimes, we might say something that we didn't mean to come out sounding harsh but does. Everyone's opinion is important. On the other hands, thanks to those defending my stoke.

Ronnie, yes!! I got it yesterday just before Todd closed up. I got there like 5 min before he closed haha. He even offered to stay open if I got stuck in traffic. Really cool guy. Yeah, the othe HF-3 had some weird wood spots on the top ... I really couldn't make out any sound differences especially since they had different strings so I ended up choosing from the 2 based on looks.

Oh back on the two-tone, I photoshop all my photos using unsharpen mask and adjust light levels which has a tendency to exaggerate contrasts which may have really made the book matching pop. I'll take a photo later without these tweaks.

Thanks you guys for all the congrats ... I feel kinda weird for being a total newb and having relatively fine ukes (of course there are others way better). But it's something I really enjoy and find absolutely soothing about playing a uke - even if I'm not all very good.

I'll post up a sound file soon - I wish I had one of the Kala tenor so you can hear the difference. Maybe I'll play the same song on the KoAloha then the Kamaka so there is a reference point.

Thanks again everyone!! I was expecting a lot of "you newb don't deserve that uke!!" comments haha.

that ukulele is beautiful!!! would you consider trading it for... like... my kidney or something?