For sale is an early 1950's Kamaka Gold Label soprano. Follows is a list of my impressions/observations:
Body
1. One piece top and bottom.
2. There are 4 cracks on the top that I was told were repaired by the previous owner. There have been no signs of separation since I've owned it. No cracks on the back or sides.
3. Light as a feather and loud.
4. The gold label is peeling on the sides and has some red marks on it.
5. Someone engraved the work Kamaka onto the top of the body...see pics. It appears that it may even be a separate piece of wood. I spoke with Kamaka and a local custom ukulele builder and they said they could replace the wood there and try to match it with a new piece of koa.
6. The bridge needs some attn. On these models there was no saddle. It looks like someone tried to fill in the slots a bit. I think it needs to be filed a bit and cleaned up.
Neck
1. The neck is in great shape....no bowing. It's wide and really thin. It reminds me of a Mele I had before.
2. Action is low and very playable up to fret 7. I think it starts getting a bit high from there but still playable.
3. Intonation is good at the 12 fret which is where it joins the body. It is sharp at the 2nd fret on a couple of strings which I think is a nut issue???
4. I found Aquilas to sound best. I was getting a weird buzz on the C string with Worths.
5. The headstock is missing the KK label....not sure if it wore off? I sent photos to Kamaka and they confirmed that it was not a copy.
Price is $275 shipped with canvas hard shell case.
Body
1. One piece top and bottom.
2. There are 4 cracks on the top that I was told were repaired by the previous owner. There have been no signs of separation since I've owned it. No cracks on the back or sides.
3. Light as a feather and loud.
4. The gold label is peeling on the sides and has some red marks on it.
5. Someone engraved the work Kamaka onto the top of the body...see pics. It appears that it may even be a separate piece of wood. I spoke with Kamaka and a local custom ukulele builder and they said they could replace the wood there and try to match it with a new piece of koa.
6. The bridge needs some attn. On these models there was no saddle. It looks like someone tried to fill in the slots a bit. I think it needs to be filed a bit and cleaned up.
Neck
1. The neck is in great shape....no bowing. It's wide and really thin. It reminds me of a Mele I had before.
2. Action is low and very playable up to fret 7. I think it starts getting a bit high from there but still playable.
3. Intonation is good at the 12 fret which is where it joins the body. It is sharp at the 2nd fret on a couple of strings which I think is a nut issue???
4. I found Aquilas to sound best. I was getting a weird buzz on the C string with Worths.
5. The headstock is missing the KK label....not sure if it wore off? I sent photos to Kamaka and they confirmed that it was not a copy.
Price is $275 shipped with canvas hard shell case.
