Buying a Uke in Honolulu?

Aloha everyone, I just moved to Oahu a few months ago and ever since I touched down in Hawaii I've been pretty fascinated by Ukuleles and their sound.

I work right above a music shop, Good Guys Music (on Kapahulu, a mile or so from Waikiki) and stopped in after work today to look at their selection of Ukes. I think I'm in the market for a Concert from the various reading I've been doing. I held a few at the store and I think the size is right.

The recommended Uke from the store was a Kala brand concert Ukulele for $85 and another $14 for a soft case. The gentleman at the store gave me a nice tour of the Uke, the tuning pegs seemed solid, and for a starter Uke it seemed nice and the sound was pleasant.

Decent deal or can I do better on the Island?

Is going through Craigslist a decent option or should I be wary of used Ukes?

Thanks!

I bought my first uke while in Hawaii at Good Guys Music from Clay.
It was a used Kala cutaway and I still play it every day.

Those guys are great and know their stuff.

You are in the right place.

Now go down to Bailey's and send me a vintage shirt for my expert advice.

Good guys live up to their name. The know what theyre talking about and have a pretty good selection in my opinion. They were the first place where I saw a fender uke plus one of the few places where you can find worth strings. Kalas are a good starting ukulele, its what I used.

another +1 on the Kala, but I'd recommend spending another 5 bucks or so to upgrade the strings to Aquila if the shop hasn't already. If the strings are black, they're GHS, which come standard. Aquilas are white, and are the best 5 bucks you can spend to make your uke really sing.

Check out the Hawai'i Music Stores List. There are so many places on Oahu, some known and some unknown. If the price you were quoted will hold, why not shop around and check out other options. I am assuming your budget is about a $100 or so?

this is where i bought my first 2

honolulu swap meet every sunday at the stadium (where they hold the nfl pro bowl every year). there are plenty of booths that sell ukuleles so you can window shop and strum things before you buy. over there, you can look and compare all at one place. just a suggestion, it's where i bought my first two ukes. check it out.

leftovermagic84 said:

another +1 on the Kala, but I'd recommend spending another 5 bucks or so to upgrade the strings to Aquila if the shop hasn't already. If the strings are black, they're GHS, which come standard. Aquilas are white, and are the best 5 bucks you can spend to make your uke really sing.

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The model they had hanging on the wall had white strings. Though I don't know how it would come out of the box. But I'll definitely keep the strings in mind if I do end up picking it up!

Thanks for the tip!

Kanaka916 said:

Check out the Hawai'i Music Stores List. There are so many places on Oahu, some known and some unknown. If the price you were quoted will hold, why not shop around and check out other options. I am assuming your budget is about a $100 or so?

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Yeah, I will be checking out a few shops. I'd like to support the shop in the same building and the guy was very knowledgeable and I figure if I need anything additional (he also mentioned he could recommend some people to me if I was interested in lessons or anything). But I'll definitely shop around!

mwilliams said:

The recommended Uke from the store was a Kala brand concert Ukulele for $85 and another $14 for a soft case. The gentleman at the store gave me a nice tour of the Uke, the tuning pegs seemed solid, and for a starter Uke it seemed nice and the sound was pleasant.

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Sounds like the Kala ka-c. That was my first uke too and I have only good things to say about it. Well built and a nice sound. I also liked Aquilas the best on it. I put in a lot of great hours learning on that thing before UAS bit me and made me look for a solid wood second uke. Play whatever you can in your price range and then decide. Good luck!

You might call the pawn shops around town. It will be hit and miss but you could get a good deal.

baumer said:

Sounds like the Kala ka-c. That was my first uke too and I have only good things to say about it. Well built and a nice sound. I also liked Aquilas the best on it. I put in a lot of great hours learning on that thing before UAS bit me and made me look for a solid wood second uke. Play whatever you can in your price range and then decide. Good luck!

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I was going to go back today to find the model . Based on the discussion, the gentleman at the store decided something around $100 would be a good start based on what I was telling him. He basically recommended the same thing, get the cheaper Kala, see how I like it and then invest further down the road. It was nice not having him try to up sell me on something I didn't need.

I'm not sure how long I'll be living in Hawaii (my wife and I are sorta playing it by ear), but we each want to leave with a nice memento and I think mine is going to be a Koa Uke .

Thanks for the tip!