Lanakai Quality?...

spazus_maximus

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Just curious if anyone here was disappointed with Lanakai's craftsmanship?

I just recieved a SM-T from a trade & was fairly excited to be getting a solid instrument....However once it arrived I was shocked to see how poorly this Uke was manufactured.

My gripes are as follows

A: The fret dressing is horrible....Run the palm of your hand down the neck fast enough & you might get sliced...I can fix this but for a msrp of $365 I should not have to file ALL the fret edges myself...one or two..ok...not ALL of them....btw I let the Uke stabilize with the proper humidity & temp first so it's not neck shrinkage.

B: Tuners....They look cheap....They are very inconsistent....Hell one of em isnt even seated on the headstock & im talking .125" not a few thou!....pure crap in my opinion....I can install new tuners but then again If im getting p.o.s tuners couldnt you atleast make sure they are installed properly?

C:The Solid Spalted Mango body.....Sounds good huh?....Well Im not impressed with that either.....The body is so thin when you look into the uke through the soundhole you can see light shining through the body!!...The body near the neck area GLOWS ORANGE! In the areas which I assume to be the "spalted" area's...It is nothing but lacquer! Maybe thats the nature of the beast when it comes to spalted mango...dunno....but man i swear the body seems to be nothing more than a thin sheet of veneer!
I have no way of measuring the body thickness...but I would estimate it at a mere .030" with approx .040" of lacquer

Pro's: It's pretty.

Tone: TBD....Gotta try some worths...The Aquillas dont seem to match this instrument...Almost too bright...imho


Didnt mean to post a review....just blowing off steam!

btw...This in no way reflects the person I traded with...This Uke is practically brand new & was a fair trade.
 
Hmm I haven't had problems with the frets or tuners on mine... But I got mine 2 years ago so maybe they have changed factories?

I will say that Aquila's aren't a good idea for Lanakai's. I like the D'Adario J65s on my concert. I haven't tried Worths though...
 
Hmm I haven't had problems with the frets or tuners on mine... But I got mine 2 years ago so maybe they have changed factories?

I have to agree with this one, Iunno my Lanikai CK-C wasn't as bad as the one you're describing that kinda sucks.
 
That's good to hear....


Im starting to wonder if this was a factory second....Does anyone know how you could tell?....& for some strange reason it's double labled inside...One label placed on another...I wonder what was wrong with the first label?
 
Dont have a higher end one, but have an LU21 sop that was cheap as chips, and it is really solid and well made.

The laminate tone is lacking, but action, fit and finish are all amazing considering it cost me £40
 
I'm really sorry to hear about your uke, but to be honest I've had a completely different experience with Lanikai. In the last 6 months I've purchased an S-T and an O-6, both solid spruce top tenors, the later of which is a 6 string. For the prices I paid, I couldn't be more happy. I've had 0 issues with sharp frets or tuners, and if anything, I'd have to say the ukes are a little on the thick side. Maybe I've just had really good luck, but I've become a serious Lanikai fan, because in my experience, they seem to offer the same if not slightly better quality than Kala while undercutting them in price.

Even though you bought the uke used, I'd still consider contacting Lanikai so see if there is anything they can do to help you out, because the issues you're describing don't stem from normal wear and tear. Again, I'm really sorry to hear about your uke.
 
Being double labeled I would be very suspicious of it being a knock off or clone. I have two tenors and, for the money, they are pretty well built and sound good, not great, but quite good.

That's good to hear....


Im starting to wonder if this was a factory second....Does anyone know how you could tell?....& for some strange reason it's double labled inside...One label placed on another...I wonder what was wrong with the first label?
 
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I have an 8 string tenor that is just suburb in craftsmanship and sound quality.
The tuners that came with weren't the greatest so I changed them out when I set it up. Doug
 
I'm curious, the tuners, they're supposed to be gold Gotoh tuners. Those came on my LSM-C and were FANTASTIC! Best tuners I've used.

However, your description of the frets doesn't surprise me in the least. There were a bunch of that particular uke that were sold on ebay as factory seconds. And fret issues were a common feature. I was told that they mark the factory seconds with a F or D on the back of the heel... but I never found that to be true. But check anyway. And if it were me, I'd peel that second sticker off and see what lurks under it, ya never know, it might be the map to the lost treasure of Oak Island!

Lanikai in general, I have had good experiences with them. My B-stock LSM-C was a sweet uku, despite its flaws. I have a spruce-top tenor that is a very great uke for the price. And I've checked out a few of the LU series that were very good as well.
 
I bought a spruce top concert about a year ago for a little over $100 and imo it has to be one of the best ukulele deals out there. No problems with finish, good full sound and near perfect intonation and action.

I know it's not possible for many, but I prefer to examine and play an instrument before I buy it. This can be limiting unless you live in Hawaii or a big mainland city. But when I'm in the mood to buy, I really enjoy going from store to store playing different ukes. And buyer's remorse, although still possible, is less likely.
 
Can you peel off that top label somehow? That sounds really odd to me that there's two labels.

I can't say enough nice things about my two Lanikai 'ukulele. Best bang for the buck that I've tried. Don't know what I'd do without my trusty LU21 TE.
 
Yeah Im gonna peel the label...I was hesitant at first cause i didnt want to have a ripped label...but screw it!

You guys all have me convinced that the Uke I have is an exception not the standard.

Thanks again for all of the input.

Have a great weekend....Happy Thanksgiving!
 
Except for the sunken top on my S-C, it's nearly perfect. I'll send it back if I get a round tuit and can stop playing it.

tom
 
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