John called and corrected me That made by Ko'olau would be 4200 plus slot headstock upgrade...lol
Man, IMO, $4200, even if that isn't the street price (and I hope John was talking MSRP) is very overpriced for a uke like that. I mean, Ko'olaus do tend to be more expensive than the competition, but I don't really see what value they add for that price. You can get a Taylor 600 CE series guitar with similar specs for about $2900, street, (incl. hard case and awesome electronics). And with that you're also buying an amazing guitar and getting into a lifetime subscription to their Wood and Steel mag and excellent customer service. (Not saying anything about Ko'olau's CS, since I've never dealt with them personally...though I will say that I have heard stories from a VERY prominent member of the UU community.)
But do Ko'olaus really add that much more value than the other K-brands? While nobody makes anything out of the box exactly like that Spruce/Flame Maple Ko'olau, you can definitely get something like that custom made. And I hate to keep pimping KoAloha, but they're the only big K brand with publicly advertised custom pricing (Kanilea used to have it, but I can't seem to find it anymore.)
Specing out a KoAloha custom with the same options as the aforementioned Ko'olau, you're probably looking at paying around $2500. No slotted headstock, just like the $4200 estimate by John. Of course, you'll have to wait in line for your KoAloha since Paul is hella backed up. But for that lower price, and the wait, you get value added via KoAloha's amazing customer service, which I can personally attest to.
http://www.koaloha.com/Custom_Works/CustomWorks_Options.html
But then again, everyone has their own perceptions of value, so it's impossible to say what is overpriced to me is overpriced to other people.
And my opinion also doesn't count because I've never played a Ko'olau of that price range. They could be the most amazing ukes in the world for all I know. But as of right now, Ko'olaus just seem a bit overpriced to me, so the contrast to illustrate the relative bargain of the Pono seems exaggerated.