$20 dollar Kamaka?!!

freshthreat

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Today I went to go see about a 20 dollar banjo uke off craigslist that was in desperate need of some love (i.e. no fingerboard and severe water damage) I have brought back banjo's from the dead before so I was stoked to have a new project!
As I was about to leave the fella asked me if I was into bluegrass and I told him I was into all kinds of music and instrumentation especially the ukulele...then he asked me if I would be interested in another ukulele that he had in his living room. That's when I cracked open a tiny case and saw the illustrious black and gold double K's staring back at me...I asked him "how much" and he said "twenty bucks...I just want all this stuff outta here"...I said "sure just let me go to the ATM down the street".
That was the longest drive to any ATM ever. I am still in shock! She sounds soo good!
I cleaned her up, slapped some Aquila strings on and boy howdy I am giddy!:drool:

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great find! it looks like it's in great condition.
 
Nicely done! Let the envy pour forth from the forum...
 
I am going to make a video of it sometime tomorrow using an H4 sound recorder. Oh yeah and it is in spectacular condition (my own horn has now been tooted out)...oh and I failed miserably at re-skinning the banjo uke. That re-skinning business is a little bit gross too...eww.
 
Good job! I never find things like that. Well, I collect pipes and have had some good finds in that hobby (a Dunhill made in 1919 for $2, in case any of you know pipes!), but I haven't found any good underpriced ukeleles anywhere. I did buy a 1920s uke from a guy who bought it for $25 at a thrift store, but he well knew what he had, and charged me accordingly (but fairly). If only I had gone to that thrift store before he did...
 
Sweet. A friend of mine found a Kamaka soprano at a garage sale for $20 but it needed to have a crack repaired for $135 more.
 
Wow! My friend got one in a Utah thrift store for $60. I am going to be at a flea market this weekend. I dream of finding something like this amoung the junk. A girl can dream. So awesome! What an amazing find!
 
Holy cow...good for you! Enjoy that find!
 
I'm so stoked for you!! What an awesome find!!
 
Very nice catch there! I was expecting to see a crack all the way down the front when I saw the price, but it looks like you got yourself a real gem. It's hard to come by gold labels in such good condition nowadays.
 
Very nice catch there! I was expecting to see a crack all the way down the front when I saw the price, but it looks like you got yourself a real gem. It's hard to come by gold labels in such good condition nowadays.

Yeah the first thing I did was slap that puppy back in it's case with a humidifier...especially here in AZ it gets CRAZY dry!
 
Great buy! We all dream of this kind of bargain, but they just don't happen. In some respects, it's a pity the ukulele has gained in popularity in recent years, because the stallholders in markets, at boot sales in the UK and charity shops (thrift stores) are clued up about the value. There probably was a time when you could pick up a lovely old vintage uke for next to nothing.
 
Man. That is a great find. The closest I have come to a deal like that was about 10 years ago. I was in a thrift store poking around and spied a pretty nice oscilloscope behind the counter. They were asking $8 for it. Being a former electronics geek I decided to buy it. I got it home and fired it up. It turned out to be nicer model than I thought at first. I had no real need of it, so I put it on eBay and it sold for $350! I have never found another deal like that and probably wasted that much in gas going to thrift stores looking lol.

I think the internet has taken a lot of those deals away. Anyone that can Google can find out what something is worth today with a few keystrokes. Judging from some of the questions I see posted on forums about 50% of the population knows how to Google. At the same time, the internet makes it easier to sell those rare finds.
 
My jaw has dropped.
I have uttered profanity in envy.
And I am very excited for you. Nice one!
 
$20!!!!! I bet you were laughing, shaking, feeling nervous, in awe, excited, trying not to speed, crying, barfing, freaking out just trying to get to the ATM and back!!!!!!

AHHHH!!!! What a deal! Amazing!!! If I could be so lucky...

Enjoy,
Skottoman
 
Yeah I was just imagining "Joe ebayer #3,000,698" swooping in on my way to the ATM and cashing in on what to me is the ultimate ukulele find of the century.
I'm glad that I was able to get it (someone who will play and treasure a Kamaka) as apposed to someone looking to make a quick buck...not that there's anything wrong with that.;)
 
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