New Kamaka Ukes lighter in weight than older ones?

Howie1947

Howie1947

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I have a Kamaka Tenor 5 yrs old. A freind of mine recently purchased a new Kamaka Tenor, and his seems lighter in wt than mine. Is Kamaka using a different, lighter in wt, type of Koa wood in the manufacture of their new ukes?? My older one sure seems a bit heavier
 
They might be employing more Stradivarius techniques in thin wood crafting and resins to make lighter instruments with great tone and sound projection. Haven't seen a newer Kamaka yet. Seriously, Memphis is heavy on guitars but little demand on ukuleles at moment so none of the local stores are going to be carrying Hawaiian or Haole ukuleles any time soon. I need to visit Hawaii soon.
 
Thinner tops, backs and sides = more ukes per log = more profit for Kamaka??
 
hoosierhiver said:
Could also be that particular peice of wood was denser.
Click to expand...

I gotta agree with Mike, I just think one particular 'ukulele was made for a lighter piece of wood. From over 30 years of working with Koa I don't know of any other wood that has such a variation in grain, color, and density than Koa. I don't believe Kamaka would change their recipe for a 'ukulele when they have no problem selling every single one they currently make.
 
Ahnko Honu said:
...I don't believe Kamaka would change their recipe for a 'ukulele when they have no problem selling every single one they currently make.
Click to expand...

I agree with Ahnko...no way would Kamaka change that recepie for making their ukes, they sell them as fast as they can make them. Must be the age of the wood.
 
Wood density is a good guess too because these days they are going to be using much younger trees which have higher water content and less fiber content than older trees. The same thickness of lumber taken from younger trees would need to be pressure cured in some way to prevent cracking. The formula for building with younger, less denser fiber wood may need to be tweaked here and there. Not much is left in the way of older, sweeter Koa is left due to in large part to ranching and in smaller part to the timber industry.
 
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