WTB Kiwaya KTS-7

I've had some funds open up and I'd like to try for a Kiwaya KTS-7 if anyone has a used one for sale. Thanks!

I see alot of ukers are starting to notice Kiwaya's...aside from their cheaper copies of martins, what attracts you to them????
MM Stan...

Honestly I've always been really taken with the Martin 3M's appearance, but I can't afford one. Way back when, I had a Kiwaya KTS-4. I eventually sold it because it was too plain for my taste, but it was impeccably made and sounded amazing.

I don't know if it's more than you want to spend, but MGM usually has them new for what seems to me like a reasonable price. It is a lot, though. I've had my eye on them for a long time. Of course, I'm still hoping the non-ukulele-playing drummer acquaintance of mine here in town will eventually sell me his REAL Style 3. Someday, I hope. It just eats me up knowing that thing is just hanging on the wall of his living room never getting played!

Wow, your friend has a Style 3 and doesn't even play???! That would drive me insane with jealousy!

Yeah, I've seen MGM's new ones but I'm hoping to stay within my budget by getting a used one

NatalieS said:

Wow, your friend has a Style 3 and doesn't even play???! That would drive me insane with jealousy!

Yeah, I've seen MGM's new ones but I'm hoping to stay within my budget by getting a used one

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Yes. I posted a thread about it a while back. He's a drummer I SORT of know (we played a few gigs together 10 or 12 years ago). He found out I played ukulele, and emailed me to tell me he had an old Martin uke he found in an attic. I said "Cool, I'd like to see that sometime", and asked if he played at all. He doesn't, so I asked if it was something he'd ever considered selling. He said possibly, but hadn't really thought about it. I went off to band practice thinking it was most likely a Style 0, and that I would offer him a couple of hundred for it. When I got home he had sent a picture of it, and I saw that it was a Style 3. Holy Cow!!! A week later, I went to look at it. It's hanging on his wall as a decoration. He said he found it about 20 years ago in an attic in a rental house in Boulder, under the insulation. It's in amazingly good condition considering the wide temperature range of an attic in Colorado (probably sub-freezing in Winter to around 130+ in the summer). It has one tight back crack, and that's all!
I took a decent wad of cash, told him what it was possibly worth, told him that I couldn't give him that much, but that I could give him x amount right then and there. He said it was tempting, but he didn't know if he wanted to sell it because of the cool way he found it. He said he'd think about it, and assured me that he had no intentions of putting it on eBay or taking it to a dealer. He said if he DID decide to sell it, he'd want it to go to a good home and would let me know. A mutual friend told me that I should wait a month or two and ask him again. What makes it REALLY frustrating is that the guy is pretty well-off and not at all hard up for money, dammit! I think he'd have told me the same thing about not being sure if he wanted to sell it if I had told him what it was worth and offered him TWICE that much! Gah!!!!! Oh well... at least I know it's there and not going anywhere. I suppose if someone broke into his house and only took the uke, he might get suspicious.

I really like my Kiwaya KTS-7 that I purchased from MGM. I can see why they compare it with the Martin. Before I purchased it, I inquired about it and read numerous posts on another site where people were raving about them. I have to say, they were right.

Allen

Cool, thanks for your input shrink9!

And Chris, I'd keep bugging your friend. Maybe, just maybe, if he realizes how passionate you are about the uke, he could add to his "cool story" by ending it with, "And now my good friend has it and cherishes it."

That's what I'm hoping! But I just bought a '40s or '50s Style 1 this week, totally unexpectedly... so I can wait and let the Style 3 deal stew for a while.

A Martin 3M wall hanger....go figure!!!!
Would drive any uker insane....
Next time you're over there, ask him if you could play it....
When he hears what you can do with it, I'm sure when he let go..you'll get the first call..
Any seller would like it to go to the best person to benifit from it....at least me, and moolah is a close second.
Good LucK!!!!

mm stan said:

A Martin 3M wall hanger....go figure!!!!
Would drive any uker insane....
Next time you're over there, ask him if you could play it....
When he hears what you can do with it, I'm sure when he let go..you'll get the first call..
Any seller would like it to go to the best person to benifit from it....at least me, and moolah is a close second.
Good LucK!!!!

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I played it when I got to see it. I even took my Style 2 for comparison. He heard me play a few things. Boy did it need new strings!

I have a KTS-4 and I love it. I check ebay very regular for ukes and very rarely see a used Kiwaya for sale. I think they are so good that no one will sell theirs.

New KTS-7s have gone up a lot in price in the past year. I was super close to pulling the trigger just over a year ago and they were about 300 bucks cheaper then. I guess all Kiwayas have gone up in price, like a lot of other ukuleles. If one passes within my reach though, I'm still likely to go for it; the KTS-7 is the one uke I obsess about.

If playing it, feeling it and looking at it is worth one dollar per day for you, buy a new one. That might cost you less than waiting month for a used instrument.
I love my KTC-2 and my KS-1 (the cheap one).

I'm not in a big hurry so I'm willing to wait. Also, I change my mind about 10 times a day as to which uke I want, so I may end up with a Kamaka or a William King, who knows....

Tube said:

If playing it, feeling it and looking at it is worth one dollar per day for you, buy a new one. That might cost you less than waiting month for a used instrument.
I love my KTC-2 and my KS-1 (the cheap one).

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How do you like the KTC-2? Been thinking about that model. I also have the KS-1 and love the feel and setup. I can only imagine what the concert with solid wood is like.

@didgeridoo2
It´s my favourite, very well made, a real masterpiece. The wood is beautyful, it flickers, when moved under light. The tone is warm and rich. Very pleasing to play. The friction tuners are the best I have ever seen.