Kamaka Decals

H

Hippie Dribble

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hi all

I have a lovely old gold-label Kamaka Soprano uke here at home...in great condition save for the Kamaka "logo" decal on the headstock, which is peeled away and half-missing...

Does anyone know if these can be bought from Kamaka...or anywhere else for that matter?

I did email Kamaka about the issue but they said "next time you're in hawaii drop your uke in and we'll put a sticker on for you etc" Nice offer but the chances of me getting to hawaii at ANY time in the future is almost zero!!!

The only other thing I could think of was mailing the uke over to them, but two way shipping from Aust-USA is likely to cost me over $100USD...

any suggestions anyone or should I just give up?

eugene:confused::anyone:
 
I doubt you'll be able to just buy the decal. Then there would be all kinds of fake Kamakas floating around.

Do you really care about the decal? If you plan on playing it for awhile I wouldn't worry about it. I'm not an expert, but I don't think the decal would hurt the sale price all that much if you want to sell it. I've seen a bunch go on eBay with less than perfect decals and they still went for a pretty penny.
 
Check with your local Kamaka dealer. Maybe they can do it, or request that Kamaka send them the decal to place on it.

I assume Kamaka wants to be sure their decal only goes on a real Kamaka. A local dealer of theirs should be able to do that.
 
Aloha Eugene,
Like Kamaka said, Only way you'll get a decal is to bring it in....It's to protect themselves from proliferation of fake Kamakas out there.
.....I don't even think they give them even to dealers...they want to know it's going on a certain kamaka for sure,
and there's no way around that....Sorry for the bad news....Hope that ukulele get together went well...Take Care...MM Stan...
 
I agree with Stan. They will even try and keep a vintage uke as vintage looking as possible. If you take an older one in for repair or refinishing they will keep the original decal in place if its only slightly damaged.
 
You could make your own water-slide decal and apply a clear-coat over it after application IF you wanted to. ;)
HFD1_headstock-front.jpg
 
You could make your own water-slide decal and apply a clear-coat over it after application IF you wanted to. ;)
HFD1_headstock-front.jpg

Search eBbay for: guitar headstock decal ... they won't have Kamaka in stock, but many will make whatever you want for not much more.
I had a weird Chinese made folding bicycle that I take to auto races. I peeled-off all the decals and had "Ducati" ones made for it as a joke.
 
thanks for the responses everyone. Yes, I did realise they'd be worried about the "fake" Kamakas everywhere...I'm a bit of a perfectionist at heart, which is endlessly frustrating, but, I really would like the decal to be complete and intact...purely for aesthetic reasons. But anyway, I appreciate all your replies. I often feel a little isolated down here with only 2 small music shops, and if I don't at least ask, then I won't know. I'll inquire into the two-way shipping cost and take on board all your comments. Thanks again all, eugene
 
I have a Kamaka standard with a damaged white label. Do you guys think there is any chance that Kamaka would replace a white interior label?

I think you should plan a trip to Hawaii Eugene. It is fantastic.
 
I'll inquire into the two-way shipping cost and take on board all your comments. Thanks again all, eugene

I understand the aesthetic thing. Ship it to them! They have great customer service. I shipped my Kamaka Gold Lable pineapple to them to restore, and it cost me about $22 insured from the US (Oregon). That's the only way to do it and be totally authentic about it.
 
:confused: I don't get it.... why are you still even thinking of the cost, risk, and PIA of shipping and not just have the decal custom printed like suggested earlier?
 
thanks for the responses everyone. Yes, I did realise they'd be worried about the "fake" Kamakas everywhere...I'm a bit of a perfectionist at heart, which is endlessly frustrating, but, I really would like the decal to be complete and intact...purely for aesthetic reasons. But anyway, I appreciate all your replies. I often feel a little isolated down here with only 2 small music shops, and if I don't at least ask, then I won't know. I'll inquire into the two-way shipping cost and take on board all your comments. Thanks again all, eugene

I understand too.:eek: It wouldn't hurt. They would be able to check it out for whatever else besides the label too.
 
Just ship da buggah to Kamaka an let dem do it! Factory refurbished!
 
:confused: I don't get it.... why are you still even thinking of the cost, risk, and PIA of shipping and not just have the decal custom printed like suggested earlier?

hi Paul

yeah, I get that for some that option would be fine...problem for me though is that it wouldn't be authentic.
 
thanks Josh, Rocka, guitharsis, Koalition and Ronnie for the comments and suggestions.

I'm still trying to decide what to do...I did read on Kamaka's site yesterday that any kind of uke repairs or cosmetic work has a waiting list of 12months + at the moment. I find that difficult to get my head around. More than likely I'll hold fire for awhile as I could (probably more sensibly) put the $100+ dollar shipping cost to the purchase of my next uke...and there's plenty in the queue!!! :eek:

Thanks again everyone. eugene
 
Talk to Tekla at Kamaka Ukuleles in Hawaii...she's very helpful. They will install new decal for free; you just gotta pay da shipping!
 
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