Kamaka HF-2 Vs Kanilea K1-T

Well, I bought a new ukulele today!

I was willing to spend around $800 on a nice uke as an upgrade from the Tangi that I had been playing on, and there was a nice sale at Easy Music Center. Now, I'm not going to say which uke I bought yet (as not to sway your opinions,) but I will say that it is one of these two: either a Kamaka HF-2 concert, or a Kanilea K1-T tenor. So, one of these ukuleles belong to me, and the other, I'm borrowing from my friend. So, here I thought I'd make a thread to compare the two similarly-priced very nice ukes, and hear which one you guys would have for the money.

Unfortunately I don't know much about ukes, so here's my best attempt to describe the two. Hehe. Please correct me if I use retarded terminology or describe these wrong.


Tangi Soprano: ~$150
Kamaka Concert: ~$640 after 25% discount
Kanilea Tenor: ~$700 after 25% discount



Kamaka: Koa body, Mahogony neck, Rosewood fretobard, lacquer finish, white ivory(?) position dots, regular saddle-thing, stock strings. Overall, the finish makes the uke look more natural, and I would say "traditional," as you can see the wood grain.
Kanilea: Koa body, Mahogony neck, Rosewood fretobard, high gloss UV cured finish, abalone position dots, cool-looking peg saddle-thing, stock Aquila strings. The gloss finish is gorgeous, and makes the uke look like something special.


Kamaka: White-friction tuning pegs, a KK sticker
Kanilea: Gold-Grover Tuning Keys, laser engraved(?) Kanilea logo.

Soundwise, I would say the Kamaka has a more rich sound and is very well balanced for picking and for strumming. The Kanilea makes an amazing sound, and I'd describe the tone as more punchy and bold. Picking on it is amazing...and the strumming is great too. I would include a sound clip but I suck far too much.

Anyway, I have blabbed on enough, and now, I'm wondering that if you had my 800-ish dollars to spend on a new uke, which one of these would you buy? The Kamaka concert or the Kanilea tenor? Or would you go for another model, like a KoAloha or G-String, which were very real options since the store had quite a few of them as well. So, lets see if most people would have gone with my choice.

I'd say save a little bit more and get an HF-3

I played both and I think that they both sound awesome. The Kanilea's are a new force in ukulele to be reckoned with. The only flaw that Kanilea's have for me is the peg style saddle. I just think it's more of a hassle than anything when you have to change strings using a peg style saddle. Also the strings has to lie a certain way on the uke. The way that the strings meet the uke just doesnt suit what I'm used to. But then again, one man's medicine is another man's poison.

The concert Kamaka is great. BUT I'm not a big fan of the tuning keys. They're way too sensitive for me. Seems that if you turn it just a little, it'll go waaaaay more than you thought it would. I own a concert kamaka as well so this is a personal experience that I had with the tuning keys.

Your choice though. Like I said, just save a bit more and go for the gold

I've played both and went with the Kanile'a with no regrets. Mind you I'm no pro but I really love that Kanile'a ukulele. Toss a coin...u can't really go wrong.

I've played both and went with the Kanile'a with no regrets. Mind you I'm no pro but I really love that Kanile'a ukulele. Toss a coin...u can't really go wrong.

Too bad it's not the SM which I think has a mellower tone. That said, my choice would be the HF-3. Check Dan's Guitars on Beretania & McCully, authorized Kamaka dealer as well as some of the other brand name Hawaiian ukuleles.

I'd go with the Kanile'a. I LOVE the way they sound.

Aldrine Guerrero said:

I'd say save a little bit more and get an HF-3

I played both and I think that they both sound awesome. The Kanilea's are a new force in ukulele to be reckoned with. The only flaw that Kanilea's have for me is the peg style saddle. I just think it's more of a hassle than anything when you have to change strings using a peg style saddle. Also the strings has to lie a certain way on the uke. The way that the strings meet the uke just doesnt suit what I'm used to. But then again, one man's medicine is another man's poison.

Click to expand...

How do you mean the strings have to lie a certain way?

Its fairly obvious what you got, and here's my reasons why:
People shop with their eyes, and you were impressed with the Kanile`a finish so much that you bothered to find out that they UV cure (surprised you didn't take the next step and say "Poly").

You specifically mention Aquila strings as "stock" (but didn't find out what the "stock" Kamaka strings are), which, by nature of this (and other boards), seems to put some sort of element of "better" in there. Side note - Joe's instruments are top notch, and as you stated, very punchy. That said, I would string it with something more along the lines of D'Addario J71 (or build a set with J46's for low g) to bring out more of what the Tenor has to offer.

Your comparison of the bridges - seems you like the look of pinned v. slotted.

If you were going to spend $640 for a Concert Kamaka, and admittedly "not knowing much about ukes," you would get a new one.

Going back to shopping with eyes - you made no mention of the first thing that I hold most important in an instrument - playability. No matter what the instrument sounds like, if you can't play it, you can probably do better. In your words, the Kanile`a looks like something special.

Note on Aldrine's statement on pinned bridges - (without getting into details on the importance of break angle, which is a whole 'nother thread) the one flaw in most tie-block bridges is that once the strings are tied, the break angle over the saddle is reduced because the string gets pulled up. Done properly, pinned bridges (especially ramped pinned bridges) allow a nice break angle to be maintained. Of course, pinless bridges are one of the easier ways to effect this as well (talk about changing strings there). I used to be into pinnless bridges (thank you Mike Chock) because of what it brings to the table. I was always bothered with the limitations of tie-block, and one day figured out how to get around it. Now, I've started doing 8 hole tie-blocks on some instruments. Of course, as usual, something you figure out has probably already been done. After some research, I find this recently started among Classical Guitar builders (who do 12 hole tie-blocks). This is not something most players would want to deal with either.

Its what you're willing to deal with as a player, and last I checked, unless you're MGM, you play more than you change strings.

Aldrine also stated that you should look into the HF3. I agree - a Concert Kamaka and a Tenor Kamaka are two different instruments (the Schaller tuners on the Tenor jacks the price up $50 already). To compare a Concert Kamaka to a Kanile`a Tenor, not a good comparison.
Sorry to hijack the thread.

Back to the thread, I'd say you got the Kanile`a.

Mmmm tastey. I think you got both of them because they're both beautiful ukes and I'm sure they both played great in their own ways. You couldn't decide which one you wanted so you just went ahead and bought the both of them and lied about one of them being your friends.

Kekani said:

Its fairly obvious what you got, and here's my reasons why:
People shop with their eyes, and you were impressed with the Kanile`a finish so much that you bothered to find out that they UV cure (surprised you didn't take the next step and say "Poly").

You specifically mention Aquila strings as "stock" (but didn't find out what the "stock" Kamaka strings are), which, by nature of this (and other boards), seems to put some sort of element of "better" in there. Side note - Joe's instruments are top notch, and as you stated, very punchy. That said, I would string it with something more along the lines of D'Addario J71 (or build a set with J46's for low g) to bring out more of what the Tenor has to offer.

Your comparison of the bridges - seems you like the look of pinned v. slotted.

If you were going to spend $640 for a Concert Kamaka, and admittedly "not knowing much about ukes," you would get a new one.

Going back to shopping with eyes - you made no mention of the first thing that I hold most important in an instrument - playability. No matter what the instrument sounds like, if you can't play it, you can probably do better. In your words, the Kanile`a looks like something special.

Note on Aldrine's statement on pinned bridges - (without getting into details on the importance of break angle, which is a whole 'nother thread) the one flaw in most tie-block bridges is that once the strings are tied, the break angle over the saddle is reduced because the string gets pulled up. Done properly, pinned bridges (especially ramped pinned bridges) allow a nice break angle to be maintained. Of course, pinless bridges are one of the easier ways to effect this as well (talk about changing strings there). I used to be into pinnless bridges (thank you Mike Chock) because of what it brings to the table. I was always bothered with the limitations of tie-block, and one day figured out how to get around it. Now, I've started doing 8 hole tie-blocks on some instruments. Of course, as usual, something you figure out has probably already been done. After some research, I find this recently started among Classical Guitar builders (who do 12 hole tie-blocks). This is not something most players would want to deal with either.

Its what you're willing to deal with as a player, and last I checked, unless you're MGM, you play more than you change strings.

Aldrine also stated that you should look into the HF3. I agree - a Concert Kamaka and a Tenor Kamaka are two different instruments (the Schaller tuners on the Tenor jacks the price up $50 already). To compare a Concert Kamaka to a Kanile`a Tenor, not a good comparison.
Sorry to hijack the thread.

Back to the thread, I'd say you got the Kanile`a.

Click to expand...

Yup, I did get the Kanilea. And I don't know much about ukes, but I had gone on their websites earlier to check out what they had, and to look at the price range I would be getting into if I bought one of these. So I knew what kinds of finishes and wood they were made out of.

As for playing them, I did play the HF3 too. It was nice, and really, as long as it was under $800, price wasn't really a major issue. And the sound of the Kanilea just felt more right to me. And sorry, but what exactly do you mean by playability?

And do you happen to know what strings they do have on the kamakas when they come out of the factory stock?

Actually, while we're here and dealing with a total noob, could someone fill me in on why you would need to change strings? I have never changed my strings once on my old Tangi. I feel retarded. Thanks guys, in advance for the enlightenment.

Playability is a subjective element... like most things related to music and its creation or consumption.

It literally refers to the instrument's ability to let you PLAY... how easy is it to manipulate the instrument to play music? There are a bazillion things that can affect playability, such as...

The action. Higher action can create intonation problems, as well as generally making it harder to fret notes and chords. My tenor came with high action that was hard for me to play, so I had it lowered and now there are no problems.

Neck size/fret width. Some folks with smaller fingers like their frets closer together so they can play certain alternates or complex chords easier. I met a girl this week with hands so tiny she needed a sopranino ukulele (smaller than a soprano) just to play competently at all. Those of us with the sausage fingers prefer wider necks and more distance between frets because our fingers take up more a lot more space on the fretboard. Obviously a dude with big hands is going to have problems with a manufacturer who builds their instruments with thinner necks or closer frets. The shape of and materials used in the neck will also affect how it feels and plays in your hands.

Strings. While easily alterable post-purchase, when you're in the shop trying out instruments you're stuck with the stock strings. And sometimes the stock strings of the instrument are not only poor indicators of the instrument's overall sonic possibilities, but inhibit playability as well. They might be too thick (or vice versa), or simply low quality which is always annoying when you're trying to play the instrument... ornaments become difficult to perform, intonation issues creep up again... and again, the strings might be rougher or smoother than you're used to otherwise and thus create a disfavorable impression of an otherwise excellent instrument.

Size. This is especially important for ukuleles, with a distinct spectrum of sizes. Maybe a soprano is just too dinky for you (especially if you have larger hands), or you're coming from a guitar background and would rather start with a baritone because it uses a familiar tuning. The size of your uke will affect how smoothly you can play the instrument, and while you might eventually garner the skill to play any size ukulele, there will probably always be one size you prefer in particular.

The list goes on and on...

Playability is something you don't have to know anything about in order to accurately judge. If you can play a song on ukulele, then you have all the requirements needed to gauge playability. You don't have to walk into a shop and begin demanding precise neck dimensions, bust out a micro-ruler for measuring action, etc. You already subconsciously weighed these factors while choosing your new uke. You went with the one that "just felt more right" to you. The one that, in your hands, was most fun and easiest to play. That's playability.

Now, as to why you would change strings... well, depending on how often you play the instrument, you should probably change your strings every six months or so. You'll know when strings need changing... first off, your uke will become extremely difficult to tune. The sound of your instrument will suffer... your strings will sound duller, they'll lose their luster. They might break, too, for any number of reasons. While I haven't had a broken string on uke (yet), with my guitars I always change all the strings if one breaks. That way the strings are back on equal ground and can stretch, settle, and age together.

You might also just dislike your strings. They might be too thick or thin or sound like aural fecal matter. Hence, change them to something you like better. And if you don't know what you like better, read opinions on the Internet and pick the adjective you want most - clear, warm, mellow, crisp. Et cetera.

If you're happy with the way your strings sound, then there's no reason to change them. If you become unhappy for whatever reason or tuning becomes a major bitch, then restring.

Regarding your initial post, I agree with others who don't think comparing a concert to a tenor is a good idea. I've played a Kamaka HF-3 and it was orgasmic. I'm gonna get me one of those next. I've never played a Kanile'a and thus I'm admittedly heavily biased in favor of the Kamaka, so more or less disregard my opinion on this point.

-Tom

To add on more to Tomdini:

You would change strings because you read Internet bulletin boards and everyone tells you to. Or, you would change strings because you are experimenting to find out which set best matches your instrument - one caveat here: usually, the higher priced your instrument, the better matched the strings are. Of course, this applies more to instruments over $1K.

I agree with Tom that playability is subjective. Starting with action, I know some guys that like their action TOO low that it buzzes, and they live with it. What a lot of players don't realize is that adjusting action may impact intonation and volume. If there is a back angle to the saddle (about 7 degree - only a handful, or less, builders do this - Rick Turner being THE one because he invented it), you won't have to worry too much about intonation going off if you raise or lower the action. If you have a pinned bridge (which you do) and you want to lower action, you can ramp the strings slots to maintain break angle over the saddle, and maintain your volume.

I usually add in 3/32" to the bottom (1st string) and 1/16" to the top (4th string) of the Fretboard, but keep the string spacing the same. You usually don't feel the width, but definitely appreciate the room. I tend to flatten the necks for more proper Classical Guitar style of play, and thin them as well. So, thin and wide, as opposed to normal and round. Paul Okami flattens his necks on some of his customs as well. However, some Guitar players that play `ukulele tend to like the thicker, rounder necks.

Fret width is another consideration. Wide frets are easier to fret (so to speak), while thinner frets, IMO, can be a little faster. Also, Gold frets only come wide (for now) for Tenors (for bling).

Speaking of frets, if you've never played an instrument with dressed frets, you don't know what you're missing. Of course, if you don't know what dressed frets are, then you won't know what you're missing (anyway).

Have fun with your new Kanile`a.
-Aaron

I own both. Go with the Kanile'a. It's easier to play because of the action. If you want to go with a Kamaka, save up for the tenor.

ke leo said:

I own both. Go with the Kanile'a. It's easier to play because of the action. If you want to go with a Kamaka, save up for the tenor.

Click to expand...

i agree on you with this one man.