Anyone bought a Kamoa Fiberglass Case yet?

I've been talking to Sam at Larry's on Kauai about Kamaka's and the new Fiberglass cases. They look great.

Anyone hear bought one yet? What do you think of it? Is it on par with the Ameritage cases? Nicer?

Elderly has them on order.

But they seem bit pricey as the soprano case lists at $158 ($198 msrp). Other sizes are more.

I guess it just depends on what you want from a case. I am happy with my $35 Oscar Schmidt concert hardcase.

Yup,
I paid for my Oscar Schmidt hard case two years ago for $59.99 and it was on sale at Musician's friend for half that...best case I got and well built...little heavy, because of the good construction and can
hold my Kamaka tenor snug...inside mine is a thick plush interior...Thick handle for comfort too...some may not like that but I do...Best deal out there for cases..MM Stan

Stan, you are so right about the interior on the OS cases.
I swear my Oscar case looks and feels a lot like those nice Ko'olau cases (the brown ones). I wonder if they are from the same Indonesian factory.

I have emailed Sam at Larry's Music a couple of times about these cases. I asked him how much a tenor would be with shipping costs as well. He never got back to me on that email.

I also asked what the blue color looked like and he never said anything.

I'm kind of discouraged because I really want one but I'm kind of bummed because while Sam was initially very responsive he has not answered either of my last two emails.

I saw Aldrine's red one at a recent concert and I loved it. It is super light (not as light as the carbon fiber but MUCH lighter than my Ameritage). I feel pretty confident that it is sturdy because Aldrine has an Ameritage as well and he felt confident using the Kamoa. One thing he did tell me though was that it only has two latches on it -- one on the neck area and one at the bottom. He said that it didn't have an airtight close and that he recommended to Sam that they add a third latch around the handle area.

The other main drawback is that it has no, and I mean absolutely NO storage capacity. You will not be able to fit even a tuner inside this case. I don't care too much because the main reasons I want it (sturdy, lightweight, great looks) override that concern, but you should be aware of it.

I have to say, it looked gorgeous. I had been planning on getting a red, black or blue one (I only have seen pics of the red and yellow ones) and the red was stunning. It has the same shiny fiberglass look of a brand new car. I'm still bummed that Sam won't email me back about the blue though.

I will be in Kauai on March 3rd and I am planning on going to the store to buy one in person. While I am there I am planning on taking pictures of each color so that other people won't be in the same boat as I am now...trying desperately to find out what each color looks like. I will also note the prices of each model while I'm there.

And when I get home, I plan on doing a four case comparison review about my old Protech, my Kamaka case, my Ameritage and this one. But I still am hoping to see the blue before I go. Maybe if other people email him as well, he might be more inclined to post the pics and prices on the website, since then it won't just be my crazed, obsessed self emailing him.

I'll actually be on Kaua'i on March 6th! I've got photos of all the Kamoa cases, I'll post them tomorrow

PedalFreak said:

I'll actually be on Kaua'i on March 6th! I've got photos of all the Kamoa cases, I'll post them tomorrow

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Oh you are my hero! :smileybounce:

I have been dying to see the other colors, thank you so very much. This way I can narrow down my decision hopefully. Hopefully he will have them in stock and you can get yours on the 6th and I can get mine on the 3rd.

Out of curiosity which color did you like the best? Aldrine's red one was awesome.

PedalFreak said:

I'll actually be on Kaua'i on March 6th!

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I am going to be arrivng in Kauai on the 6th for a few days myself.

I liked the Red, Blue and Yellow Asked Sam about the Blue though

Here they are

Hey Pedalfreak, thanks so much for posting that pic. You really helped me to narrow down my choices...I think I'm going red or black. I may have to flip a coin to decide between them though. I was hoping for a lighter blue. That one looks like a royal blue to navy color. I presume it is true to life, and not actually lighter than it appears in the photo?

When you saw them, did you happen to see a uke inside one of the larger cases (tenor or baritone)? Since Aldrine said that the third latch should be added, that is my only other question. If you did see a uke inside a case, did you think it closed securely enough?

I don't think it would prevent me from getting one on March 3rd -- presuming of course that he has a red or black tenor case in stock then.

Thanks again.

No problem. Sam did tell me that the photos were taken in natural light, so I'd say those colors are pretty true to their color. I've not seen them in person. Not until March 7th when I'm there I'm torn on colors.

Hi wickedwahine11

You should go with red! It screams ME!

Tom Paxton (THe Last Thing On My mind) has a red Calton and it is pretty. The Kamoa red seems very similar. You should also get a matching red Ferrarri (or Miata)

For the third latch, you can always use Duct Tape to secure the case before your flight. Nothing a major problem.....

Cheers
Chief

chiefnoda said:

You should go with red! It screams ME!You should also get a matching red Ferrarri (or Miata)

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Hey Chief, yeah, that red is really pretty. And in person Aldrine's red one was really nice. It is a tough decision. That is funny you mention the car...I have a white car right now but my Mom is giving me her black car when she gets her next one, and I actually thought to myself a few days ago...if I get the black one, it will match the car.

Athos said:

They do look good. But they're so expensive. I can't see how you can spend so much money on something that needs duct tape too!

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Hey Athos...they don't necessarily need the duct tape. Aldrine just mentioned that there was a slight gap in the closure on his (and he has a 9v battery in his tenor). So he told Sam he thought they should add a third latch in the handle area for the tenor and baritone cases. For the soprano and concert, they close perfectly. And he said that some tenors won't have a problem if they aren't heavier like his. But I see where you are coming from. It is not a necessity. I have an Ameritage case that is very solid and protective. But it is a nice luxury. I'm not interested in getting any more ukuleles right now, I'd rather just focus on getting a nice protective, light weight case for my fave uke. I totally can see though where others would think it was frivolous or too expensive though.

wickedwahine11 said:

Hey Athos...they don't necessarily need the duct tape. Aldrine just mentioned that there was a slight gap in the closure on his (and he has a 9v battery in his tenor). So he told Sam he thought they should add a third latch in the handle area for the tenor and baritone cases. For the soprano and concert, they close perfectly. And he said that some tenors won't have a problem if they aren't heavier like his. But I see where you are coming from. It is not a necessity. I have an Ameritage case that is very solid and protective. But it is a nice luxury. I'm not interested in getting any more ukuleles right now, I'd rather just focus on getting a nice protective, light weight case for my fave uke. I totally can see though where others would think it was frivolous or too expensive though.

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Is Aldrine carrying his Kanile'a in it? I wonder how a Tenor Kamaka will fit? The only thing that concerns me right now (and I haven't seen one in person, so who knows), is it only having 2 latches, and little or no storage space. I like having room for my humidifier, extra strings and my Peterson StroboClip tuner.

PedalFreak said:

Is Aldrine carrying his Kanile'a in it? I wonder how a Tenor Kamaka will fit? The only thing that concerns me right now (and I haven't seen one in person, so who knows), is it only having 2 latches, and little or no storage space. I like having room for my humidifier, extra strings and my Peterson StroboClip tuner.

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Yep, he had his Kanile'a in it. I saw him at a show a couple of weeks ago and he let me look at the case. I emailed Sam about whether a Kamaka tenor will fit in it and he told me it would fit like it was made for it. So no worries there.

I have to tell you though...there is no way you are going to fit anything inside it. You can't even fit a tuner inside the "storage" part. So now way will you fit extra strings. A humidifer maybe, depending on how big it is. But it isn't a dealbreaker for me since I take a backpack to my music lessons that has plenty of room for that stuff. And I always carry a purse where that would fit as well. You could fit it under the headstock maybe though -- at least the strings for sure. When I saw Aldrine's case, his Kanile'a was backstage so it was empty, so I'm not sure with the uke in there how much room is under the headstock. I know I have one of the Kamaka cases and those had very little storage, and so I used to put strings under the headstock.

I already planned out an option, but don't know if it will work. I bought some pillowcases that came in a little velcro bag. I put my essential uke tools (tuner, extra strings, winder, nail clippers, file, etc.) in that bag and it fits under the headstock in my Kamaka case. I'm hoping it will do the same in this one.

I know it seems like a ton of drawbacks, and don't get me wrong, this case is not perfect. But it is gorgeous, and lightweight, and sturdy. So it is lighter and prettier than my Ameritage, and sturdier than my Kamaka case.

I plan on doing a thorough trial of it when I am in Kauai on 3/3 and if I buy it (probably will) I'll do an extensive review when I get home. I'll be sure to photograph and detail storage capacity and other issues. I'll also test both my Kamaka and Kanilea tenors in it to see how they fit. Even though I plan on only using it on my Kamaka, that should help anyone curious about a Kanile'a fit.

I will also photograph it closed so people can see the gap (if there is one) resulting from only having two latches on it.

Sigh. I'm way too obsessed with this case. I just want March 3rd to get here so I can try my uke out in it in person.

WW I am realllllly realllllly realllllly looking forward to it. What makes me wonder is how sturdy the case actually is... could it take high impact? And you can make it into a backpack right?

Seems like it's a case you wouldn't want to sticker up though. It is THAT beautiful. The silver and yellow have my eyes.

I can't wait til 3/3 either I have a Kanile'a and will get a Kanile'a custom someday in the future so a high quality case will also be needed eventually.

The case does have backpack D-rings. However, it does not have shoulder strap rings (rings on the top and bottom at the sides of the case.)

You may eventually need stickers because, like most gloss finishes, it does show scratches very easily. Aldrine's had a bunch of them and they will be unavoidable while traveling. It fits the larger bodied tenor (only saw Aldrine's) well but it was too big for my MB. I think most of the Kala brands will be too small too. You'd have to add some extra padding around the uke. The Peterson tuner would not fit on the uke in the case. Aldrine just had it floating around in the headstock area.

Ronnie Aloha said:

You may eventually need stickers because, like most gloss finishes, it does show scratches very easily. Aldrine's had a bunch of them and they will be unavoidable while traveling.

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Yep, I saw the scratches. Me, being obsessive as I am, already created a pillowcase cover for it to be used in overhead bins -- so other people's wheel bags won't scratch it up. It will still get scratches from usage but I'm hoping to avoid the major gouge marks in the overhead bin.

One major reason while I am debating red vs. black is I figured it would be easier to use a black sharpie or black paint to cover the scratches on a black one. It wouldn't be a perfect match but would be less noticeable than scratches on red would.

Ummmmmm, red vs black

Two in favor of red

(a) Your red case will be unique (more unique* if you put cool stickers on) and nobody will take it home from a bunch of cases at a party

(b) and if a creep tries to steal it, you can spot a red case more easily. Or, other people may say "that red case belongs to that gal?"

You have to go with RED! (And if you want to touch it up, I bet you can find a matching red enamel paint at a hobby shop or a crafts store). Too bad they don't do PINK - My Hello Kitty stickers would go well on a pink case.

Cheers
Chief

PS: * - I understand "more unique" is grammatically incorrect

The cool thing about fiberglass is it can be repaired and repainted. I think I would repaint mine with automotive paint and clear coat it. Probably pick out some real cool color that separated mine from the pack.