New ukulele, a honu maybe?

UkuLeLesReggAe

UkuLeLesReggAe

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Aloha fellow UUers...

If you know me, dramatic person that makes out everyone else is a drama queen except me, I recently bought a Kanilea ukulele with a pickup. Well, I SOLD IT!

turns out, a pickup installed in an acoustic ukulele wasn't what I was looking for. Even though I paid $1468 for the ukulele all up, I ended up getting $710 for the ukulele.

All problems aside, I want another ukulele, this Lanikai is hurting me.

While the Australian dollar is still strong, I want to buy another ukulele. An expensive one, maybe around the $900 mark. I woul like either a kanilea, kamaka or Honu.

I tried looking on youtube etc etc.... however, I really like this ukulele:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/HONU-SOLID-K...785?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item564303fee1

However, I loveddddd the tone the Kanile'a had, and I want one similar..... not sure what to do... I wouldn't mind getting a Kanilea k1t from hawaiimusicsupply.com, but I don'tee it there anymore, as it was only $720.

a bit bias towards tenor... maybe I should get something around the $500 mark for now? I'm not sure. Thought I would let youse know!

bye!
 
There's not much difference between an acoustic uke with a pickup or one without. If the uke is good and the electronics are good, they don't weigh much, it's not enough to change the acoustic sound...

What was it that made you unhappy with the Kanile'a that made you sell it? I ask because you should avoid that with the next uke. Just having the pickup in there doesn't change the sound, so that's not it. It was something else. If we know what you didn't like in the Kanile'a, then we can narrow down to which ukes you should be looking at.
 
Aren't you going to Hawaii soon? Perhaps you should wait until you're there to pick one out in person.

JMHO.
 
Please please please don't choose the Honu over the Kamaka. If you can possibly wait and save towards a Kamaka or Kanilea you should. While the that honu you're looking at is quite pretty, I found the sound of mine a bit dead, whereas Kamakas really sing. Tried a variety of different strings on my Honu and eventually found something to make it better but it will never be my favorite uke. BI might use some nice materials but I can't help but feel there was no passion in the creation.

Nat
 
I tried some honus in the uke store in in the netherlands and I wan't impressed, for that price you can get something much nicer sounding
 
Are Big Island ukes handmade? Or is the koa grown on the big island then shipped off to be assembled somewhere else?

Ukulelesreggae. If you already owned a Kanilea, your expectations will be high.
 
Kauai808 said:
Are Big Island ukes handmade? Or is the koa grown on the big island then shipped off to be assembled somewhere else?

Ukulelesreggae. If you already owned a Kanilea, your expectations will be high.
Click to expand...

big islands are handmade in vietnam.

Here is my opinion on the big three imports Mele, Pono, and Big Island/Honu

Best sound and all around playability-Mele
Best quality-Pono
Best looks-Big Island/Honu

Matt, I agree with Plainsong, since you already owned a kanilea and was not impressed, don't get another one. I'd look into Kamaka or KoAloha. Heck if you want to save a little money, I'll sell you my ana'ole if you want it.
 
I completely agree with "Snorky". I've owned two Honus - the key word here is "owned". The visual is as good as they get; the tone is muted - no way to get around it. I'm currently enjoying my Kamaka and Kanile'a tenors.
 
What strings did you use? I have a fancy rope one that is the most beautiful uke ever but sounds isn't 100% of what I want. needs another 10%. Strings may be the answer? What did you use?

Snorky said:
Please please please don't choose the Honu over the Kamaka. If you can possibly wait and save towards a Kamaka or Kanilea you should. While the that honu you're looking at is quite pretty, I found the sound of mine a bit dead, whereas Kamakas really sing. Tried a variety of different strings on my Honu and eventually found something to make it better but it will never be my favorite uke. BI might use some nice materials but I can't help but feel there was no passion in the creation.

Nat
Click to expand...
 
Try this site...Bounty Music in Maui Hawaii. I have dealt with them many times and I got my Kaniel'a 6 string from them. I dealt with Paul Weinstein, the manager. He even came down in price and threw in some extra things for free.

http://www.ukes.com/kanilea-ukulele.html
 
I went with D'addario Pro.Arté Classical Guitar strings (hard tension).

J4601 E string for the A
J4602 B string for the E
J4603 G string for the C

For the G string I had a few different options you could use another J4601 E string if you'd like a high G, this found had the best sound balance across the strings.
Or try the wound J4604 D string for a low g but this leaves you with a wonky balance as the wound string is ALOT lounder than the rest.
Or you could try the good old Worth non-wound low g, probably my favorite for low g stringing.

You might have to pick/strum slightly harder than you're used to, but you'll get a nice clear and bright sound out of it.

I used:
http://www.stringmail.co.uk/index.htm
to get all my single strings here in the uk.
 
Last edited:
I have a Big Island Honu rope series concert (like this soprano). It had Aquila strings when I got it, and the sound was somewhat quiet and not bright. I changed the strings to Fremont Black Lines and - besides looking really nice - they made it louder and brighter sounding. The Honu's koa is beautiful and I like its sound now, but if my house was on fire and I had to save one uke, it would be my KoAloha.

Mouthy1 said:
What strings did you use? I have a fancy rope one that is the most beautiful uke ever but sounds isn't 100% of what I want. needs another 10%. Strings may be the answer? What did you use?
Click to expand...
 
I'm not sure, I believe putting a whole in the body of an ukulele would HAVE to altar the sound, to the extent... there is a reason why there aren't holes in acoustic instruments.

I' m not sure, I did't like the look of it, the wood was really dark.... There was also a distinct difference between the 2 kanileas that I had.. the darker one wasn't as bright, and I want a bright sounding ukulele.

I love Kanilea... I want another one... However, I am very disappointed that I sold one with an added $250 pickup, for $700, when I find them on the internet without pickups for $900.... Not sure what to do.

Maybe I would be happy paying $400 for an ukulele and it doesn't sound too bad?
 
If you want a really bright sounding uke, get one with a solid spruce or cedar top. And chances are you'd be happy with something in a lower price range--I really liked the Ohana spruce top I had. Also, I'd suggest you try to buy domestically if possible, given all the hassles you went through buying interationally. Either way though, hope you end up with a great uke!
 
get on ebay. Look up some local luthiers. use google. There are heaps of ukes available in Australia that are good players and, like the last poster said, at good value prices. Spruce, cedar, mango...many choices hand made or factory made. Australia is not the country of making things impossible. And even if you go overseas, fine too, just keep the price under 1000 and there's no tax. It is one's attitude tends to make things impossible. Maybe if the glass was 1/2 full it wouldn't be 1/2 empty.
 
It's not hard to find another Kanile'a tenor, but I understand your concern about buying from out of the country. As far as Australian-made ukes go, see if you can track down some ukes made by Scott Wise. He's in Western Australia and makes fantastic stuff. I met him at the New York Uke Fest last year and was really impressed with his instruments.
 
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