I've been in Hawaii for vacation since Wednesday and I'm leaving tomorrow morning. I haven't had a ton of time to pander to my ukulele obsession as I'm with family. I did manage to make it to a few stores and take the KoAloha factory tour though.
Wednesday:
First shop, Aloha Ukulele in the Hilton Hawaiian Village (where I'm staying). The employee was nice enough...we chatted ukes for a bit. He let me play a Pineapple Sunday to check it out. They normally sell for around $1500, Aloha Ukulele had 2 in stock for $1300 (he also offered to throw in a free case with it). They had some nice Kamakas, Kanileas and a Koolau but I didn't get to try those out. This was the first Pineapple Sunday I have gotten to try...nice tone but it honestly didn't blow me away.
Second shop, Ukulele PuaPua in the Sheraton Waikiki. Got to play my first Sceptre (tenor scale although they also had a concert)...it was nice but I'm not a big fan of thin bodied ukes...they feel too different when holding them...sounded nice though...a lot of volume from a small body. Checked out a Martin S1 (I have one on order through my workplace but didn't really know what to expect...I like it...it's never going to be my main uke but it's got a nice tone and plays well). I also got to play my first concert KoAloha (which was my goal while I was in Hawaii). I have owned both a standard and a tenor KoAloha. They were both great but I didn't love them enough to keep. People always talk about how great their concerts are and they are spot on. It played wonderfully and sounded even better. The store also had a Martin 5K and a Koa Works tenor but I didn't get to play them. The employee didn't really want me to grab the ukes from the wall myself (he wanted to hand them to me) and he would stand right over my shoulder while I played. I prefer a little space to get comfortable and he wasn't giving it to me. Therefore I only tried those 3 ukes.
Third shop, Bob's Ukulele in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. I wish I had a little more time to spend at this store...the employee let me do my thing...told me to just grab whatever I wanted to play and let me have my space. They had a decent selection of G-String (spoke briefly with the employee about the status of G-String...he agreed they're really not making ukes anymore...he did point me in the direction of a couple of Ana'ole tenors which are made by an employee of G-String...really nice tone to it). They had a few Kamakas...similar with KoAloha, I've had a Kamaka standard and tenor. Liked the standard but ended up selling it. Loved the tenor and recently sold it to fund my upcoming Moore Bettah...I'm still a little regretful over that decision...wish I could have kept it as well. At Bob's I had my first experience with a Kamaka concert...it was pretty out of tune (and the friction tuners were really, really tight) but fortunately I had my iPhone with a tuner app with me. A few minutes later I was playing away...really nice tone even with the stock strings. Unfortunately I was in a rush and didn't get to play any others (I hadn't planned on going to this store...just happened to pass by it and stopped in).
Thursday:
No stores, just the KoAloha mini tour. Great tour...took some pictures (will upload them when I arrive home). Got to see the KoAloha line of Japan ukes where all proceeds of the sale go to Japan. Pops was in a rush and stopped for only a minute or so to talk to us. After the tour was finished, I got to talk to our tour guide about Pop's 4th masterpiece...apparently the body will be in the shape of a waving flag and, like the Japan ukuleles, the proceeds (at least for the initial sales) will go to aiding Japan. There was a decent selection on the 2nds wall. A couple of concerts, quite a few standards, a super concert, a tenor, and a concert sceptre. I bought a concert...it's the first time I have actually gotten to play the ukulele before I bought. Unfortunately I have no more carry-on allowance so KoAloha is shipping the ukulele to me...won't see it again until next week but I did get a picture of her. I ended up being the last one from the tour as I was completing my purchase so I asked if they had a Jukulele that I could take a picture of. After some looking, they found one upstairs. They brought it down and I got a nice picture of it...they then told me to go ahead and play for awhile. I was surprised by how heavy it was. It was pretty loud also...overall a nice uke and the workmanship on it is amazing! Half of the 2nds wall was for 2nds for sale...the other half was for display ukes and ukes needing repair. On the repair side was Brittni Paiva's ukulele...apparently the neck has twisted so, rather than try to repair it, they're making her a new uke. As I was leaving I also noticed a car in the parking lot with both a KoAloha bumper stick as well as a UU bumper sticker! Overall a fantastic experience!
Anyway, I won't be doing any more ukulele shopping or anything this trip as my day is already planned with scenic activities and I leave tomorrow morning (so sad). It's been a great trip and a much needed relaxing vacation. One other thing I found interesting was the first night I was here, there were 2 television commercials in a row featuring Jake (one for Farmer's Insurance, the other I don't remember what it was for). Guess if you're in the land of ukuleles, you've got to market your brand the right way! Anyway, I will be uploading pictures once I get back home tomorrow (or maybe Sunday depending on how lazy I'm feeling). Will definitely be sad to leave. It had been about 15 years since I had last visited Hawaii and it was just as enjoyable as it had been before. I'll make sure I don't wait as long to visit again.
Wednesday:
First shop, Aloha Ukulele in the Hilton Hawaiian Village (where I'm staying). The employee was nice enough...we chatted ukes for a bit. He let me play a Pineapple Sunday to check it out. They normally sell for around $1500, Aloha Ukulele had 2 in stock for $1300 (he also offered to throw in a free case with it). They had some nice Kamakas, Kanileas and a Koolau but I didn't get to try those out. This was the first Pineapple Sunday I have gotten to try...nice tone but it honestly didn't blow me away.
Second shop, Ukulele PuaPua in the Sheraton Waikiki. Got to play my first Sceptre (tenor scale although they also had a concert)...it was nice but I'm not a big fan of thin bodied ukes...they feel too different when holding them...sounded nice though...a lot of volume from a small body. Checked out a Martin S1 (I have one on order through my workplace but didn't really know what to expect...I like it...it's never going to be my main uke but it's got a nice tone and plays well). I also got to play my first concert KoAloha (which was my goal while I was in Hawaii). I have owned both a standard and a tenor KoAloha. They were both great but I didn't love them enough to keep. People always talk about how great their concerts are and they are spot on. It played wonderfully and sounded even better. The store also had a Martin 5K and a Koa Works tenor but I didn't get to play them. The employee didn't really want me to grab the ukes from the wall myself (he wanted to hand them to me) and he would stand right over my shoulder while I played. I prefer a little space to get comfortable and he wasn't giving it to me. Therefore I only tried those 3 ukes.
Third shop, Bob's Ukulele in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. I wish I had a little more time to spend at this store...the employee let me do my thing...told me to just grab whatever I wanted to play and let me have my space. They had a decent selection of G-String (spoke briefly with the employee about the status of G-String...he agreed they're really not making ukes anymore...he did point me in the direction of a couple of Ana'ole tenors which are made by an employee of G-String...really nice tone to it). They had a few Kamakas...similar with KoAloha, I've had a Kamaka standard and tenor. Liked the standard but ended up selling it. Loved the tenor and recently sold it to fund my upcoming Moore Bettah...I'm still a little regretful over that decision...wish I could have kept it as well. At Bob's I had my first experience with a Kamaka concert...it was pretty out of tune (and the friction tuners were really, really tight) but fortunately I had my iPhone with a tuner app with me. A few minutes later I was playing away...really nice tone even with the stock strings. Unfortunately I was in a rush and didn't get to play any others (I hadn't planned on going to this store...just happened to pass by it and stopped in).
Thursday:
No stores, just the KoAloha mini tour. Great tour...took some pictures (will upload them when I arrive home). Got to see the KoAloha line of Japan ukes where all proceeds of the sale go to Japan. Pops was in a rush and stopped for only a minute or so to talk to us. After the tour was finished, I got to talk to our tour guide about Pop's 4th masterpiece...apparently the body will be in the shape of a waving flag and, like the Japan ukuleles, the proceeds (at least for the initial sales) will go to aiding Japan. There was a decent selection on the 2nds wall. A couple of concerts, quite a few standards, a super concert, a tenor, and a concert sceptre. I bought a concert...it's the first time I have actually gotten to play the ukulele before I bought. Unfortunately I have no more carry-on allowance so KoAloha is shipping the ukulele to me...won't see it again until next week but I did get a picture of her. I ended up being the last one from the tour as I was completing my purchase so I asked if they had a Jukulele that I could take a picture of. After some looking, they found one upstairs. They brought it down and I got a nice picture of it...they then told me to go ahead and play for awhile. I was surprised by how heavy it was. It was pretty loud also...overall a nice uke and the workmanship on it is amazing! Half of the 2nds wall was for 2nds for sale...the other half was for display ukes and ukes needing repair. On the repair side was Brittni Paiva's ukulele...apparently the neck has twisted so, rather than try to repair it, they're making her a new uke. As I was leaving I also noticed a car in the parking lot with both a KoAloha bumper stick as well as a UU bumper sticker! Overall a fantastic experience!
Anyway, I won't be doing any more ukulele shopping or anything this trip as my day is already planned with scenic activities and I leave tomorrow morning (so sad). It's been a great trip and a much needed relaxing vacation. One other thing I found interesting was the first night I was here, there were 2 television commercials in a row featuring Jake (one for Farmer's Insurance, the other I don't remember what it was for). Guess if you're in the land of ukuleles, you've got to market your brand the right way! Anyway, I will be uploading pictures once I get back home tomorrow (or maybe Sunday depending on how lazy I'm feeling). Will definitely be sad to leave. It had been about 15 years since I had last visited Hawaii and it was just as enjoyable as it had been before. I'll make sure I don't wait as long to visit again.
