Missed a New Uke Day by this much!

I visited Ukulele Source in San Jose today - Smiley was as friendly and gracious as everyone has ever said. I was invited to play anything in the store.

I spent most of my time with Concert size, mostly because I have 3 tenor size already. Prior to today, I'd only played one K-brand - Gillian's Kamaka 6-string tenor, which I really do love.

Today, I tried Kamaka, Ko'Aloha, Kanilea, Nalu, and low-end Ohana, as well as a Mainland and an AveNue (sp?) banjo uke.

The two nbanjo ukes are very nice, but I'd forgotten how loud a resonator uke is - I'll stick with my Firefly.

Didn't like the sound of the Nalus- they just sounded dead.
The Kanileas didn't really do anything for me, other than the two super concert models. Very nice sound, but no real improvement of my Kala.

I liked the sound of the Kamaka HF2, but hate the tuners. (Smiley said he doesn't like them either.) The Ko'Alohas were overall the best - the concert acoustic was nice, but the one with the MiSi had a significantly better sound - my wife even commented on it.

The best of the instruments I played were the Pineapple Sunday and the Sceptre. Loved them both, but...

The Sceptre took my breath away. Tone, resonance, feel... It was just tremendous. My wife agreed, sitting and listening.

It is also more than twice what I have saved for a new instrument.

So, no New Uke Day today. Maybe soon.

-Kurt

It's neat you got to try so many different ukes, including the K's.

Are you out here on vacation?

Your wife sounds like a real gem to go with you uke shopping.

There's always another day. Don't rush into buying something until you're ready and sure it's what you want.

....and then there's Layaway,......or CHARGE! ! ! :smileybounce:

You try between Koaloha Super Concert and Koaloha Tenor?

ksiegel said:

......The best of the instruments I played were the Pineapple Sunday and the Sceptre. Loved them both, but......

The Sceptre took my breath away. Tone, resonance, feel... It was just tremendous. My wife agreed, sitting and listening.

It is also more than twice what I have saved for a new instrument.

So, no New Uke Day today. Maybe soon.

-Kurt

Click to expand...

....and then there's Layaway,......or CHARGE! ! ! :smileybounce:

After all that tire kicking, to have found a gem,.......i'm not one to let it slip by. Never know when another will sing to you like that.

Not really a vacation - my father in law had a stroke, and this is our second 3-week trip to help care for him and my mother-in-law.

I'm lucky, the company I work for (Starbucks) has been quite supportive - my manager is covering my shifts while I'm here, and a couple of the local stores have been letting me pick up hours while I'm here, so I don't have to take Family medical leave, and I'm at least earning enough for gasoline, and I can keep contributing to the 401(k).

And my wife is very special. I go yarn shopping with her, and support her knitting habit, and she supports my uke habit. It helps that I have spun, knitted, and wove in the distant past, so I know what it entails, and she knows what I've been going through over the past couple of years when I've had to stop playing guitar..

She also agrees completely with me that I need to actually play anything I plan on buying. She kind of understood it before today, but after hearing me play all of the different instruments, she completely understands.

itsme said:

It's neat you got to try so many different ukes, including the K's.

Are you out here on vacation?

Your wife sounds like a real gem to go with you uke shopping.

There's always another day. Don't rush into buying something until you're ready and sure it's what you want.

Click to expand...

fabioponta said:

You try between Koaloha Super Concert and Koaloha Tenor?

Click to expand...

No, he didn't have a Ko'Aloha Super Concert in stock. But both of the Kanilea super concerts were nice instruments, and had great tone, but didn't compare to the Ko'Aloha Sceptre or Pineapple Sunday.

.............-Kurt

joejeweler said:

....and then there's Layaway,......or CHARGE! ! ! :smileybounce:

After all that tire kicking, to have found a gem,.......i'm not one to let it slip by. Never know when another will sing to you like that.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I understand, but I've got two pretty large expenses waiting when I get back to NY (A new pair of glasses, and I had an special watch my Father-in-law gave me being renovated (a watch he got when he was in the Merchant Marines during WWII)). I'll already be charging both of those, so I can't charge the Ko'Aloha AND see and tell time simultaneously. (g)

.............. -Kurt