After searching in earnest since last November, I have finally found a Kamaka Liliu that is "the one" for me. Having looked at a number of used and new ones through many different sources, this is the one that I have settled on. I purchased it from Mandolin Brothers in NY.
The sound is incredible. Very complex, full, rich, and loud. The action is a tad high at the nut, but I will lower it some when I change out the strings. I am not enamored with the Kamaka strings and will probably change them out to Worths. It of course came tuned the standard Kamaka way with both the C and A strings tuned an octave apart and a "high" G string. The more I play it the more I am liking this tuning, although when I re-string it I will try some other options including a low G with the C's tuned in octaves and the A's in unison.
It is definately different than playing a four string. No sloppy fretting here. Because of that, I think that it will improve my playing over time. Strumming it is fantasic. I have done some limited finger picking so far, and that will require some adjustments. But I really bought it for strumming.
So without further adieu, here are some pics. This will be the first time I have loaded phots from Photobucket, so hopefully I will be succesful.
The sound is incredible. Very complex, full, rich, and loud. The action is a tad high at the nut, but I will lower it some when I change out the strings. I am not enamored with the Kamaka strings and will probably change them out to Worths. It of course came tuned the standard Kamaka way with both the C and A strings tuned an octave apart and a "high" G string. The more I play it the more I am liking this tuning, although when I re-string it I will try some other options including a low G with the C's tuned in octaves and the A's in unison.
It is definately different than playing a four string. No sloppy fretting here. Because of that, I think that it will improve my playing over time. Strumming it is fantasic. I have done some limited finger picking so far, and that will require some adjustments. But I really bought it for strumming.
So without further adieu, here are some pics. This will be the first time I have loaded phots from Photobucket, so hopefully I will be succesful.