Lanikai SMP-C Review

I decided to give this Monkey pod concert uke a try because I wanted a solid body with a unique look. My other concert and soprano are solid top with laminated sides. My pocket book and talent level couldn’t justify koa or custom built. Also, our local music shop is a Lanikai dealer. I liked the idea of supporting them and dealing face to face with someone. When I inquired about a special order they said “no problem” and quoted $270 which is the going price on the internet. I’m glad I did go local because the first SMP-C that came in had a knot with two hairline cracks in one side on the upper bout (see earlier post). The local shop took it back no questions asked and I didn’t have any shipping fees.

Anyway, on with the review:

Summary for those that don’t want to read all this:
If you like a uke that’s a roadster instead of a pickup truck this is not for you. I think this will be a great take everywhere uke for the price.

Features:
Solid monkey pod body
Rosewood Binding
15" scale
Ovangkol neck
Rosewood bridge and fretboard
Maple and Rosewood skunk stripe
19 frets
37mm nut width
Gold-plated Grover tuners
Natural finish
Aquila Nylgut strings
No electronics
String-through bridge
Made in Indonesia

Sound:
I’ve had Aquila Nylgut and Worth medium browns on this. I personally like the Worths. It’s a more mellow sound. From previous posts (thanks Bao) the monkey pod takes a few months to really open up so the jury is still out on the sound. The overtones are all right over the twelfth fret and my Snark says the fret placement is true.

Action, Fit & Finish:
The action right out of the box was pretty good. Our local shop guy, Frank (everyone needs a Frank), did some minor adjustment to the bridge and saddle and it plays very well now. It is noticeably heavier than my Ohana in the body and the neck. The slotted headstock changes the balance point up the neck which I like. This is the first time I have ever played a slotted headstock and it is different. It might make cords like G7 uncomfortable for some folks but OK for my meaty hands. The base of the neck by the body is bigger than others I have played making the 12th fret and higher tough to reach. I don’t get much past the 7th so it’s not that big of deal for me.

The workmanship is about what you’d expect for this price. No visible problems. The side and back wood has some minor knots but don’t see that as any problem. I had to special order it so I couldn’t sort through to pick the one I like. As I said before, the first one had an obvious problem but was replaced, no questions.

The finish is almost less than satin which works for the wood. The simple rosewood binding and the skunk stripe go good with the monkey pod.

Overall rating:
Since my experience with playing different ukes is very limited I guess all I can say is I am glad I got it and if given the opportunity to give it back I would keep it. It looks nice and will be one I won’t be afraid to kick around with.

Glad you're happy with your uke - it looks really pretty! Before my last purchase, I was looking pretty hard at the Monkey Pod as well, if for no other reason than to tell people that my uke was made from Monkey Pod.

From personal experience, it does seem to take anywhere from 3 - 6 months before a solid wood body begins to loosen up some. As a side note, Joe Souza (from Kanile'a) had mentioned to me that some folks try and help the process along by sitting their uke in front of a speaker and play classical music into it. I haven't tried that, but it sounds interesting.

Not for nothing (and it may likely just be a trick of the camera used to take the photo), but in the first pic of the back, it seems as if the neck is a bit angled off the centerline of the body -- at least judging by the stripe. Is that real, or just an optical illusion??

Anyway, congrats on the new addition. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with it.

This is what I am talking about with the base of the neck



and the G7



And PoiDog, The aignment is fine. That must just be the lousy lighting in the photo. Thanks for the heads up on the wood. I think I'll pass on the classical music and just play the heck out it to loosing it up.

that is one lovely uke, monkey pod sounds interesting, if it plays as well as it looks you have got a really nice instrument there, the back looks slightly understated but when you turn it around 'kapow' it hits ya right between the eyes, if that uke was a woman i would want to have children with her, great uke vanflynn

Great review, will you be following it up with another review once the wood loosens?

Question! i have owned a cheapie cordoba, but i am extremely interested in purchasing the Monkey pod lanikai. but i also see that this thread hasnt been touched for a couple years. i was wondering how the uke held up, and if theres a way to hear a sound sample? unfortunately we have no lanikai dealers anywhere close to where i am.

After about 6 months of constant playing and trying a bunch of different strings I got it to play very nice. I don't have any recording equipment so can't give you a sound bite (my playing wouldn't do it justice anyway). The dense Monkey Pod is quite forgiving from showing dings so if you are a klutz like I am it's a good thing. I keep coming back to Freemont Black strings. With that dense wood you need something with a bit of tension.

Unless you or a friend who knows string instruments knows how to look it over for flaws and possibly do a set-up I would recommend getting one from a reputable dealer. Mim http://store01.prostores.com/servlet/mimsukuleles/the-Lanikai/Categories sells some so you might want to check with her.

Not to dissuade you from this but I also have a Pono AC http://www.theukulelesite.com/pono-ac-acacia-concert.html and for the extra $30 it is a much nicer uke (IMHO)

Hope this helps.

Butler Music sells those lanikai monkeypods for much cheaper than the usual price. Try to find the ones which have been set up though, otherwise, ask for a quote on how much you'd have to pay for it to be set up locally. Mim is also a great seller as van has said.
My lanikai monkeypod remains to be my main tenor ukulele to turn to and I love it to bits. Here's a sound sample for you: http://soundcloud.com/bao-tran-19/stop-stare-one-republic-cover
This recording was done when it had old ko'olau golds on them, I have since replaced them with ko'olau alohis that sound better in my opinion.

I agree with vanflynn's recommendation for the Pono, it has certainly gotten a better review than the lanikai monkeypods. Not that I'm saying that the pono is better than the monkeypod (I wouldn't know), but in terms of quality control, I think pono would be a better choice. That's if you don't want to take as much a risk as Van and I have.