My experience with the K brands today (only one man's experience)

Tigeralum2001

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I was off today, so I made down to Ukulele Source. It is a nice ukulele shop. Smiley is a great guy and let me play anything in the store. I am not intending on starting a flame war. An article like this would have helped me before today, so it is in that spirit I write this.

For the first time in my ukulele life, there in front of me were many different KoAloha, Kamaka, and Kanile'a models. I have never been in a store that was focused on ukuleles. I have only played the mass produced models in guitar stores. I bought my Pineapple Sunday online (then traded Pineapple Sundays with our own WickedWahine), and my Sceptre was purchased directly from KoAloha. I bought both solely on their looks (though they do sound great). My Martin was purchased at a guitar show.

Anyhow, I found the differences between these three brands to be very distinctive. I was surprised how different they were, because so many people have talked about the subtle differences between them all.

I was very disappointed with the Kamakas. I played 3 different models, including a pineapple. They all looked decent (not cheap), but not as nice wood as the KoAlohas or Kanile'as. The sound was good, but not great. As this was my first encounter with a Kamaka, I guess I expected too much. Don't get me wrong; they were good but not great. With price points being the same, they were 3rd.

I also played 4 KoAlohas. They all had great projection. The soprano was nice and barky, while the tenor was more mellow. Even though I own 2 KoAlohas, I had never played a "normal" one. They sounded a lot different than the Signature series ukes.

The surprise of the day was Kanile'a. Every one of the models on display were gorgeous. I played 3 of them. My favorite was a koa tenor that had so much curl that it looked 3 dimensional. The sound was also much different than the other 2 Ks. There was a ton of sustain and the tones all blended nicely. To top it all of, the neck played like butter. Even the frets, something I usually don't notice, were wonderful. I played a few chords that I slid and it felt "normal" on the other 2 brands, but on the Kanile'a it felt great and I seemed to have more control and precision over doing that than normal. I was totally blown away. The finish on the Kanile'as is high gloss UV coating. It might turn some people off, but I liked it.

I think I have a new favorite brand. To be fair, there are other high end makers that I have not played yet, so I may change my opinion.

The question I anticipate is "did you buy the Kanile'a?" No... Maybe I should have. However, I am "thisclose" to having enough to buy a Moore Bettah, and I didn't want to steal from that fund. (Getting on the waiting list may prove to be impossible, but at least I will approach him with the money it takes to buy one.)

These are my opinions, based on what I played today. I also was turned on to PhD Strings by Ukulele Creations. I bought some and will post about them once I have experienced them for a while. I also played 3 different Guitarleles. I'm not sure anyone is interested in my thoughts on those, but if so let me know. In summary all of these brands are great ukuleles that anyone would love to own, but if I had about 1K to spend and could pick just one non-special series from these, it would be Kanile'a.
 
I think it is so interesting how different each of the K's can be from one another, even amongst others of their brand. Thanks for a well thought out, and fair post. I haven't taken the time to write up a review comparing my three K tenors yet (Kamaka, KoAloha and Kanilea) but my preference would be so different.

I think one thing I would point out is that Kamaka has absolutely awful strings on their models from the factory, IMHO. I think they sound muddy and dull. So if you get a chance to play another Kamaka, hopefully it will have different strings on it to give you a better feel for the potential in the instrument.

If I had to rank my three tenors, I'd have to say that the KoAloha has the most volume and sounds the best when strummed. When I fingerpick, I'd say it is a tie between that and the Kamaka. And as much as I love my Kanilea for being my first "real" ukulele, it has the weakest sound of the three -- mind you that is just among my three particular tenors. I fully accept it is completely different amongst the three you tried today.

I will say this, I definitely like the Kanilea finish like you do, though it does invite fingerprints galore.

I think it is so interesting and cool that all of us feel differently about the K brands, I mean if I had to recommend one to someone, I'd probably pick a KoAloha sight unseen due to their volume, tone and warranty/customer service. That being said, my Kamaka is my fave of the tenors that I own -- for the curl in the koa, and the dimensions/playability.

Thanks for opening up a discussion -- each brand is great in its own way, and has its fans. It is interesting to see that you are now a Kanile'a convert. I'm sure this thread will invite lots of discussion, hopefully all of it civil in nature. :)
 
Thanks for the report! I hope to make it down to Ukulele Source one of these days. I've had Koalohas and and Kamaka in the last couple of years, but have yet to try a Kanilea. From what I've read I think it will have a neck that suits me...
 
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Hi WW!
I think it is so interesting how different each of the K's can be from one another, even amongst others of their brand.
To be fair, each piece of wood is unique, so it is very hard to compare instruments. Even the same models can sound different.

I think one thing I would point out is that Kamaka has absolutely awful strings on their models from the factory, IMHO.
I have heard that from others. I wonder why they do that?

I will say this, I definitely like the Kanilea finish like you do, though it does invite fingerprints galore.
I have no doubt! However, I think it looks great and I'll bet it helps protect the uke from scratches a bit more than most finishes.

I think it is so interesting and cool that all of us feel differently about the K brands
I completely agree. Life would be so boring if we all thought the same way.

I mean if I had to recommend one to someone, I'd probably pick a KoAloha sight unseen due to their volume, tone and warranty/customer service.
I agree with this statement, too! Obviously, we would all prefer to play before buying; though I've only done that once!

Thanks for opening up a discussion -- each brand is great in its own way, and has its fans. It is interesting to see that you are now a Kanile'a convert. I'm sure this thread will invite lots of discussion, hopefully all of it civil in nature. :)
You're welcome. I hope it doesn't become a fanboy flame war thread! I was trying to be fair and objective. Also, I reserve the right to change my opinion when I play something better! :)
 
Thanks for sharing your experience and opinion. I conducted an unofficial poll by reading dozens of old threads comparing these three "K" brands and came to the conclusion that there's basically a 3-way tie. Sound, appearance & playability factors are highly subjective. To each his/her own.
 
It's your opinion and I'm glad you gave it. It seems that most people give opinion based on what they own even though they haven't played enough of other brands. Thanks
 
This discussion is such an example of how we all differ. I too went to Ukulele Source last summer and was giddy with excitement to try out all those brands. The Kanilea was my least favorite. I don't even remember why, but I think I did not like the feel of it. I think it is heavier and maybe has a fatter fret board. In the store I preferred the KoAloha over the Kamaka. At home, with strings of my choice on the Kamaka the Kamaka is my preference. However I just changed my KoAloha to Fremont Blackline and it is a very close second to my Kamaka. I wish everyone could have the opportunity to try out ukes like the one's at Ukulele Source. Oh typing this I am sad all over again that I didn't buy that little KoAloha soprano I fell in love with.
 
Thanks for sharing your experience with us! Smiley was really nice, and had the same opinion as you with the Kamakas. I tried out the Koaloha and Kanile'a ukuleles, including Smiley's Koaloha tenor, and they their sound was totally different.
 
If the MB doesn't work out, I'll say that in my experience, the Koaloha and Kanile'a sound are nice to have. You never have to wonder which sound or feel you want to reach for. They're both stellar, and both different. My fangurlism says it's nice to see Kanile'a finally getting some forum love 'round these parts. You're right that fretboard spoils you. If there's any complaint there, it's the gloss neck. Satin would feel perfect.
 
TigerAlum2001, nice review.

I've had all three K-brand concerts at one time. Like you said each has it's own voice. The strings on each uke also make so much difference. I too found the Kamaka strings and D'addario nylon strings (actually I think D'Addario makes Kamaka strings) not to be my favorite (the T2's are nice though). The Kanilea sounded best with Worth CD strings to me, the Kamaka and Kanilea with CMs. The Kanile'a was the most nicely finished in my opinion, and my favorite of the 3. The KoAloha may have been the most loud. Each was a great playing uke.
 
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First of all, welcome back Tigeralum2001. I have seen a few of your recent posts on some other threads, but I know its been a while since you've been here.

I think the one thing that most would agree on when it comes to comparing the K brands as well as any uke, is that each individual instrument is going to have it's own unique voice and sound. While KoAloha, Kamaka, and Kanilea might have some consistant traits that run true to their brands, each uke is ultimately going to vary from the next one, even from the same manufacturer.
 
I, too, visited Ukulele Source last year, and played everything in the place. (Well, almost everything... Those vintage ukes high up on the wall were tempting, but I didn't ask...)

My experience was similar - the Kamakas were OK, but I didn't like the tuners. The Kanile'as just didn't do anything for me, and the KoAlohas were nice - about like the Kamakas, but I felt like the tuners wee more responsive - I didn't have to fight with them.

The Pineapple Sunday was great, but then I played the Sceptre....

Two days later, I went back and bought the Sceptre.

I think my playing has improved since last July, and I might have a different reaction to the instruments now (having played a couple of Compass Rose ukes, a Mya-Moe, and a National Resonator since then), but overall my Sceptre is still the best overall uke I've played, in terms of feel, resonance, volume, and mellow.

Oh - and Smiley and Janet? I'd buy from them again in a heartbeat. Truly wonderful people!


-Kurt​
 
Tigeralum - nice review!
Received my first K brand, a KoAloha concert, in November of 2009 from MGM. Then in the beginning of 2010 received a soprano KoAloha from MGM and a soprano Kamaka from Larry's music followed by a Kamaka concert from Artisan Guitars. These are all wonderful ukuleles all strung with Fremont blacklines.
Played a Kanile'a concert and a soprano at Bernunzio's in Rochester. The Kanile'a was nice but the soprano was amazing. If I didn't already have two amazing sopranos, I would've purchased that one.
Sold my favorite classical guitar, or rather Bernunzio's did, and I wanted something special to replace it. In October ordered a Kamaka tenor special and a Kamaka concert special 3A. Received them both in December. They are numbered in sequence but one was made in October of 2011 and one in November of 2011. They are incredible ukuleles!
When I played classical guitar and mandolin I wanted luthier-made ones. The K brands are all so awesome I don't really have a desire for luthier-made ukuleles.

You'll be sorry you didn't get that Kanile'a Tigeralum. :)
 
I've had standart tenors of the three K brands recently. All had/has less than 4 years old building. For me, the first is the Koaloha, which can be great in all standard models (I also have the soprano and the concert, and I sold recently the SuperConcert to buy the tenor), with tone, volume and koa looks very beaultiful.

The second is Kanilea: really nice to hold and play, amazing resonance and loud volume, but there was a tone in the K-1 satin finish that bothered me.

The Kamaka (I play the tenor and a pineapple) had a beautiful tone and beautiful koa, but the volume did not reach the other two Ks, and I thought the lack of a balancing medium and bass tones: It had very high tones, which is not good at all the songs.
 
Thanks to all for sharing! When you live in an "un-ukulele" place where you don't have the chance to physically compare ukuleles, it's great to have a thread like this one!
 
This post reminds me of my reply on the rare occasion I ever have anyone ask me about whether they ought to get a Kamaka, KoAloha, Kanile'a, I'iwi, G-String, etc. I always answer, "yes."
 
I haven't owned a kanilea and don't think that I've ever played them. I have played maybe 6 new Kamaka sopranos and concerts and truthfully I wasn't impressed. My Koaloha Pikake which I bought in a store with 3 Kamakas sounded better than any of them and my aNueNue 1879 beats them both. I'm not really trying be yet one more Kamaka-basher and my real point is that if Kamaka is known to not use good strings on their factory instruments, then why aren't the dealers who sell them swapping them out for Fremonts or Orcas or Worths to make them sound better? This seems like the ultimate in penny-wise pound foolish to me. Seem like they're resting on the "brand name" to carry the product rather than actual performance, but I do believe that is a real phenomenon in the uke world. I think there are multiple ukes that are half the price of the K brands and play almost as well. So after my experiences I figured that Kamaka was "the emperor with no clothes" but then I couldn't resist picking up a bargain Kamaka white label soprano off ebay (figured that if I didn't like it I could resell it. Put a set of Fremont Blacklines on it and I'm hooked. This uke has a complexity and sweetness of sound that none of my other ukes have. It's softer for sure, but I've begun to understand what all the "Kamaka-love" is about. Nonetheless, as in the wine biz, there appears to be significant bottle variation, and I still haven't found a new Kamaka that I thought justified the price. What can one say except play before you buy, but I"m curious to hear shop-owners responses to the "bad string" situation
 
In my experience, KoAloha is the most consistent and the easiest to buy sight-unseen. They come with good strings right from the factory and don't really need time to break in. I've never played one that sounded dead! Some people aren't crazy about the look/feel of the finish or the build quality, but it works for me. They also seem to use pretty straight-grained koa instead of the crazy quilted stuff, but I'd imagine this has something to do with why the sound is so consistently good.
Buying a Kamaka is trickier, because they vary a lot in tonal quality, volume, etc. The build quality is cleaner than KoAloha's and you're more likely to find pretty koa, but it definitely does help to play a few of them if you can. When I bought my Kamaka soprano a few years ago, I picked it over another one that had much nicer koa but sounded relatively dead to my ears. With a decent set of strings, I'm sure every Kamaka will sound good, but the stock strings make a bad first impression in a store unless you happen to pick up an unusually resonant Kamaka.
Kanile'a has the best fit and finish of the three, but like Kamaka, they're not always consistent in sound quality. If you have the chance to play a few Kanile'as back-to-back, there will probably always be one that really jumps out at you.
 
...I ever have anyone ask me about whether they ought to get a Kamaka, KoAloha, Kanile'a, I'iwi, G-String, etc. I always answer, "yes."
Which is exactly what you said to me, and I really appreciate that because I wanted to make sure I didn't overlook anything good or waste time with anything bad during my short stay in Hawaii. The list you helped me compile was invaluable, one salesman tried to convince me that Kohala and Big Island ukes were 100% made in Hawaii, but since they weren't on the list I just passed over them and went on to the next. Which brings me to the K brands, so many in the different stores I went to and here is what I wish I could have had:

Kamaka plain and simple traditional looks
Kanile'a neck, frets and fingerboard
KoAloha sound and price

All that being said, I chose to go with 'sound and price' :)
 
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