Ko'Olau Archtop Prototype Up for grabs!

ukulelepuapua · Mar 13, 2012

I thought it would be best to inform the community as well as the collectors in here that the hugely talked about KoOlau Archtop prototype is up on our site. There should be a demo later today.

Having looked at and stummed ever so gently on this piece of history myself- I gotta say its pretty sweet!

http://www.hawaiianukuleleonline.com/koolau-archback-prototype.html

**********EDIT***************

For all those debating the price:

Hey thanks for the feedback, the thing is that there will only ever be ONE of these, this is a prototype model- so goes the world with anything that is the first of its kind. What I can tell you is that the amount of labor that went into this Ukulele as well as the materials needed made the cost of it high enough to warrant that price. It may be something you have to hold to appreciate. As one user on here commented- the top alone took over 40 hours to carve- BY HAND.

VinnyQH · Mar 14, 2012

looks awesome!! ouch on that price tag!

keliiyama · Mar 14, 2012

Haha! Wow, I could buy a killer one of a kind Batson Guitar for that price. I'll wait till they figure out their archtop. And I would prefer F style sound holes. As a collector's item, someone's gotta nab it!

dkcrown · Mar 14, 2012

I think that there might be someone in Thailand that would be interested in this uke. I'm sure that he could find a spot inside one of those glass cases for it.

SuzukHammer · Mar 14, 2012

That's nice.

Joshypogi · Mar 14, 2012

I got to see and hold this when I picked up my Koolau custom. Noa Bonk said it took 40+ hours just to carve the top, like a violin.

chrimess · Mar 14, 2012

Great instrument but the price is just not right- you can actually get the Batson at around 3K and even at Taylor you get the free guitar with your uke on the builder's reserve.
I get the feeling PuaPua price the high end for the Japanese marlet where there seems to be negative price elasticity-the more expensive the more desirable.

Trinimon · Mar 14, 2012

Not to knock Ko'olau or Ukulele Puapua but at $8K, I'm getting in the DeVine waiting list.

kapahulu50 · Mar 14, 2012

I didn't see any empty shelves in the Thai "uke museum" photos, but if I were marketing a one-of-a-kind instrument I'd price it around $8-10k too. Know your customer!

Drew Bear · Mar 14, 2012

Folks said the two DeVine ukes listed recently at ~$8k were also too expensive. They're out of stock on those. The Kamaka NAMM special was "too expensive" at $12k. We all know where that is now. Just because a uke is too expensive for some of us doesn't mean it's priced incorrectly.

Dan Uke · Mar 14, 2012

Drew Bear said:
Folks said the two DeVine ukes listed recently at ~$8k were also too expensive. They're out of stock on those. The Kamaka NAMM special was "too expensive" at $12k. We all know where that is now. Just because a uke is too expensive for some of us doesn't mean it's priced incorrectly.

Agreed......................................but too expensive for me

bongolele · Mar 14, 2012

Where did the Kamaka end up?

Drew Bear · Mar 14, 2012

bongolele said:
Where did the Kamaka end up?

A guy with an incredible collection in Thailand: http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/f...8-Unbelievable-Collection&p=891863#post891863

ukulelepuapua · Mar 15, 2012

chrimess said:
Great instrument but the price is just not right- you can actually get the Batson at around 3K and even at Taylor you get the free guitar with your uke on the builder's reserve.
I get the feeling PuaPua price the high end for the Japanese marlet where there seems to be negative price elasticity-the more expensive the more desirable.

Hey thanks for the feedback, the thing is that there will only ever be ONE of these, this is a prototype model- so goes the world with anything that is the first of its kind. What I can tell you is that the amount of labor that went into this Ukulele as well as the materials needed made the cost of it high enough to warrant that price. It may be something you have to hold to appreciate. The Tahitian black pearl tuner pegs are quite dazzling. Also if you want to talk tuners- Waverly tuners go for $400 by themselves.

Drew Bear said:
A guy with an incredible collection in Thailand: http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/f...8-Unbelievable-Collection&p=891863#post891863

Thanks for the Defence Drew Bear

Always coming to the rescue

Joshypogi said:
I got to see and hold this when I picked up my Koolau custom. Noa Bonk said it took 40+ hours just to carve the top, like a violin.

Thats TRUE!

OldePhart · Mar 15, 2012

<voice mode="Jeff Dunham's 'Walter'">
Holy crap!
</voice>
That's more than both of my cars together are worth. I'm sure it will sell, though. Just as I'm sure I'll never understand collectors.

JOhn

WhenDogsSing · Mar 15, 2012

Anyone fall off a turnip truck lately...???

WhenDogsSing · Mar 15, 2012

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/...l_Knobs,_for_Solid_Pegheads.html?renamed=true

chrimess · Mar 15, 2012

WhenDogsSing said:
Anyone fall off a turnip truck lately...???

The marketeer or the uke?

WhenDogsSing · Mar 16, 2012

chrimess said:
The marketeer or the uke?

Hee! Hee! Hee!

ukulelepuapua · Mar 16, 2012

My goal here was to introduce the item to any collectors and anybody who was interested in seeing it- thats all. I think there are many in this forum who would appreciate that kind of heads up.. For those of you who understand that as well as why the item is valuable and a piece of Uke history- mahalo! For anybody else- please let me know if you have any questions at all, I would be more than happy to assist

Ko'Olau Archtop Prototype Up for grabs!

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