Best website to purchase a Ko'aloha concert?

frankiefirefox

frankiefirefox

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Aloha ya'll,

I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a new ko'aloha concert. I live in Maine, about 300 miles from the nearest authorized dealer. Any suggestions as to which suit will offer the best deal/set up? I'm also in contact with Ko'aloha.

Thanks!
 
Where in Maine? I used to live in Mass., and I can tell you that if you're within 300 miles of Boston it's well worth your weekend to drive down to Boston and check out the Music Emporium. I lived about 100 miles west and used to drive in early on a morning, go to the Emporium for a few hours to gawk, go downtown to the market and end the day at the Garden or Fenway. The Emporium is the best music store for acoustic instruments on the east coast, I kid you not.

They deal all the K's unless I'm mistaken, and that would allow you to actually strum each one and see which you like the most.

If you don't want to go, KoAloha is very consistent with their quality and you can be sure to get a good one from anywhere that sells them. For my money, and a little gas money, I would absolutely take a weekend and go to the Emporium.

Good luck!
 
I'm up in waterville. The closest one I could find was in Mansfield. thanks for the info! Looks like I have an excuse to catch a sox game!
 
No problem! I just checked, actually, and it looks like Emporium has Kamaka, Kanilea, and Ko'olau, but no KoAloha. You could check out the place in Mansfield on the way, to get a feel for the KoAloha! Emporium has those K's and Martin, Collings, Pono, LoPrinzi, Moore Bettah, Scott Wise...basically, if you go to Boston looking for ukuleles, it's the place to go. I wish I could go, but I'm 1300 miles away these days...and there's nothing even remotely like that in St. Louis or Kansas City.
 
if you are OK with a factory second, the good people at Koaloha will also sell these direct.
 
then again, you have Boat Paddle ukes right at your doorstep.
bynapkinart said:
No problem! I just checked, actually, and it looks like Emporium has Kamaka, Kanilea, and Ko'olau, but no KoAloha. You could check out the place in Mansfield on the way, to get a feel for the KoAloha! Emporium has those K's and Martin, Collings, Pono, LoPrinzi, Moore Bettah, Scott Wise...basically, if you go to Boston looking for ukuleles, it's the place to go. I wish I could go, but I'm 1300 miles away these days...and there's nothing even remotely like that in St. Louis or Kansas City.
Click to expand...
 
And if you need to buy without playing first, check out Ukulele Source in San Jose, CA. Smiley and Janet are wonderful people, the prices are a little lower than list, and the packing/shipping was very secure, and reasonably priced. http://www.ukulelesource.com/

The web site doesn't show what they have in stock, but it gives a phone number, and they will be happy to talk to you, play the instrument over the phone, and help you pick one out.

Good Luck!

-Kurt​
 
chrimess said:
if you are OK with a factory second, the good people at Koaloha will also sell these direct.
Click to expand...

And if they don;t treat you right on the phone when you call them, Koaloha will give you a ukulele for free. (referring to recent thread)

Seriously, if it was me, unless I was saving a couple hundred bucks, I'd never buy a second to save fifty or a hundred bucks. Why? You will always have to justify why it's a second when you sell it someday. And, we all think we'll never sell anything, but most of us eventually do. Even if there's nothing "wrong" with it, everyone knows about the black dot on the label and will be p.o.'ed if you sold it and didn;t mention that.

Just a thought. I like Andrew and MGM at Hawaiian Music Supply, personally.

Driving 600 miles round trip at four bucks a gallon and staying overnight in Boston, even though I love the town having lived there for 8 years, is quite a chore. Gas money, possible hotel, and sales tax will be hard to recoup with a tax-free online sale from a reputable company that has a return policy that is reasonable (like HMS, Elderly Music and a few others).
 
A Koaloha is for life, so who cares about the dot?

coolkayaker1 said:
And if they don;t treat you right on the phone when you call them, Koaloha will give you a ukulele for free. (referring to recent thread)

Seriously, if it was me, unless I was saving a couple hundred bucks, I'd never buy a second to save fifty or a hundred bucks. Why? You will always have to justify why it's a second when you sell it someday. And, we all think we'll never sell anything, but most of us eventually do. Even if there's nothing "wrong" with it, everyone knows about the black dot on the label and will be p.o.'ed if you sold it and didn;t mention that.

Just a thought. I like Andrew and MGM at Hawaiian Music Supply, personally.

Driving 600 miles round trip at four bucks a gallon and staying overnight in Boston, even though I love the town having lived there for 8 years, is quite a chore. Gas money, possible hotel, and sales tax will be hard to recoup with a tax-free online sale from a reputable company that has a return policy that is reasonable (like HMS, Elderly Music and a few others).
Click to expand...
 
Unless I happen to be in Boston, I'm not going to make a special trip. HMS looks great! Thanks for the suggestion!
 
as for the "dot", I'm going to wait to hear from Ko'aloha before making any decisions.
 
frankiefirefox said:
Unless I happen to be in Boston, I'm not going to make a special trip. HMS looks great! Thanks for the suggestion!
Click to expand...

If you want to talk to HMS, FF, call them on the phone, no email, and ask to speak with Andrew Kitakis, the owner. He's a wonderful human being who is at the store all the time, and has no issues with speaking with you and will give you advice. I did it for my Pono (that should be here, oh, about tomorrow!) and he was a gem.

Here's a video with Andrew...who now is in Haleiwa (North Shore, baby) and specializes in ukes.... again owner of Hawaiian Music Supply.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJr9Tr7EkNk

The guy interviewing him is a complete tool, by the way.
 
Last edited:
coolkayaker1 said:
If you want to talk to HMS, FF, call them on the phone, no email, and ask to speak with Andrew Katakis, the owner. He's a wonderful human being who is at the store all the time, and has no issues with speaking with you and will give you advice. I did it for my Pono (that should be here, oh, about tomorrow!) and he was a gem.
Click to expand...

I agree completely with the above & the others who recommend HMS. Andrew was very helpful when I was deciding which uke to buy, and the setup, packing, & shipment were all great. I also like supporting them since they make interesting & useful videos.
 
I ordered a concert through Cymbalism, $702 retail, and additional 5% off. They sell on ebay as well, for $699 (no add'l discount). It arrives tomorrow. :drool:
 
I would be happy to assist in whatever way I can ordering from us or not!

-Sean
 
So the black dot special is 545. HMS has one with a hard case for 750. thoughts?
 
frankiefirefox said:
So the black dot special is 545. HMS has one with a hard case for 750. thoughts?
Click to expand...

If this is your option, I would go $545 without a second thought. A factory second from KoAloha is typically a very minor issue. The worst case I have heard was a position marker on the 13th fret instead of the 12th.
 
Personally I would probably go with HMS. They have the hard case, setup with whatever strings you want, free humidifier, and free shipping because it's a Hawaiian made ukulele. Plus those guys are absolutely spectacular people.

A factory second, even from KoAloha, is still a factory second. I personally wouldn't mind if it was a second as long as it was new, but if I'm going to go out and buy a new instrument I'd want it perfectly setup and finished.

That's me, though. HMS is killer value if you're buying Hawaiian.
 
I just received a KoAloha tenor factory second from MGM through HMS. It sounds and plays fantastic! A few cosmetic issues that aren't that noticeable. I don't have a black dot, instead it's a black slash on the corner of the inside label. Since I bought it new through HMS I still get the factory warranty. So it's all good. I was on a strict budget, so when it showed up in the marketplace I jumped on it. I've traded for a used KoAloha soprano and bought a new KoAloha tenor in the past. This is my first factory second and I have no regrets.

HMS is a great place to deal with, I highly recommend them!
 
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