New Kamaka Baritone... and Oasis Humidifier advice

First of all, my Kamaka baritone arrived just this morning!
It played out just like how I had dreamed.

I dreamt that I would be awoken by the sound of a doorbell in the morning, and that I would jump out of bed, run to the door and see the mailman.

Well exactly that happened, and here it is:



It came from Hawaii Music Supply (I think I grabbed the only Kamaka Baritone they had in stock, because it went to "Out of Stock" on the website shortly after I got it). Took about a week to get to Australia.

I love it!
I had a Mi-Si installed and asked for the D'addario Nyltech strings.


It also came with an Oasis ukulele humidifier. The kind that you're supposed to stick into the uke's sound hole, as pictured here:
http://oasishumidifiers.com/ukulele.html

But I was wondering whether this means that I can only use the humidifier when the uke is in the case, flat on the ground?
Would I have to remove it when carrying it around, as the humidifier will move around?

It just seems to (sort of) defeat the purpose of having a case - to take the ukulele to places. Where would I place the humidifier when on-the-go?

Aloha Kissing, CONGRATULATIONS
Wow wow wow Holy Moly...You bought a kamaka baritone...wow wee it looks awesome...and only a week shipping time...my packages take 4-5 weeks to get there..
I guess it is flat rate boxes..ha ha Have fun and happy strummings.... wish I could help with the humidifier, but we don't use them here...I know it's your winter
season there down under...

First, congratulations on that beautiful baritone! Kamaka baritones are lovely. I'm sure you will enjoy it.

I use Oasis humidifiers in a number of my cases. Yes, it's for use in the case. I don't think it would be very effective were the ukulele out of the case. So, if it is dry, keep the ukulele in the case with the humidifier. You should store it flat, rather than upright, because, as you have noted, the humidifier can come loose and fall into the body. It's only happened to me once, and it was easy to extract the humidifier, but it didn't exactly make me happy. Alternatively, you can velcro it to the inside of the case. That way, you can cary the instrument around without worrying about it.

For larger sized ukes, and depending on how air tight your case is and how dry the air is, you may need more than one of these small humidifiers. Where I live, the RH can get down below 20% for good stretches of time in the winter. My sopranos in hard cases are fine with just the single Oasis, but my Kamaka concert in a Protec case requires the Oasis and a homemade humidifier which I keep up under the headstock. I have hygrometers in a few cases to monitor the RH. While I'm told they occasionally may not be accurate, mine are accurate within a few % and that's good enough to be useful in regulating the RH. You might consider investing in one. The Kamaka is well worth it.

Very nice uke. Congrats!

I just got a Pohaku baritone all Koa this weekend. I think I might buy all baritones from now on. Lol. Nice K.

Congratulations! That's a particularly beautiful ukulele with great koa in the soundboard. And the sound that comes from Kamaka baritones is exquisite. How do you like the strings you asked for?

I have the same humidifier for some of my ukuleles and I (1) store my cases vertically, so the humidifier is hanging from the strings parallel to the soundboard instead of angling down and touching the bottom of the uke, which it does when you store it flat; and (b) keep the humidifier in the uke when I'm transporting the uke in its case from one place to another. The humidifier has always stayed on the strings, and since it's soft on the outside, I don't see any problem with it banging into the inside walls of the ukulele.

Thanks for the tips everyone! They are a huge help.

How do you like the strings you asked for?

Click to expand...

The Nyltech strings are pretty good - have a warm tone and is similar to what I recall the Aquila "Bio Nylon" strings are like.
However I might change them to a fluorocarbon set next time, such as Martin Fluorocarbon or Worth. They're a good string, but I like the feel of Fluorocarbon better - not as stiff.


As for the uke, wow, this is an amazing instrument. It's my very first solid Koa, Hawaiian K-brand experience.
It just makes me want to play it all day. The tone is so rich and well-defined compared to my existing ukes.
There is great detail to the tone - I love it.

I'm definitely getting more Hawaiian ukes in the future.. (I want... the Kamaka HF-3 Tenor next.. and perhaps also a Kelii soprano and Koaloha concert in the long term future >_< )

Woah! Congrats on the Kamaka baritone! She's a beauty!

Welcome to the Kamaka club!

Congratulations on your new Kamaka baritone kissing. I have been following your posts about how you have been longing for a Hawaiian Koa uke.

I use the Oasis humidifier in all of my ukes, suspended from the strings. I store my ukes vertically at about a 70 degree angle and have had no issues with the Oasis falling off the strings. But I take it off the strings when I travel with my uke. I also keep a Herco humidifier in the storage compartment of the cases in the winter as the RH is very low here in the heating season.

Congratulations on a beautfiul kk. Vive la baritone!!!

Sweet! Congratulations!

wow, what a stunner. I have another bari coming, that will make 3 for me. one strung g, one c, and the next one reentrant. maybe high D? after playing guitar, even the baris feel small.

Congrats! This is the next ukulele I'm gonna get