Happy Birthday to me...New Uke Day! Kamaka HF-1

erivel

erivel

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Just took this little gem off of layaway today just in time to celebrate my B-day. Yay!! Thanks to Duane at Music Works in El Cerrito, CA for hooking me up with this! I chose it out of four HF-1 models they had in stock. This one came from the factory with Schaller geared tuners installed, which I prefer.

Anyway, this one spoke to me because it sounded and played the best. It also had a lighter honey color with some nice curl to it. I changed the strings to Ko'olau golds, which is an improvement over the stock strings. Yeah I'm a Pohaku fan, but I really wanted a Hawaiian made uke to add to the collection. Now all's I need is a barri...

The obligatory pics...

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Happy Bday Eric!

Hows the balance with the geared tuners? I really like the light honey color.
 
nongdam said:
Happy Bday Eric!

Hows the balance with the geared tuners? I really like the light honey color.
Click to expand...

Thanks Daniel! It may be slightly heavier at the headstock, but I don't really notice when playing.
 
Happy birthday and congrats on the uke!
 
Happy birthday and congratulations on the Kamaka.
 
Aloha Eric,
Happy Birthday and Congratulations..Welcome to the Kamaka club...Happy Strummings Man..
 
Nice uke. Nothing like a new Kamaka to lift your spirits. Can't wait to hear what you'll record with it.

Happy b-day and congrats!
 
Congratulations and Happy Birthday erivel! Interesting combo, the HF-1 with geared tuners. But Kanilea sopranos come with geared tuners as well. I like the light honey color. It has some nice figure as well. BTW, nice collection of Pohakus.
 
Happy Birthday and congrats! Nice looking uke!
 
Happy b'day, Eric! A beautiful new uke is just what you should get.

It will be interesting to hear what Seasons tunes you play on this soprano---your playing on your larger Pohakus is splendid. (BTW, we're up next for a custom concert by Peter.)
 
Thanks everybody! Ginny, looking forward to seeing your custom Pohaku!
 
Hau'oli lā hānau Eric! I'd be interested in your thoughts on Kamaka vs. Pohaku (even though without a Pohaku soprano I'm not sure it would be a fair comparison) in case you're inclined to do a post about this... :)
 
My dumb laptop wont show me the pics, but I know Kamakas are darned awesome. Congrats and Happy BD!
 
Many thanks for the B-day greetings!

janeray1940 said:
Hau'oli lā hānau Eric! I'd be interested in your thoughts on Kamaka vs. Pohaku (even though without a Pohaku soprano I'm not sure it would be a fair comparison) in case you're inclined to do a post about this... :)
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Well let's see...I've only played one Pohaku soprano, a sunburst mahogany...

Pohaku:
12 frets
Pegheads tuners
Wider nut width and string spacing at the saddle
Arched solid back
Smells like Peter's living room
Brighter (more midrange)
Feather lightweight
Glass-like nitro finish

Kamaka:
16 frets (too many IMO)
Geared/friction tuners
Narrower nut width and string spacing at the saddle
Flat solid back
Smells like Hawaii
Wamer (sounds Hawaiian)
Lightweight
Thin, porous nitro finish

Hope that helps!
 
erivel said:
Well let's see...I've only played one Pohaku soprano, a sunburst mahogany...

Pohaku:
12 frets
Pegheads tuners
Wider nut width and string spacing at the saddle
Arched solid back
Smells like Peter's living room
Brighter (more midrange)
Feather lightweight
Glass-like nitro finish

Kamaka:
16 frets (too many IMO)
Geared/friction tuners
Narrower nut width and string spacing at the saddle
Flat solid back
Smells like Hawaii
Wamer (sounds Hawaiian)
Lightweight
Thin, porous nitro finish

Hope that helps!
Click to expand...

Yeah, it does - you had me at "feather lightweight" :) Thanks for the comparison, I think I know what my next direction may be if I ever decide to go beyond Kamakas and DaSilvas...

But too many frets? No such thing!
 
janeray1940 said:
Yeah, it does - you had me at "feather lightweight" :) Thanks for the comparison, I think I know what my next direction may be if I ever decide to go beyond Kamakas and DaSilvas...

But too many frets? No such thing!
Click to expand...

You're welcome! I don't think you can go wrong with a Pohaku should you decide. My concert is sublime. Yeah, I know what you mean about the frets. I go past the 12th fret on my tenors once in a while, but not so much on the smaller sizes.
 
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