Blemish Lanikai LK's on Ebay...

Anybody else noticing these popping up with some frequency nowadays for super cheap?

And for anybody who doesn't know this already, the Lanikai Lk series was made for them by Kanile'a for a while until they decided to work on their own brand. They're basically K-1's with an older bracing pattern.

It seems like whatever unsold stockpile of scratch and dents are getting liquidated. Some incredible deals to be had for the vigilant. (and who amongst us doesn't have an Ebay ukulele saved search that they don't check daily or even hourly....) And I don't think there were a heck of a lot of them made to begin with.

I wasn't even particularly in the market for another soprano, but I just couldn't pass one up for a mere $200. And with the 25% Livesearch cashback deal that's fifty off of that.

Ultimately I end up with a Kanile'a made soprano uke with a little finish crack and a "D" scratched on the top of the headstock for $150. It's insanity. I mean, if an instrument doesn't get a few dings and dents in it over time it just means you're not playing it enough.

Right now there's a Super Concert with a "buy it now" of $275. Livesearch cashback and it's close to two hundred bucks. Scratch and dent and no case, but dang that's a great deal for what you actually get.

i saw them too and marvelled at the price - i was just to scared to buy one. I think it seems a bit too cheap.

But i was eyeing that exact superconcert before buying my pono.

Let us know how it is!

From all the pictures and descriptions and such it really seems like all that really prevents them from selling these as brand spanking new is a few cosmetic issues rather than any sort of structural problem. I can live with that kind of stuff. They should play and sound exactly like a pristine one.

I've almost always bought used and/or vintage gear my whole life anyway so a few bumps and nicks really don't bother me. I'll probably end up doing as much or better over the life of the instrument anyway.

http://cgi.ebay.com/LANIKAI-LCD-C-C...14&_trkparms=72:1205|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318


my parental units wont let up even though i would pay for it. very few FINISH blemishes. so it would play fine. and i absolutely love MOP inlay. ive always loved it. so sad. ugg.

It arrived yesterday.

I'll try and get some pictures up later. (like after the sun comes up and all that. I wake up much too early...)

Overall though, I've got no real complaints. The main thing with the uke seems to be that the final coat of gloss didn't set properly in the area just immediately below the bridge, so there's about an inch and a half jagged crack in it there that you can see when you hold it up to the light and feel with a fingertip. I doesn't seem to be any deeper than that final coat. The koa itself is bookmatched and nicely grained with a little curliness. Lighter in tone than the my concert Lanikai lk, but I'm not complaining. It's real purdy.

Other than that, I dunno. There's a little extra glue on the inside and the neck set isn't perfectly (I can see a little gap on the treble side) and the frets could probably use a just little bit of final dressing, but it's not like they're going to draw blood as they are.
I won't be completely sure about how it sounds until I get a fresh set of strings on it. It came with the factory original Aquillas but they're really dead after a couple of years of gathering dust. Preliminary impression is similar to the Concert one. A richer lusher tone. Certainly much less plinky than the Kelii but not quite as much volume. Plays wonderfully.
In direct comparison to the Kelii, the body is more narrow waisted, but deeper and slightly longer. Neck seems a tad wider as well. It's also a bit heavier. Neck is straight across at the top of the soundhole, same as the Concert so I have the same issue of catching my thumb on the corner while I play fingerstyle, but it's not a deal breaker. It's a sweet playing neck.

I mean, it's a solid koa, handmade in Hawaii by Kanile'a soprano and when all is said and done (and I get the Livesearch Cashback) I'll have gotten it for $150. You really can't beat a deal like that.

Seriously, keep an eye out for these things...

I've done the factory second and blem thing on a couple of ukes and Guitars. Some were just finish flaws, others were setup one guitar had a weird hump on one side it you looked close but all with a little fiddling on the set up or frests played great and saved a ton of bucks. If you are fix it up adverse might want to avoid them.

yeah Ive noticed these as well, ironically from the same seller that one of the above poster mentioned. The Lanikai I was looking at ended up getting bought out under me (and I bet it was some UU'er ), but I ended up buying a Kala the next day out of frustration.

But yeah, that seller gets some crazy scratch and dents, and sells them for half price, its insanity.

Some pictures finally. I tried, but I just couldn't get a shot of the finish thing. It's just below the bridge in the middle. Trust me, it's there if you look in the right light....



Full Frontal. Solid koa, baby.




Lovely wood on the back too. It's just dreamy.

I totally win.

Dude... I wouldnt call that a dent... I'd call it a small dimple. (dimples arent ugly-- they're cute!)

Lanark said:

Some pictures finally. I tried, but I just couldn't get a shot of the finish thing. It's just below the bridge in the middle. Trust me, it's there if you look in the right light....

Full Frontal. Solid koa, baby.

Lovely wood on the back too. It's just dreamy.

I totally win.

Click to expand...

I bought one of these on ebay-- an LK-S "factory second". I never could find an outright flaw but the junction between the neck and body does have a little excess glue at the seams. (I don't care!!) I really REALLY love this uke! I did end up lowering the action myself but it was nothing wrong with the make of the uke, just personal preference. A pic of it is in my sig...

Just out of curiousity, Natalie what is the serial # on your uke?

It looks like it could be the same chunk of wood got used for yours as my LK Concert. (which is #103-B). You see that darker color koa so much less often.

some sweet deals there -- congrats to you both!

Lanark said:

Just out of curiousity, Natalie what is the serial # on your uke?

It looks like it could be the same chunk of wood got used for yours as my LK Concert. (which is #103-B). You see that darker color koa so much less often.

Click to expand...

Gorgeous uke you've got there! I agree, I like the unique darker color. The serial # to mine is: 125.3

It's that little lighter area under the bridge and the color. Same place, same time period.

Great reviews guys, you should post this up in the review forums, very few of them done, which is a shame because UU is a kickass group and it should have a lot of review done by now, especially if we claim to be spreading the news of the uke around the world...:rock: