durgidog
Active member
I purchased this blemished Lanikai from Butler Music and so far I'm very happy. I noticed they were selling these on eBay, with some auctions starting at $59 and some at $79. So I emailed them through their web site and told them I was looking for one at $75 shipped, that I don't care about blemishes, just action and intonation. They said they'd ship me out a good one and sent it the next day with 2 day delivery. The action is comfortable, the strings have not finished stretching but so far intonation is good at the 12th fret on two strings, and two strings are off by 3-4 cents. I fretted each string all the way up the neck and don't hear any buzzing.
It has a solid spruce top and the gloss finish is quite thick. This uke is not nearly as loud as my Pono solid mahogany soprano or even the cheapo plywood starter soprano uke I have. I expected that but the difference is quite remarkable. I've read that Lanikais ship from the factory with Aquila strings, but I've never tried Aquila's so I don't know what these are. They are white and sound is bright.
You can see spots that are blemishes in the headstock, I'm wondering if I can fill these with superglue as I can feel the indentations with my finger. I also circled another blemish on the soundboard in one of the pics. All in all I'm happy, I wanted to try a concert size (I may still prefer the soprano) and this was a relatively inexpensive way to do it for a uke with a solid top. If anyone is interested Butler Music has a lot of these.
ADDED: Well I've been playing the Lanikai for an hour now and comparing it to my Pono soprano (satin finish). When I hold them both toward my face and strum the Pono isn't louder, but it has better sustain. When I play the Lanikai in the normal position I don't hear it as well as I hear the Pono - I don't know if the thick finish and laminated sides and back have anything to do with that. The frets are all smooth, and now the two strings that were off at the 12th fret are only off by 1-2 cents. I can't find any further blemishes but that's not something that bothers me anyway. The tuners are very smooth. For $75 I'm pleased.
It has a solid spruce top and the gloss finish is quite thick. This uke is not nearly as loud as my Pono solid mahogany soprano or even the cheapo plywood starter soprano uke I have. I expected that but the difference is quite remarkable. I've read that Lanikais ship from the factory with Aquila strings, but I've never tried Aquila's so I don't know what these are. They are white and sound is bright.
You can see spots that are blemishes in the headstock, I'm wondering if I can fill these with superglue as I can feel the indentations with my finger. I also circled another blemish on the soundboard in one of the pics. All in all I'm happy, I wanted to try a concert size (I may still prefer the soprano) and this was a relatively inexpensive way to do it for a uke with a solid top. If anyone is interested Butler Music has a lot of these.
ADDED: Well I've been playing the Lanikai for an hour now and comparing it to my Pono soprano (satin finish). When I hold them both toward my face and strum the Pono isn't louder, but it has better sustain. When I play the Lanikai in the normal position I don't hear it as well as I hear the Pono - I don't know if the thick finish and laminated sides and back have anything to do with that. The frets are all smooth, and now the two strings that were off at the 12th fret are only off by 1-2 cents. I can't find any further blemishes but that's not something that bothers me anyway. The tuners are very smooth. For $75 I'm pleased.
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