Photos of my changes to my Kanile'a Tenor

wickedwahine11

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I just got a Kanile'a tenor and today I finished making a couple of minor changes to it. Instead of the stock plastic bridge pins, I bought some koa bridge pins (like GX9901 did). But since they were not slotted, they stuck up a little too much for my liking. So we (all I did was watch actually) sanded them down until they fit tightly and flush with the bridge. Though unlike GX9901, I didn't use the mother of pearl. I bought both the abalone and mother of pearl ones from StewMac but I actually thought that the abalone was a better match for the position dots on my K2.

I then also changed my strings to some Worth browns, because I wanted a more mellow tone and I actually prefer the look of the brown strings against the koa wood.

Here are a couple of photos of the "new" version of Waimea.
closesmall.jpg

closeup2small.jpg
 
You named her what? Don't get me wrong, it's a nice and suitable name.....It just sorta surprised me...no offense intended. She (he?) looks great though
 
You named her what? Don't get me wrong, it's a nice and suitable name.....It just sorta surprised me...no offense intended. She (he?) looks great though

I've never really understood the naming of inanimate objects...[prepares himself for 100s of annoyed replies]
 
Now that is a classy-looking uke. :O I remember you weren't a huge fan of the gold tuners; did you change those over yet?
 
You named her what? Don't get me wrong, it's a nice and suitable name.....It just sorta surprised me...no offense intended. She (he?) looks great though

I was going to name it something Hawaiian for sure...(I always name objects, my car, etc. I'm a dork, I know). My first pet was a cat named Waimea. And since there is a Waimea on Kauai (my fave island), Oahu, etc. it seemed like a name that would generate Hawaiian essence. Oh well...:eek:
 
Now that is a classy-looking uke. :O I remember you weren't a huge fan of the gold tuners; did you change those over yet?

Thanks for the compliment on my beloved uke.

You know, I still wasn't crazy about the gold (I never wear gold), but my Mom and spouse both told me they thought it was more "traditional" Hawaiian. I think because of all the gold Kuuipo rings and pendants you find in the stores. Anyway, now I think I like them. I'm taking it with me when I do the Kanile'a tour in May and Kristen was nice enough to say that they would switch out the tuners for me then if I decide to. But for now, anyway, I think I'm keeping the gold.
 
Thanks for the compliment on my beloved uke.

You know, I still wasn't crazy about the gold (I never wear gold), but my Mom and spouse both told me they thought it was more "traditional" Hawaiian. I think because of all the gold Kuuipo rings and pendants you find in the stores. Anyway, now I think I like them. I'm taking it with me when I do the Kanile'a tour in May and Kristen was nice enough to say that they would switch out the tuners for me then if I decide to. But for now, anyway, I think I'm keeping the gold.

I don't think the gold tuners make it look traditional, just old (no offense). I think the regular white/black tuners look more time-honored. The gold reminds me of the cheap laminate ukulele's they sell at costco and stuff like that.
 
Looking good!
 
I don't think the gold tuners make it look traditional, just old (no offense). I think the regular white/black tuners look more time-honored. The gold reminds me of the cheap laminate ukulele's they sell at costco and stuff like that.

Fair enough...I'm not sure yet about the gold tuners anyway. But I don't have an option for white or black, they would replace them with chrome so I'm comparing the gold to silver, not black or white. (And my cheap soprano has white, which actually I really dislike).

Besides...to each their own. I didn't buy a KoAloha because I don't care for the style/design of the KoAloha headstocks and bridges (no offense) but you have one, so that is the right uke for you. The important thing is that we each love our own ukulele, and we clearly do. We can agree to disagree. :)
 
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Fair enough...I'm not sure yet about the gold tuners anyway. But I don't have an option for white or black, they would replace them with chrome so I'm comparing the gold to silver, not black or white. (And my cheap soprano has white, which actually I really dislike).

Besides...to each their own. I didn't buy a KoAloha because I don't care for the style/design of the KoAloha headstocks and bridges (no offense) but you have one, so that is the right uke for you. The important thing is that we each love our own ukulele, and we clearly do. We can agree to disagree. :)

did you see the actual picture I posted of my ukes on ukedman's epic thread? (sorry to hijack ur thread btw...)

The pegs I have on Suzu (signature) are silver and they're shiny :D(Oooh shiny O.O lol) I kinda like the white ones; the ones I have on Isamu and Aiko; they have an almost cloudy look >.<

Good luck!!
 
I don't think the tuners on my MP concert or my Howlett Uklectic or Helsinki Soprano (not that you know what that is) make either uke look fake or laminate...

It's sort of an aggressive way to voice an opinion... IMO. ;)

Changing the bridge pins can really bring a look together can't it? I switched out the plastic bridge pins on my Uklectic, and yeah, lookin' good. Such a little thing can make such a big difference.

As for what is traditional and what isn't, wouldn't they need to be peg tuners to be well and truly "traditional"? I wouldn't sweat it. Gold looks good, and I'm not even into bling myself. Go with your gut instinct. It's worked well thus far. :)
 
It's sort of an aggressive way to voice an opinion... IMO. ;)

I didn't mean to offend anyone else's ukulele.....And I just wanted to share

Whatever I say means nothing in this case, because every detail should be handpicked by you ;)
 
I'm keeping my Tomo just the way she is. After adding my bling, of course. Got the keychain in the mail today.
 
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