janeray1940
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Aloha all! With my recent uke buying decision, and after reading some of the recent UAS threads, I did a bit of reflecting on on my past uke purchases and what I've learned from them. Hoping others may find this of interest... here's a summary in chronological order (minus my childhood mahogany soprano, the make of which is long forgotten and the whereabouts unknown):
Ohana SK20S mahogany soprano - my first uke, a $100 entry-level bought straight off the wall 5 minutes before my first uke class started. Liked it because it looked rather Martin-like. Within about 3 weeks of playing I realized how awful the stock black GHS strings were, put Aquilas on it, and it was like a whole new instrument. I ended up giving this one to a friend after deciding I was primarily a Kamaka girl.
Vintage Columbia mahogany soprano - restored by Jake Wildwood, bought via his site. Adorable and had a great tone, but the tuners slipped a lot and drove me a little nuts. At this point I gave up on vintage, discovered I liked koa A LOT, and narrowed my next purchase down to a Kamaka or Koaloha. The Columbia got re-homed via UU. Thanks UU!
Koaloha Pikake Soprano - I researched the heck out of this one, watching as many videos as I could find as my local shop did not have these in stock at the time. Ended up buying one at Folk Music Center in Claremont, which happened to have the mother lode of Koaloha stock the day I went and was a fabulous shopping experience - highly recommended for those of you in SoCal. I tried no less than 10 different ukes, including 4 different Pikakes. I learned that less-glossy ones sounded better to my ear, and bought what I thought was the uke of my dreams... until about a month later when I realized I needed more than 12 frets! Also re-homed via UU.
Kamaka HF-1 Figure-8 Soprano - bought on eBay, came with a pickup installed that the seller had not mentioned in the listing. The tone of this uke always seemed a bit muffled to me, but I liked playing it, especially once I replaced the strings with Aquila Concert strings which gave it a bit more oomph. It wasn't awful, but it gave me the impression that maybe I didn't care for sopranos, and I began checking out concert ukes. Rehomed via UU after my second HF-2 Concert purchase.
Kamaka HF-2 Concert x 2 - one bought on eBay (and re-homed via UU), the other in person via Craigslist. Moral of this story: the one I kept was the one I bought in person, and was a good final lesson in buying online for me. In other words - if you can avoid it, don't do it. Always try before you buy. The one I kept has been my go-to Low G uke for several years now; having settled on a combination of Martin Fluoros (sometimes soprano/concert, sometimes tenor, which allows for more volume) I'm really pleased with it and tend to judge all low G ukes against it. Now that I have a low-G-specific uke though (the newly acquired Ohta-San, below) I'm looking forward to stringing this one reentrant and seeing what I think.
Kamaka HP-1 Pineapple Soprano - bought in person, had a choice between two, took my sweet time to think it over and got the right one. This remains, to this day, my One Perfect Uke. Strung reentrant with Martin M600 fluoros, this thing practically plays itself - it handles that easily, has near-perfect intonation, rings like a bell clear up the neck. If I didn't also play Low G, this would be all the uke I really need.
Custom mahogany soprano - While it is a fantastic uke and I have no complaints about it, this purchase was a bit of a learning experience - my first time working with a luthier and my first time giving serious thought to the qualities that mattered to me. I wanted a uke designed specifically for intonation and sustain, with as many frets as was possible to fit on a soprano. I opted for mahogany since I like the vintage mahogany sound but don't want the fuss of a vintage instrument - sound-wise it delivers, as it does for intonation (which was my primary concern - it's a 19-fret soprano and intonates near perfect all the way). But it's a uke designed for a specific purpose: single note solo playing. It's not the best multi-purpose, strum-in-a-group uke - where it really shines is when single notes are allowed to ring out. Playability leaves a bit to be desired when compared to my Kamaka Pineapple - not sure if it's the frets, the fretboard material, the action, or what, but for certain things such as hammer-ons and pulloffs, this one is slightly more challenging to handle. But it sounds absolutely amazing! I'm not sure though that I would ever buy a custom again, unless a specific need came up (19 frets, for example) - the whole custom experience is pretty contradictory to my "try before you buy" rule, and I've learned that I'm pretty hands-on when it comes to this.
Kamaka Ohta-San - this uke was designed specifically for low-G picking, which is my current focus and was one reason I used to justify this purchase (after much contemplation and telling myself that with three nice ukes already, I had no business buying a fourth!). Even before it was officially mine, the shop changed out the stock black Kamaka strings to Martin M600s for me, which was enough to convince me that it sounded different enough from my Kamaka HF-2 to not be redundant. I'll admit it, I was as attracted to this one for its looks as I was for its sound - something that has never really been important to me before. Like my Kamaka pineapple, it plays really easily, and the slightly longer scale length (between a concert and a tenor) is manageable with my little hands (although it pushes the limits - I can span 6 frets in first position on this but not a single millimeter more).
So - all of that to say that while I realize my UAS has been pretty minor compared to many, it certainly hasn't been without a purpose. I've learned what works for me/what is right for me, and hopefully in the process have re-homed a few ukes to owners who will appreciate them for what is right for *them*. What's right for me, right now: solid koa ukes with a lot of volume and sustain, as many frets as possible, and a shorter scale than a tenor. Subject to change at any moment, although looking at the ukes I've kept I'd say I'm pretty settled in my ways.
And now I have to come to terms with the fact that I own a whopping FOUR ukes now, with no intention of parting with any of them. We should all have such problems!
Hope some of my babbling has been useful, entertaining, or both
Ohana SK20S mahogany soprano - my first uke, a $100 entry-level bought straight off the wall 5 minutes before my first uke class started. Liked it because it looked rather Martin-like. Within about 3 weeks of playing I realized how awful the stock black GHS strings were, put Aquilas on it, and it was like a whole new instrument. I ended up giving this one to a friend after deciding I was primarily a Kamaka girl.
Vintage Columbia mahogany soprano - restored by Jake Wildwood, bought via his site. Adorable and had a great tone, but the tuners slipped a lot and drove me a little nuts. At this point I gave up on vintage, discovered I liked koa A LOT, and narrowed my next purchase down to a Kamaka or Koaloha. The Columbia got re-homed via UU. Thanks UU!
Koaloha Pikake Soprano - I researched the heck out of this one, watching as many videos as I could find as my local shop did not have these in stock at the time. Ended up buying one at Folk Music Center in Claremont, which happened to have the mother lode of Koaloha stock the day I went and was a fabulous shopping experience - highly recommended for those of you in SoCal. I tried no less than 10 different ukes, including 4 different Pikakes. I learned that less-glossy ones sounded better to my ear, and bought what I thought was the uke of my dreams... until about a month later when I realized I needed more than 12 frets! Also re-homed via UU.
Kamaka HF-1 Figure-8 Soprano - bought on eBay, came with a pickup installed that the seller had not mentioned in the listing. The tone of this uke always seemed a bit muffled to me, but I liked playing it, especially once I replaced the strings with Aquila Concert strings which gave it a bit more oomph. It wasn't awful, but it gave me the impression that maybe I didn't care for sopranos, and I began checking out concert ukes. Rehomed via UU after my second HF-2 Concert purchase.
Kamaka HF-2 Concert x 2 - one bought on eBay (and re-homed via UU), the other in person via Craigslist. Moral of this story: the one I kept was the one I bought in person, and was a good final lesson in buying online for me. In other words - if you can avoid it, don't do it. Always try before you buy. The one I kept has been my go-to Low G uke for several years now; having settled on a combination of Martin Fluoros (sometimes soprano/concert, sometimes tenor, which allows for more volume) I'm really pleased with it and tend to judge all low G ukes against it. Now that I have a low-G-specific uke though (the newly acquired Ohta-San, below) I'm looking forward to stringing this one reentrant and seeing what I think.
Kamaka HP-1 Pineapple Soprano - bought in person, had a choice between two, took my sweet time to think it over and got the right one. This remains, to this day, my One Perfect Uke. Strung reentrant with Martin M600 fluoros, this thing practically plays itself - it handles that easily, has near-perfect intonation, rings like a bell clear up the neck. If I didn't also play Low G, this would be all the uke I really need.
Custom mahogany soprano - While it is a fantastic uke and I have no complaints about it, this purchase was a bit of a learning experience - my first time working with a luthier and my first time giving serious thought to the qualities that mattered to me. I wanted a uke designed specifically for intonation and sustain, with as many frets as was possible to fit on a soprano. I opted for mahogany since I like the vintage mahogany sound but don't want the fuss of a vintage instrument - sound-wise it delivers, as it does for intonation (which was my primary concern - it's a 19-fret soprano and intonates near perfect all the way). But it's a uke designed for a specific purpose: single note solo playing. It's not the best multi-purpose, strum-in-a-group uke - where it really shines is when single notes are allowed to ring out. Playability leaves a bit to be desired when compared to my Kamaka Pineapple - not sure if it's the frets, the fretboard material, the action, or what, but for certain things such as hammer-ons and pulloffs, this one is slightly more challenging to handle. But it sounds absolutely amazing! I'm not sure though that I would ever buy a custom again, unless a specific need came up (19 frets, for example) - the whole custom experience is pretty contradictory to my "try before you buy" rule, and I've learned that I'm pretty hands-on when it comes to this.
Kamaka Ohta-San - this uke was designed specifically for low-G picking, which is my current focus and was one reason I used to justify this purchase (after much contemplation and telling myself that with three nice ukes already, I had no business buying a fourth!). Even before it was officially mine, the shop changed out the stock black Kamaka strings to Martin M600s for me, which was enough to convince me that it sounded different enough from my Kamaka HF-2 to not be redundant. I'll admit it, I was as attracted to this one for its looks as I was for its sound - something that has never really been important to me before. Like my Kamaka pineapple, it plays really easily, and the slightly longer scale length (between a concert and a tenor) is manageable with my little hands (although it pushes the limits - I can span 6 frets in first position on this but not a single millimeter more).
So - all of that to say that while I realize my UAS has been pretty minor compared to many, it certainly hasn't been without a purpose. I've learned what works for me/what is right for me, and hopefully in the process have re-homed a few ukes to owners who will appreciate them for what is right for *them*. What's right for me, right now: solid koa ukes with a lot of volume and sustain, as many frets as possible, and a shorter scale than a tenor. Subject to change at any moment, although looking at the ukes I've kept I'd say I'm pretty settled in my ways.
And now I have to come to terms with the fact that I own a whopping FOUR ukes now, with no intention of parting with any of them. We should all have such problems!
Hope some of my babbling has been useful, entertaining, or both