Leilani Ukuleles - Any Information?

Fred Ukestone

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I was wondering if anybody out there knows anything of the history of Leilani brand ukuleles. It appears their origin is in the USA but now they are being sold (online only) out of Australia. The Australian branch is seemingly not keen to discuss the history of this ukulele. Please note this is the Leilani and not Leolani brand.
 
I can't tell you much about Leilani, but can tell you I got superb and personal customer service when I ordered a soprano one for my father (who lives outside of Sydney). The dealer sent a personal email to confirm the order with a photo of the package before it was mailed. The ukulele is a decent quality ukulele with a nice sound and a free gig bag. My only beef was that it came with junky strings, but it was easy enough to set it up with Aquilla strings. Here is the website I used, but I'm not sure if they export out of Australia as there is strict regulation on the import and export of wood products in Australia and NZ now. Hope this helps:
http://www.buyukulele.com.au/aboutukulele/
 
I did a little digging and found this story which describes the Leilani as an instrument first designed and made by the a Japanese Luthier who later moved with his family to Florida. After his death, the business continued but appears to have relocated to Australia. The Leilani today is apparently manufactured in China, but the company is based in Australia now. http://database.ukulelecorner.co.uk/klm/leilani

I just emailed the dealer to ask if he shipped to Japan (where I live). I will let you know because if he can ship to Japan, he should be able to ship to another country.
 
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Hi Timothy,

I helped establish some of the history of Leilani with Lardy who set up the ukulele brand database. I found a letter online which discussed the passing of the Japanese founder of Leilani Ukuleles in a hospital in the USA
 
Hi Fred,
Do you have the link? I'd be interested in having a look at it. I got curious yesterday, and I decided to order a basic ukulele from Leilani through the website I posted above. Just like my last order I sent within Australian to my dad, I got an almost immediate personal response via email and they were happy to work out a way to ship one to Japan for me. So, I ordered one this morning (my time in Japan), and I think this means they can ship anywhere if you ask them personally over email. I'll have a good look at it and give it a good play, and post a picture and a quick review of it here later when I get it.
Best, Tim
 
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Fred,
Thanks for sharing the links. I don't really have the skill to do a translation, and I would just be popping it into google to translate it myself.

As for the actual instrument itself, I received a Leilani concert ukulele 2 weeks back. With shipping to Japan, the ukulele worked out to be about $200 US dollars equivalent. This would be their cheaper type of ukulele, and they seems to have a little more expensive ones at around the $300 to $400 dollar range. The main difference with their more expensive uke is that it is made with Hawaiian wood and has a higher quality bridge. The ukulele I received was very well packaged and came as promised with a gig bag and electric tuner. The fret board seemed nicely set up as well as the frets, and the tuners are those new covered type metal gear tuners. The bridge is perhaps not the best quality as it is a light dry wood that you see on less expensive models - but I suppose I could upgrade it at some point. The aquilla strings were already on the instrument, but losely strung allowing the saddle on the bridge to shift (it was kind of sticking out). But, it could be moved back into the correct position for stringing by hand. The saddle was too high though and will need adjustments, and there is a small nick on the neck by on of the tuners, and another minor nick on the body. I probably made too much of a stink about these issues (and unfortunately I complained about the saddle sticking out before I knew that saddles are not glued in place). However, the salesman (I think over-generously) offered me a 30% discount on my next order and an apology.

Whatever history Leilani has had, it does not appear to be designing new models of ukulele and has only about 5 or 6, either soprano or concert only, available through their website. While I have not tried their higher end ukes, the company seems to appeal more to beginner ukulele players who want to buy something playable and do so affordably.

So overall, there are better ukes out there, but not a bad deal for its price and excellent customer service.
 
One last follow up to my post above. I hope this is helpful for anyone who is in the market for an affordable ukulele - and super customer service! Because I'm a good guy and I realize you don't get rich off of selling ukuleles, I emailed the folks over at Leilani again in Australia and told them that since my saddle sticking out was not really an issue (saddles are not glued in place and will hold in place when the strings are tightened) and that it was only a matter of lowering the saddle and maybe adjusting the fingerboard a little - that 30% off my next purchase was too generous and proposed 15% off my next purchase. The seller said he was happy I was getting my ukulele problems sorted out, but said he wanted to keep his offer of a 30% discount on my next purchase.
 
I bought their solid mahogany soprano uke off a private seller at a very reasonable price. It has nice tone and sustain, although I'm not a fan of the highly polished finish on it. I noticed that these are now selling on ebay for $400. That is a 100% increase in price over 2 years! They must have employed a new marketing manager.
 
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