NUD: Kamaka HF-3

rockyl

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Well, got my first NEW ukulele, a Kamaka HF-3 tenor. What a beauty and sounds wonderful. I bought it from Randee's Music Center (thanks Aarom!) in IL (even tho I'm in CA), and they set it up with Low-G and a LR Baggs Five-0 pickup. Great company to deal with and they were (are?) having their summer sale so got a great price. I highly recommend them (authorized Kamaka dealer)!

Strings seemed a little "dull" to me so put D'Addario T2 Titanium's on with an Aquila Red Low-G. Much more to my liking. But UAS is stirring so I'll probably try some Living Waters and Martin's too.

Interested to hear what strings others find work on their Kamaka's.

--Rocky
;)
 

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Congratulations on your new uke. To answer your question, my favorite strings on my Kamaka HF-3 tenor are the Southcoast HML-RW low g. They really make that uke sound great. Enjoy your new Kamaka. :)
 
Congrats on the new uke, Rocky! As you can probably tell, I'm a bit of a Kamaka fangirl :) If the strings on your HF-3 sounded dull, I can only guess that they were the black stock nylon Kamaka strings - which is the only thing I don't like about their ukes. The stock strings just don't do it for me, and many others on UU feel the same.

I've been really happy with Martin fluoros on my Kamakas, with Fremont Soloist "squeakless" wound low G. I've tried D'Addario Nyltechs, Oasis (both warm and bright), LaBella wound low G, Aquila Nylguts, and Fremont Blacks, and while none were awful, I kept returning to the Martins. But a friend plays an HF-3 strung with Aquila Nylguts/Fremont Soloist low G and that thing sounds great, so I do think the individual instrument might make a difference.

I didn't care for Aquila reds at all; I'm not a fan of Worths in general either. And for low G I can't stand non-wound strings - I find them to be really thuddy to the ear and really floppy to the fingers! I've also been happy using a wound guitar D string for my low G, but haven't gone back to it since the Fremont squeakless came on the market.
 
Congrats Rocky. Randee's, and Aaron in particular, are a good Kamaka dealer and great to deal with. I have purchased one from them myself.

Oh, and where are the pics?
 
Congrats! DK beat me to it. Pics, we need pics.
 
That is truly one of the nicest Kamaka HF-3's I have seen. Love the sapwood strip on the back and the book matching on the front is superb, definitely a keeper.
 
I have mine strung with Worth clears, low G. I was so pleased with those that I put Worths on 5 other ukuleles
 
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Janeray1940: trying the soloist low-g with the martin's now... still evaluating. :D
 
Congrats,....................George Harrison is smiling from above. Living Waters, Worth Browns and Southcoasts are my favs.
 
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Wow, it's beuatiful! Congrats! that string combo should sound pretty good.
 
Congrats on your Kamaka purchase. I too, did not like the factory Kamaka stings. Just about one year ago I switched to" Freemont Blacklines". They have more tension, are thinner and brighter sounding. But, it all boils down to your personal preference of sound and feel.
Additionally, if you change to thinner diameter strings you may experience an intonation issue. . I had to make a new compensated saddle to accommodate the thinner diameter Freemonts strings I installed.
When I put the Freemont's on, my intonation at the 12th fret went sharp on all strings almost 20cents with the factory saddle (because of thinner string diameter).
Dave
 
Congrats! What a beautiful uke, Rocky! Love the sapwood accent and the curly koa headstock.
I also got a Kamaka from Randee's, my Ohta San, which is still on the website. Randy was great to deal with.
I've tried Fremont Blacklines and Aquila strings on my Kamaka ukes. Fremont Blacklines were my favorite, but I'm one of the few that actually don't mind the stock strings. Enjoy your new Kamaka!
 
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Glad you're liking your Kamaka Rocky! Rocky bought probably the nicest "standard" Kamaka Tenor we've gotten in.

Glad you are liking your Ohta San too guitharsis, sorry I wasn't available to help you when you called that day! That Ohta San was amazing sounding!
 
This has been my string progression on the Kamaka so far:
Original strings, didn't like 'em, sounded "dull."
Martin sounded so-so to me.
Titanium T2 with Fremont Soloist low g sound good, added a little brightness, which I like.
D'addario Pro Arte with Soloist low g sounds very good, mellow woody sound but high notes still punch through.
Southcoast HML-RW are very close to the D'addario's but to my ears, a little better, can't quite put my finger on why. So right now they're staying on the Kamaka.
 
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