Recent content by man0a

fyi - Kiwaya U-Trip-02 sells for about US$60 (retail price in Japan) while Ohana TPK-25G sells for about US$175 (retail price in the USA). The entry-level Kiwayas are really great values, if you are in Japan.

Are those any good? As far as I can tell, this is an old entry-level model; a big step down from their modern popularly priced KS series. Price they are asking may be fair, but not a bargain.

Several years ago, I heard Phil Doleman (a popular British ukulele teacher) recommend TC tuners. These are much sturdier and much more accurate than Snark. I bought a couple of the TC Unitune tuners Sweetwater for $19 each and they are still serving me well. I see that the price has now gone up...

They are a very popular brand in Asia. Less so in English-language countries. I remember when their English-language brand name was Kaka. https://www.gotaukulele.com/2016/10/kaka-kus-25d-soprano-review.html

If you're in the neighborhood, I strongly recommend this store.

Award-winning Hawaiian singer-songwriter Kimie Miner

I don't necessarily disagree, but would like to know your source for this information. Is that a statement from the company?

"High-end" depends a lot on your budget. Kamaka and Kanilea have been selling $5000 ukuleles for many years. Maybe you never looked at those because they were not interesting to your budget. It is true that the base models from the K-brands have increased in price by a few hundred dollars over...

She asked for instrumental fingerpicking songs and everyone responded with sing-along songs. I guess that is usually what happens when people ask for help with fingerpicking. Here is the easiest set of fingerpicking tabs that I know of. Many of them are traditional children's songs (short...

Yes, most people do consider Koaloha to be the loudest of the Hawaiian brands. They claim that their "mono brace" has something to do with that, but I think the lightness of their woods is more important. Kanilea is also pretty loud and they also make some claims about their bracing system...

If "Kiwaya Koa Laminate" means the Kiwaya KS-5 model, this is one of the best laminate soprano ukuleles on the market right now. These retail for around US$300 to $400. An Opio soprano retails for about the same price. The Opio does sound different, but I don't know if I would call it much...

I think this is a regional issue. People who like playing western guitar-pop and folk songs may naturally migrate toward ukuleles that sound more like guitars. Sopranos remain very popular in Hawaii, Asia (especially Japan and Taiwan), Central America, and parts of Europe. In addition to the...

US$465 is a very reasonable price if it is real solid Hawaiian Koa. The Martin T1K for US$500 is the cheapest koa tenor ukulele that I have seen in person. Ohana-brand solid koa tenors start at about US$630 and Kala's are more expensive than that. I have no experience with the Twisted Wood brand.

Islanders have a wider neck than Kala, etc, which a lot of Americans prefer. I would get one of the solid wood Islanders, like their MSS-4 model.

Flight WUS-3 is a nice ukulele for the price. https://www.gotaukulele.com/2020/06/flight-wus-4-soprano-ukulele-review.html