Dilemma: K-brand tenor in 2017 or Kamaka 100th Anniversary tenor this year??

MainlandGal510

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Hi UU,

Been playing for 1.5 years now & I'm in it for the long haul. I'd like a K-brand koa tenor. The plan was to keep practicing and take a vacation to Hawaii in 2017, visit HMS, go on some uke factory tours (The Big Three Ks) play & pick out my very own tenor. Don't need a custom fancy one. Looking at the Kam. HF-3 or Kan. K-1.
And then Kamaka goes and "ruins" my plan by having their 100th Anniversary THIS year...shucks.

When you take a factory tour, do they have many tenors in stock or must you order one and have it shipped home?

So, do I wait till 2017 or bite the bullet and order a Kamaka? (I haven't been able to personally play either model is another problem.) Is the Anniversary model any more expensive than a standard model tenor?

What to do? What to do? (*twiddles thumbs. where's a Magic-8 ball when you need one??)
Hope I can get some good advice here! Thanks in advance!
 
If you don't get the Kamaka this year, you have to wait another 100 years so I'd go that way first. :D

Of course most folks here are going to tell you to do both.
 
You go to Hawaii you'll want to bring home a uke and a story to tell. That's just normal. Do you want the Kamaka 100 year too? That's how this would go down for me.
 
If you don't get the Kamaka this year, you have to wait another 100 years so I'd go that way first. :D

Of course most folks here are going to tell you to do both.


Brilliant Jim........as usual. Buy the Kamaka now and play it for a year or so leading up to your trip to Hawaii in 2017. At that point you will have 2.5 years of playing time and must own a second K brand tenor..........it's in the rule book around here somewhere.
 
In general, I believe having a ukulele that you really connect with, and that you may find on your factory tour and in the HMS show room, is a better outcome than buying something just because it's a special anniversary model. Those aren't mutually exclusive things, either (the Kamaka anniversary tenor may just be exactly what you want), but you won't know until your trip through ukulele candy land. There might still be 2016 models available in 2017, too.

I like Dave's and Jim's suggestion. If your finances allow it, you could get the 2016 model this year, play it until your trip, and then see how it compares to the ukes you encounter on Hawaii. The real advantage here is that you'll be able to compare one high-end uke to other high-end ukes, which really helps with determining which you prefer. The 2016 model, should you not want to keep it, will have a good resell value, too.

So the worst case scenario is that you "lose" a few hundred dollars (like a rental fee) by selling the Kamaka in 2017 and "trading" it in for another K brand tenor, if you find something that you enjoy more. Or you might find that the Kamaka is fantastic and you'll be set. Either way, you win. :)
 
Yep, I would agree, get the 'Anniversary' model now, enjoy it whilst saving up harder to get the best you can find when you go to Hawaii - worst case senario is that you sell the 'Anniversary' later, (but I don't think you would ;) ).

Edit: I'm so glad that I'm happy with 'laminates' & don't have your dilema :)
 
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Brilliant Jim........as usual. Buy the Kamaka now and play it for a year or so leading up to your trip to Hawaii in 2017. At that point you will have 2.5 years of playing time and must own a second K brand tenor..........it's in the rule book around here somewhere.

Excellent advice here, covers all the bases!
 
The Kamakas are soo tempting. I'm feeling it myself. But I'm going to cast a vote for waiting til next year and getting one on your trip. Like Pere says, imagine how special it will be to pick up a uke in your hands and have it tell you "I'm the one." Then you bring it home.

You'll have a ton of options there. HMS, other uke stores, music stores that carry ukes, the Bishop Museum, even craigslist and the pawn shops. The search could be half the fun. And then suddenly, eureka :)

As for the tours, you won't be able to buy one direct from Kamaka on their factory tour, but you might from the other K's, I think.
 
Here is from my personal experience when I was in Hawaii:
HMS may have only 1 or 2 Kamaka tenor in the shop as they do most of their business on-line . Kamaka ukes especially the 100th anniversary are probably all sold out on pre-order therefore the chance of you seeing one in the shop is very slim.
If you are lucky enough to find a K brand at HMS, you still have to wait for the proper set-up at a different location meaning you may not even get a set-up while you are there depending on the time of the year and how busy they are.
Other shops along Waikiki will have more Kanilea's and KoAloha in stock at a much higher price because their rent in Waikiki is expensive. They did not even mention the word 'set -up'.
My advice is order the Kamaka through HMS now and put on the waitlist like I do. It's about 6 weeks for the first shipment to HMS. Price has already gone up by a $100. You still have to wait in line for the set-up process which may be two weeks in addition to after HMS received the shipment from Kamaka.
If you wish to wait for the Kamaka factory tour in 2017. I doubt that they will still have a 100th anniversary model available at that point. The price from Kamaka factory is no discount and no guarantee if it sounds good or even with good set-up. It's more or less, take it or leave it at a factory level. The place is quite dusty and no show room !
When I was there in 2015, I have seen tourists going from shop to shop on Waikiki asking for Kamaka and no one had them in stock.
 
Here is from my personal experience when I was in Hawaii:
HMS may have only 1 or 2 Kamaka tenor in the shop as they do most of their business on-line . Kamaka ukes especially the 100th anniversary are probably all sold out on pre-order therefore the chance of you seeing one in the shop is very slim.
If you are lucky enough to find a K brand at HMS, you still have to wait for the proper set-up at a different location meaning you may not even get a set-up while you are there depending on the time of the year and how busy they are.
Other shops along Waikiki will have more Kanilea's and KoAloha in stock at a much higher price because their rent in Waikiki is expensive. They did not even mention the word 'set -up'.
My advice is order the Kamaka through HMS now and put on the waitlist like I do. It's about 6 weeks for the first shipment to HMS. Price has already gone up by a $100. You still have to wait in line for the set-up process which may be two weeks in addition to after HMS received the shipment from Kamaka.
If you wish to wait for the Kamaka factory tour in 2017. I doubt that they will still have a 100th anniversary model available at that point. The price from Kamaka factory is no discount and no guarantee if it sounds good or even with good set-up. It's more or less, take it or leave it at a factory level. The place is quite dusty and no show room !
When I was there in 2015, I have seen tourists going from shop to shop on Waikiki asking for Kamaka and no one had them in stock.

I had a similar experience with my last trip to Hawaii, during which I planned to buy a Kamaka HP-1 pineapple. There were none to be had during my 10 days on Oahu, at any price! At the Kamaka factory they don't sell direct, they will take orders and ship it to you in 4-6 weeks, but you're not going home with a uke from that trip. Fortunately for me, shortly after I came back to California one turned up at my local shop and all turned out well :)

My advice would be to get what you want, now, and don't get attached to the sentimental aspect of having a uke as a Hawaii souvenir. Life is short and you never know what will happen between now and 2017 - if owning that 100th anniversary Kamaka will bring you joy in the present moment, by all means go for it!
 
I had a similar experience with my last trip to Hawaii, during which I planned to buy a Kamaka HP-1 pineapple. There were none to be had during my 10 days on Oahu, at any price! At the Kamaka factory they don't sell direct, they will take orders and ship it to you in 4-6 weeks, but you're not going home with a uke from that trip. Fortunately for me, shortly after I came back to California one turned up at my local shop and all turned out well :)

My advice would be to get what you want, now, and don't get attached to the sentimental aspect of having a uke as a Hawaii souvenir. Life is short and you never know what will happen between now and 2017 - if owning that 100th anniversary Kamaka will bring you joy in the present moment, by all means go for it!



good advice here.......
the odds are slim when you get here that you will be able to find a HF-3 sitting at a shop waiting for you....HMS gets maybe 10 in each batch they get every 3-4 months but they sell them really fast....sometimes in 2 days....you could find one here and there at other shops but lots of time old stock......

I hear the prices today will be the new prices for Kamaka ukes in the future.....usually Kamaka does not sell ukes at their factory...they may have one or two there but that is pretty rare.....
 
Thank you everyone for your sincere advice! Points brought up that I haven't even considered. I haven't won the lottery so not sure if I can do the buy K-uke now, and save up more $$$ for vacation AND another uke. I may have to sell a kidney or even a 'uke.:eek:

Any comments on finding a tenor to bring home from the Kanilea or Koaloha factories?

I hear Kamaka is one of the sponsors of the NorCal Uke festival in Hayward, CA-
maybe they'll be bringing some centenary models to display. Heck, maybe I'll even win their custom Kamaka raffle!

Another thing I thought of is that I'm attending the Reno Uke Fest (first timer!) in April. Maybe I'll meet others with Kamakas and Kanileas and ask if I could strum them a for a bit. Are people weird about that?

I'll just keep practicing...and buy a lotto ticket.
 
Maybe I'll meet others with Kamakas and Kanileas and ask if I could strum them a for a bit. Are people weird about that?

It's been my experience that people are more than happy to let you test-drive their ukes. Most people will offer it if you express interest (or sometimes even if you don't), and if not, hey, never hurts to ask :)
 
all kinds of Kanile'a and KoAloha ukes on the Island....just a new Kamaka hard to find....
 
Believe it or not, those centenary Kamaka models that will be at the NorCal Uke Festival are already spoken for. :)

You can try out my KoAloha tenor at the Reno Uke Fest (second timer!)

Thank you everyone for your sincere advice! Points brought up that I haven't even considered. I haven't won the lottery so not sure if I can do the buy K-uke now, and save up more $$$ for vacation AND another uke. I may have to sell a kidney or even a 'uke.:eek:

Any comments on finding a tenor to bring home from the Kanilea or Koaloha factories?

I hear Kamaka is one of the sponsors of the NorCal Uke festival in Hayward, CA-
maybe they'll be bringing some centenary models to display. Heck, maybe I'll even win their custom Kamaka raffle!

Another thing I thought of is that I'm attending the Reno Uke Fest (first timer!) in April. Maybe I'll meet others with Kamakas and Kanileas and ask if I could strum them a for a bit. Are people weird about that?

I'll just keep practicing...and buy a lotto ticket.
 
Believe it or not, those centenary Kamaka models that will be at the NorCal Uke Festival are already spoken for. :)

You can try out my KoAloha tenor at the Reno Uke Fest (second timer!)

Believe it or not, those centenary Kamaka models that will be at the NorCal Uke Festival are already spoken for. :)

You can try out my KoAloha tenor at the Reno Uke Fest (second timer!)

Let me guess, yours??? lol
I was hoping just to demo the Kamaka display model and not buy it.

Thanks Uke182!!! see you in April!
 
I walked into a good deal. I was going to buy an import, never heard of Kamaka, i am a beginner with a guitar background. I held a Kamaka and liked it but could not justify the money. Then the deal found me. In my searching I did see a dealer that has a hew HF-3's. PM me if you want the info.
 
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