I'm looking to step up from my kamaka tenor

jdavani

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Thinking moore bettah or mya-moe. Does anyone else have any suggestions?
 
Check it Noah ukuleles. I have just purchased a spruce topped tenor and it is superb in sound looks and build.
 
Thinking moore bettah or mya-moe. Does anyone else have any suggestions?

What is it about the Kamaka that you want to improve Upon?

At this level you probably should try them first to find the one you want to keep.



There's a Moore Bettah Tenor for sale in the marketplace that may be of interest :D https://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?133676-FS-Moore-Bettah-Slotted-Headstock-Tenor

I'm not in touch with Chuck but given that he has had to leave his home/workshop due to the Hawaii volcano there may not be any new Moore Bettah's coming for a while.
 
Thinking moore bettah or mya-moe. Does anyone else have any suggestions?

Chuck Moore does not put people on a waiting list so other then finding a used one pretty much a no go. Mya Moe is no longer making ukuleles under Gordon and Char, again a used market deal. Although a new owner is starting it back up.

Custom builder that will take your orders, Koolau, I'iwi, Hive, Kinnard, LfdM (through HMS) Beau Hannam among many others. Is your Kamaka all koa, do you want to try something more guitar like ie soft wood top and hard wood back. Do you have a tonal preference.....warm and soft and delicate or bright, loud and powerful.
 
The good news is that there is no shortage of builders making premium ukuleles-- in addition to the ones listed by DownUpDave above, I would add Maui Music (Peter Lieberman), Barron River (Allen McFarlen), Compass Rose (Rick Turner), Eric DeVine, Jason Wolverton, Dave Talsma, and Pohaku (Peter Hurney).

In my own experience, I own or have owned ukes by Luis Feu de Mesquita, Chuck Moore, Compass Rose, Maui Music, Mya Moe, Pohaku, and a custom-built uke by Dave Talsma. I also had the opportunity to play a John Kinnard uke for a week during a mail-around he did a few years back. Each and every one of these was an excellent instrument, but they were all quite different.

What does it mean to upgrade from a Kamaka? A Kamaka is a very high quality instrument. What is the goal? Better tone? I suspect you will get different tone from another builder, but better is subjective. A prettier uke? Nothing wrong with that, although my Mya-Moe was one of the plainest-looking ukes I've ever owned. Magical fairy dust? I've heard it happens :)

I will say this: despite having owned some wonderful ukes, my Dave Talsma uke is my prized possession, because I worked closely with Dave on the design, followed the build closely, and even had a couple of my own ideas incorporated into the design (or at least Dave made me feel like they were my ideas ;)). Not only is it a very fine musical instrument, it's a constant reminder of the thrill of being part of the creative process and something that was built just for me.
 
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If I were you, I would give Dave Talsma a call. Check out his web site.
 
As others have alluded to, there is not a lot of upgrading from a Kamaka in terms of a well made trditional Hawaiian ukulele. Some people have built a career playing one. As already mentioned, changing the original strings might improve the tone. And if you don't play out with others, tuning down from C to B also gives a new perspective.

That said, there are upgrades, so to speak, if you are looking for a non-traditional Hawaiian sound. Different tone woods (redwood, cedar, spruce, etc.), build features such as side ports, bevels, radius fretboards are typical options that you may want to consider if you are going to pony up for a more expensive ukulele. And not every custom is ends up tuned to C.

A lot of luthier suggestions were given, but you should try to figure out what you want over what you have.

John
 
Tuning is important to as well as the strings. I'm not really keen on the sound of any tenor ukulele using fluorocarbon strings in standard tuning.

I play low G Nylguts tuned down to A# usually and sometimes B. A completely different sound like this. Not the classic Hawaii sound.
 
There are lots of great ukuleles out there. Can you be more specific about what you might be looking for that you would consider an upgrade?

The Ono tenor that was posted here looks great, and I can say that I love my Ono, (not a tenor, not as fancy, but sounds and plays beautifully.)

Other brands/builders that you might look into are Kinnard, (one of my favorites), Hoffman, LFdM (there is one in the marketplace, based in Europe), Moore Bettah (one in the marketplace - surprising to me that it hasn't sold yet), among others. LoPrinzi makes great ukuleles, with a neck that will be a bit different than your Kamaka.

An upgrade to your Kamaka might be the Jake model Kamaka that Elderly has listed, depending on your budget.
Kamaka makes deluxe models, too, sometimes with a spruce or cedar top instead of koa, which would give you a little different sound.

If you can give us some more details on what you might be looking for, (bling? different sound/wood than your Kamaka? custom? any specific features like a sound port?), maybe people here can help point you to some options that might work well for you.

Have any specific sound samples from HMS, Vimeo, YouTube, or elsewhere caught your ear?

Have fun with the search for a new ukulele!
 
Research "The Law of Diminishing Returns" before you go down the rabbit hole! ;)
 
Research "The Law of Diminishing Returns" before you go down the rabbit hole! ;)

Or, depending on your budget and reason for looking for something else, enjoy going down that rabbit hole. It can be a fun journey. And you can sell what doesn't work for you.

I think Kamakas are great, (love mine), but IMO, the attention to detail, intonation, and different sound of some of the other options, (like Kinnard, since that's a favorite of mine), really outshines Kamakas, and is worth the "upgrade." Base price on a Series One Kinnard is $1750, so not a massive jump up in price from a Kamaka. Base price on an Ono is $1800. Check around for the prices on any that strike your fancy, and have fun in the rabbit hole. :)
 
There are several lists of Luthiers on the Forum and other places. Do you know what you are looking for in a uke? Are you planning to perform? Does it need to have a pickup for amplification? Radiused neck? Bigger voice than the Kamaka. (Try Worth Browns or Living Waters.) Low-G vs. High-g. More booming? Do you have any ukuleles in mind that you think are a clear step upwards? You can pay $10-$15k for a Kamaka without any problem.

What exactly do you mean?
 
my kamaka is all koa. I was thinking something like cedar. not sure though. open to suggestions. i play fingerstyle a lot. i'd like more sustain and more resonance--well, i know it's a ukulele, so as much as I can get.
 
i know what i'm looking for somewhat. i play high-g. i need a pickup, i play at church and occasionally at open mikes. i'm looking for more sustain, more resonance
 
that jake model looks cool. besides appearance how is it different than the tenor i already have from them?
 
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