Ukulele Lab in Honolulu

Good guys

The Good Guys are good guys. No doubt about it and Dan’s Guitars on McCully near the freeway is also a good place.

On my walk today I was looking for Uke Lab. It was not easy to find as there is no store front. It is located on the seventh floor of an office building and closed today. Looks more like an office and I doubt they have a good selection. As a further downer I found that Bob's Ukulele where I bought a fantastic Kamaka a year ago has closed for good a month ago.

I will check out the Good Guys next week.

Kimosabe said:

30,000 people live as residents in Waikiki. Yes, prices are high for those who don’t look very hard. Those in the know know where good deals in Waikiki can be found, as inexpensive as any in Honolulu, even comparable to restaurants in Waianae.

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I lived in Waikiki for over 10 years—played dinner gigs—and enjoyed my time there before I moved on to another career. And, sure, I knew all the hole in the wall places but too much traffic nowadays and really zealous rookie cops keep me out unless I have no choice. I'd rather drive to HMS in Kakaako or Haleiwa if I had an itch for 'ukulele shopping.

Sure, my last uke buy was in Kakaako but they will soon close. Haleiwa is worth the drive or even the bus ride which I’ve done many times. I walk a lot in Honolulu. I’m retired but in good shape. My wife and I walk around Diamond Head every morning. It’s not even that hard a walk up to the Manoa Marketplace from Waikiki, about an hour via the beautiful university campus. Half an hour to the Ala Moana Center. Traffic is bad in many places on the island, especially during commute hours up to the leeward side or over the Pali to Kailua or up the middle to Millilani. What was once just a mostly rural island with waterfront industry has now become subject to the pitfalls of American urban and suburban life but there is still much beauty but one has to put up with agro to get there.

I popped into the Ukulele Lab while I was in Waikiki earlier this month, met Issac and saw the shop. It is probably the smallest uke shop I found during my visit (the other Waikiki visits being Ukulele Store by the Sheraton, Ukulele Puapua in the Sheraton, and also the one by Princess Kaiulani hotel which I think is also named Ukulele Puapua), but Issac is super nice and his selection of new KoAlohas in particular was really solid. I also really liked his selection of koa accessories like rings and phone cases, and will probably pick up something small to support him. The way his shop is set up, it's a small spot on the 7th floor of a building right off Kalakaua and at least half of it serves as a repair shop for ukuleles and the odd guitar here and there, so I didn't end up spending too much time there.

It's worth stopping in for sure, his pricing is a little closer to MSRP than the rest of the Waikiki shops. As most have mentioned, Haleiwa is totally worth a visit for The Ukulele Site and their collection of Hawaiian ukuleles, but if it's Hawaiian ukuleles you're after and you're in Waikiki I'd have to recommend the Ukulele Store -- pricing is about 10% higher than anywhere else but they have a wall of 70-80 Hawaiian ukes from all the K's and many of the medium-sized and custom builders.

So yesterday I checked out the HMS store in Kakaako. They had a nice selection and Corey certainly provided attentive customer service. They may not be closing after all, so we will have to stayed tuned. Also visited the uke store in the Hyatt which is close to my hotel, but I think this one probably has smallest selection of the hotel stores. Finally I made the hike to Good Guys. It is more than guitar store but has a nice selection of ukes as well. Possibly with slightly lower prices than the hotel stores. Though I went there to just have a look, I actually ended up buying a generic long neck soprano.

merlin666 said:

So yesterday I checked out the HMS store in Kakaako. They had a nice selection and Corey certainly provided attentive customer service. They may not be closing after all, so we will have to stayed tuned. Also visited the uke store in the Hyatt which is close to my hotel, but I think this one probably has smallest selection of the hotel stores. Finally I made the hike to Good Guys. It is more than guitar store but has a nice selection of ukes as well. Possibly with slightly lower prices than the hotel stores. Though I went there to just have a look, I actually ended up buying a generic long neck soprano.

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I thought that was you at the Kaka'ako store..but did not say anything..nice to talk and meet you and your wife..i was the guy pounding in the frets.....have to see how the new store in Haleiwa works out may not need a store in Honolulu..have a nice time on the rest of your vacation

bynapkinart said:

I popped into the Ukulele Lab while I was in Waikiki earlier this month, met Issac and saw the shop. It is probably the smallest uke shop I found during my visit (the other Waikiki visits being Ukulele Store by the Sheraton, Ukulele Puapua in the Sheraton, and also the one by Princess Kaiulani hotel which I think is also named Ukulele Puapua), but Issac is super nice and his selection of new KoAlohas in particular was really solid. I also really liked his selection of koa accessories like rings and phone cases, and will probably pick up something small to support him. The way his shop is set up, it's a small spot on the 7th floor of a building right off Kalakaua and at least half of it serves as a repair shop for ukuleles and the odd guitar here and there, so I didn't end up spending too much time there.

It's worth stopping in for sure, his pricing is a little closer to MSRP than the rest of the Waikiki shops. As most have mentioned, Haleiwa is totally worth a visit for The Ukulele Site and their collection of Hawaiian ukuleles, but if it's Hawaiian ukuleles you're after and you're in Waikiki I'd have to recommend the Ukulele Store -- pricing is about 10% higher than anywhere else but they have a wall of 70-80 Hawaiian ukes from all the K's and many of the medium-sized and custom builders.

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Thanks for review on Issac's store....he is really connected with the K brand owners and his cell phone cases are the nicest around he can do all kinds of designs on his equipment at his shop....he is the go to uke dealer for the tourist from Japan...he travels to Japan quite often

I would like to add my experience with Issac store. He also checks UU time to time, so perhaps he will say Hi to everyone sometimes haha.

He is one of the most patient guys I have met (looking back on my 30+ emails with him back and forth). He responds fast and in a very detailed way. As many has said, he is fluent in both English and Japanese, and often time you will Japanese post on his FB. He has custom wood that could be used to custom order some K brand if you are looking for something special and do not mind spending couple hundred more. The store is kind of small and hidden, but Issac can definitely find you a perfect uke if you can wait for some time.

Beside the famous HMS and Ukulele Lab, I also want to mention two places.

One is Ukulele Store at Waikiki. The owner Eddie is a very nice guy. Even though my budget was only around $3000 but I played more than 10 ukulele that is in the $5000 - $10000 range, and he kept encouraging me to try more to find the sound that I am looking for. It is true that the price tag is higher in this store, but based on Eddie, he personally visits and picks out the ukulele himself every time. For example, as most people know, the same batch of 5 red label koaloha, 5 can all sound slightly to quite different. And Eddie will pick the best sounding one for him. Indeed, the instrument sounds spectacular. If the budget isn't an issue, I recommend you to visit his store.

Another place worth to mention is Ukulele Friend. The owner Shawn is very knowledgeable with custom and vintage. His store does not carry normal production models, but only high-end custom, both new and second hand. The price range is around $2000- $15000 with the selection of Moore Bettah, Devine, Lymana, Kinnard, Steve Grimes, Pepe Romero, ...etc, you name it. Shawn usually gets a few Moore Bettah throughout the year, so if you are looking for one, make sure to contact shawn. One thing to remember is that it is by appointment only, so remember to call him before you visit.

I really appreciate the candid comments made about Uke Lab as well as other interesting and often lesser known locations for uke shopping while in Honolulu. Sometimes it is well worth it to pay a little more to a small local shop for a carefully selected Hawaiian uke.

merlin666 said:

My experience here is the opposite. The online availability is much, much less than what they have in the actual stores to try out and inspect.

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I've had a similar experience. Several I wanted to buy something at HMS but it was out of stock online. I gave them a call and they had what I wanted but it jsut wasn't listed yet, and once they went and dock through their storage area until they found a new ol stock baritone mango uke I was hoping for. I've since sold that uke, but it was the first new one I bought from HMS, anditreally cemented them in my mind as the place to go for new ukes. I've had great experiences with them.

I went by the Lab again making sure it was during posted business hours. Again it was all locked up and dark. I asked the neighbouring business if they knew why and they said that the owner has gone to Japan. There is no note posted about the closure and the website still seems to be up. It may be an emergency but still poor business practice. I would not order anything there.

We are back on Oahu again. I gave the Uke Lab another try and finally met Isaac. He is quite knowledgeable and has good connection with KoAloha. He has his own stash of tone woods and KoAloha builds nice custom ukes for his shop with his woods and special rosette. Very nice stuff.

On a disappointing note, the second Puapua store has closed at the end of February but had great experience in the original Sheraton location where they have a great selection of ukes at reasonable price. We also went to visit the HMS Kakaako store today to find it closed already though a note at the door said they would be open to end of week. So this makes three Honolulu stores that closed in the last six months and severely limits choices.

merlin666 said:

We are back on Oahu again. I gave the Uke Lab another try and finally met Isaac. He is quite knowledgeable and has good connection with KoAloha. He has his own stash of tone woods and KoAloha builds nice custom ukes for his shop with his woods and special rosette. Very nice stuff.

On a disappointing note, the second Puapua store has closed at the end of February but had great experience in the original Sheraton location where they have a great selection of ukes at reasonable price. We also went to visit the HMS Kakaako store today to find it closed already though a note at the door said they would be open to end of week. So this makes three Honolulu stores that closed in the last six months and severely limits choices.

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Is the HMS Kakaako closed permanently? That location will close for late lunch midday and reopen, or at least this was the case when I went in late January. If it did close, that's too bad, but there have been tenant/management issues at the Kakaako complex so not sure if perhaps that might be involved.

kookoolele said:

Is the HMS Kakaako closed permanently? That location will close for late lunch midday and reopen, or at least this was the case when I went in late January. If it did close, that's too bad, but there have been tenant/management issues at the Kakaako complex so not sure if perhaps that might be involved.

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Yes I went there again today and Corey was there packing up. Tomorrow Friday will be last day. Whatever is left in the store is getting sold at around 40% off so he does not have to move it to Haleiwa. I am contemplating the mango cream Rebel...

Ahh! I wish I was still there to pick up a couple things I'd been debating.
You should buy the Rebel...

40% off a new Rebel Mango Cream sounds delicious!

They had closed the store in the Fall of last year but reopened it for the holidays due to contractual obligations on their lease. There was something from Andrew (on one of the threads here?) that they were consolidating their operations into a new site in Haleiwa. I am unclear on whether this included their offices and setup/shipping... sounded like it might be so, though. If so, this should work well for their staff and their customers.

Yes they announced closing last November a year after opening. The Haleiwa store works well for locals and visitors with cars. For people who walk or use the bus it takes considerable effort to get there. Best bets for those are Sheraton Puapua and Good Guys Music that both have great selections at reasonable prices and friendly and knowledgeable staff.

I totally missed the Lab during my visit and ended up at the Ukulele Store, also on Lewers.