Honolua ukuleles

Hi all,

I recently came across Honolua ukuleles and they caught my interest. I can't find much information on them other than what is on their site. Has anyone had any experience with any of their models?

Thanks

I am in Canada and have one, they are pretty popular here and was just on their site looking for another one from them and thought I would do a search here to see what other people think. I think they might have just started selling in the US recently? When I bought mine I contacted them with questions and Dave was super helpful and the uke does seem to be better than other ones I tried around the same price from the bigger brands. I'm not an expert, but there's my opinion for what it's worth.

Seems kind of sketchy to me. Their website says nothing about where the company is located or where the ukuleles are made. The specs on the website are the same as most generic made-in-China instruments (narrower neck, etc). The sound samples on the website are not impressive, though admittedly their instruments are all in the lower price ranges and they don't sell any solid wood instruments.

Are you asking about the company at this web site? ...

I have been thinking of trying one too.
I am interested in the Mano Solid Top Tenor Acoustic Electric. If anyone has feedback here to share, I'd appreciate it.

They list a 403 area code on the phone number which is an Alberta Canada area code.
They mention Calgary in the "our story", and there is a photo of Dave wearing a YYC T-shirt (Calgary's Airport code)

https://ca.honoluaukuleles.com/collections/all-ukuleles

They say this in the FAQ re: manufacture location.

"All models are developed and designed from our home base in Calgary. Once we have them just right, manufacturing moves to our factory in China. They are then warehoused in Calgary where they receive final inspection and setup before being shipped to our dealers and customers. Part of our decision to pledge to plant a tree for every ukulele sold was to offset the environmental impact of sourcing materials, production, and transporting products."

re: solid top

"We try to make sure customers know which models have a solid top because our solid top models are part of what sets us apart from other ukulele brands. The alternative to a solid top is a laminate top, which is much more rigid. The top of a ukulele is the biggest factor to the sound that comes out of it, and a solid top instrument will vibrate much more than a laminated top, thus producing more overall volume and tone. We are proud to build some of the least expensive solid top models on the market."

They do sell to USA:

"Currently we only ship within Canada and the US but we will add more countries in the future."

Gerald_G said:

"We try to make sure customers know which models have a solid top because our solid top models are part of what sets us apart from other ukulele brands. The alternative to a solid top is a laminate top, which is much more rigid. The top of a ukulele is the biggest factor to the sound that comes out of it, and a solid top instrument will vibrate much more than a laminated top, thus producing more overall volume and tone. We are proud to build some of the least expensive solid top models on the market."

Click to expand...

They probably never heard the volume of a Kiwaya/Famous laminated uke. My laminated FS-5 soprano is louder than any of my solid wood sopranos, and it sounds great. Bit of a shame that "laminate" has become so tightly associated with "very cheap ukes".

Interesting. A friend who is making a living with music just announced that he is selling Twisted Wood ukes. When I looked them up it seems that they are also Alberta based with similar marketing and production methods. Makes me wonder if there is an association between them.