Your favorite Martin copy

bsfloyd

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Hello everyone! Certainly Martin has a well known history with ukuleles. While these classic instruments can come with a hefty price tag, I am very curious to hear what Martin copies you all are finding in similarities. Certainly it is more than just an all mahogany instrument. With budget always being a concern at the home front, what have you all found to sit well in this regard? Thanks!!
 
If I had my druthers, I'd get a Ken Timms.
 
Great topic! I expect there will be some great replies. I have an Ohana SK38 which was/is highly recommended. I honestly cannot come to a decision whether I like it or not. Often it depends on my playing. I had a Kiwaya KTS-4 which I found to be very nice but tonally neutral though it may have been the one I had as it's highly regarded everywhere. I might even get another though I think it's overpriced at around $650. The Ohana is around $219 (Mims). The Martin S1 is somewhere in between. The problem with buying decent Ukuleles is actually finding a physical store that sells them! Good luck with your quest.
 
I think Ken Timms is always going to get the nod for best Martin replica, certainly aided by his review on Got a Ukulele (and recently mentioned on the Podcast with Alex from SUS).

Then would come Kiwaya's instruments, I think.

Somewhere down the line would be the similar mahogany models by Ohana, Flight, and Mainland, to name a few.
 
I have own(ed) Martin 1ck, 1 centennial, 3 centennial, vintage 3m/3k 1920s, 1k 1920s, 2m 1920s.
I have also owned, Kiwaya, Ken Timms, Wunderkammer, Tinguitar, cripple creek.
I have played Ohana’s vintage rope binding series.
Your best bet is Ken Timms.. if you want the vintage Martin soprano sound. All the ukes in that list are really nice so you won’t go wrong if you decide to go some other way..
if you want a Martin the centennial series 3 is really really good (made in USA) and you can find them floating on reverb. The series 1 centennial is good (made in Mexico) too but harder to find. The Mexican Martin sopranos are good too but I would go with Ken if I were you..
 
Ken Timms will cost you more than a vintage Martin.. maybe just get a vintage Martin.. patience is key
 
Ken Timms sopranos are wonderful but I'd say mine sounds darker than my vintage Martin Style 0. That might be because the Timms is made out of Cuban Mahogany, so maybe the koa or Brazilian mahogany Timms sound more like vintage Martins. Nonetheless, it's one of the best choices out there.

I would put good money on Wunderkammer sopranos being the closest to vintage Martins from these smaller luthiers. I haven't played one or seen one in the flesh but every video with decent sound quality I've seen of them reminds me very much of a vintage Martin. Also, apparently they are astonishingly loud.

The obvious factory made choice would be Kiwaya, as has been mentioned already. My KTS-7 is incredibly close to the sound of my Martin, and the looks are basically identical bar the logo of course. Ohana and Flight have some vintage style models if you're on a budget.

Ken Timms will cost you more than a vintage Martin.. maybe just get a vintage Martin.. patience is key

Not really. Prices for Timms have gone down from the crazy days, at least for the mahogany sopranos. I paid about the same for both my Timms and Martin, and the Martin wasn't in the best shape. I'm pretty sure a pristine vintage Martin will cost you more.
 
As others have said Kiwaya's are incredible. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better value in a Martin copy than a used KTS-4. They show up in the marketplace semi-frequently usually for around $400. Never played a Timms, but I have no doubts about their reputation. I would also group my mahogany Pohaku as a Martin inspired. The look is unique and it is 13 frets to the body, but the sound and feel are very very vintage Martin-like. I also agree that just getting well setup vintage Martin may be a good choice. You good probably find a good price in the marketplace.
 
Another vote for Ken Timms. I've owned two original Martins, have repaired several, and have made a dozen Martin style sopranos myself, so I know the subject well. Ken's ukes are the work of a true craftsman.

At the other end of the scale, I have a fourteen year old Ohana SK35G which I like a lot, but I have played other Ohanas, exactly similar, that were disappointing. All ukuleles are individuals - take two from the same production line, or from the same builder, and they will have their own unique personalities.

John Colter
 
It depends on what your definition of "budget" is, but my Ohana SK-38 is about as budget as you get for a Martin copy, super light build and packs a punch. I'm not sure about the Flights previously mentioned. I've listened to some videos and they sound a bit mellow to me.
 
While these classic instruments can come with a hefty price tag, I am very curious to hear what Martin copies you all are finding in similarities.

So you're talking about ukes that cost less than $420 for a soprano, for example. I paid $399 for a Cocobolo soprano. I don't have any Martin lookalikes that cost less, though. I have ukes with different shapes - Fluke, Flea, Vita Uke - that cost less, but they don't look like Martins.
 
I had a Ken Timms, a 1920s Martin Style O, and now have a Kiwaya KTS-7. The Timms was unbelievably loud, the 1920s Martin had the mojo, and the Kiwaya KTS-7 is a thing of beauty.

I wish I had kept the Timms and Martin but thought I was a tenor player at the time and went exclusively to tenors. After selling and gifting away all my ukes the last two years I am back to the soprano with the Kiwaya KTS-7. It is the most expensive of the three sopranos listed above but also much more beautiful than the other two in my opinion.
 
I had a Ken Timms, a 1920s Martin Style O, and now have a Kiwaya KTS-7. The Timms was unbelievably loud, the 1920s Martin had the mojo, and the Kiwaya KTS-7 is a thing of beauty.

I wish I had kept the Timms and Martin but thought I was a tenor player at the time and went exclusively to tenors. After selling and gifting away all my ukes the last two years I am back to the soprano with the Kiwaya KTS-7. It is the most expensive of the three sopranos listed above but also much more beautiful than the other two in my opinion.

You came back with a classic uke, classic uke sound.

I’ve had two Timms and three Kiwayas. I still have two Kiwayas. I’m not sure why, but I never played the Timms as much. They sound great.
 
I have own(ed) Martin 1ck, 1 centennial, 3 centennial, vintage 3m/3k 1920s, 1k 1920s, 2m 1920s.
I have also owned, Kiwaya, Ken Timms, Wunderkammer, Tinguitar, cripple creek.
I have played Ohana’s vintage rope binding series.
Your best bet is Ken Timms.. if you want the vintage Martin soprano sound. All the ukes in that list are really nice so you won’t go wrong if you decide to go some other way..
if you want a Martin the centennial series 3 is really really good (made in USA) and you can find them floating on reverb. The series 1 centennial is good (made in Mexico) too but harder to find. The Mexican Martin sopranos are good too but I would go with Ken if I were you..

Is there a qualitative difference between the Centennial Style 1 and the regular S1, sound-wise?
 
Is there a qualitative difference between the Centennial Style 1 and the regular S1, sound-wise?
I think so, never played them back to back but I quite like the C1. The style 3 is definitely better than than the series 3 that they briefly made.
 
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