King of the K-Brands

Ukecaster

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 7, 2009
Messages
5,259
Reaction score
2,934
Location
New England, USA
If you were the king of all the K-brands, what changes would you demand to existing models, or what new models would you insist on, all by royal decree, of course! I've never played a modern model (only a 50s gold label Kamaka soprano), so I'm the jester in this royal court! ;)
 
Last edited:
I would ask for chamfered armrests on all models, as well as the option of a passive pickup.
And I would ask politely, that Kanilea get rid of the pin bridges.
 
Have Casey Kamaka hand build yours, like he does for Jake.
 
1. No pin bridge, only string through
2. More experiments (Kanilea does but others need to try stuff out as well)
 
Believe it or not, I have thought about this question for some time now, even before this thread appeared.

I would demand a Kamaka concert, but with a tie-bar bridge instead of a slot style. That would be just about perfect.

Incidentally, I discovered that Kamaka will make a "special" (as opposed to "custom") instrument with minor changes to their normal set up for a fee. I discovered this a few months ago.

On a related topic, I got a delivery from Hawai'i on Wednesday. (NUD post going up soon...)
 
I would demand a Kamaka concert, but with a tie-bar bridge instead of a slot style. That would be just about perfect.

I think the deluxe concert models have a tie bar bridge. So you only need to pay double to get one. :)

I would ask Kanile'a to make a proper soprano with rear facing tuners and the neck joined at the 12th instead of the 14th, maybe a more diminutive bridge. Did I mention I like sopranos?
 
I think the deluxe concert models have a tie bar bridge. So you only need to pay double to get one. :)

That's how I realized that they must be able to put the tie-bar bridges on concert instruments. But I didn't want all the bling, nor the price tag!
 
I'd like to see Koaloha make a uke that feels and sounds like their existing ukes, but that looks like a Kamaka or Kanilea. That would make my day.
 
I would ask for chamfered armrests on all models, as well as the option of a passive pickup.
And I would ask politely, that Kanilea get rid of the pin bridges.

Haha...I would demand that everybody use pin bridges! :shaka:
 
I'd want all KoAloha's to have the option of having the styling of the 2017 classic series ksm-00 I used to own. That is, no abalone and with ebony crown inlay for fretmarkers instead. Also, I would want 15 frets on the standard soprano. So basically I want the classic series soprano I used to own but with 3 additional frets.
 
Last edited:
Easy - a KoAloha Baritone please.
 
If you were the king of all the K-brands, what changes would you demand to existing models, or what new models would you insist on, all by royal decree, of course! I've never played a modern model (only a 50s gold label Kamaka soprano), so I'm the jester in this royal court! ;)

In no particular order.
1. Kamaka's concert headstock be normal. The asymmetrical shape is not very pretty.
2. Kanile'a sporano join at 12th. I play many different sopranos, why have a different reach for Kanile'a?
3. KoAloha, less pointy spikes on headstock. Reduce chances of damage on the uke and other objects.
4. Reduce price by removing hard or foam cases. Make it optional so more people can enjoy these ukes.
 
Geared tuners and a hard case.


I'm just the opposite. Let people buy their hardcases separately. I guess it's a made-in-America kind of thing for guitars and ukuleles. Manufacturers think adding a $50 hardcase will make the buyer think he/she's getting a $200 value free.
 
Oh that's a tough one. I have old KoAloha and Kamaka that have koa fretboard and that just feels so much better than modern fretboard more uke than guitar. So I wish they'd make some classic models with features like that, even though it stains and is probably lower quality than bound ebony. Yeah and with Kanile'a I agree on pin bridges, they are already annoying on steel string guitars and uke with slot or tie bridge much easier to change strings and looks better. I love KoAloha but they could improve features like planetary tuners on concert and soprano, mortise and tenon neck connection, and I think their older models were just a lot prettier with their shape and crown ends at the fretboard. And Kamaka I guess they could improve customer service and warranty.
 
I would demand a Kamaka concert, but with a tie-bar bridge instead of a slot style. That would be just about perfect.

That would my first request. You have to pay double the price to get a tie bridge on a Kamaka concert, (i.e. move up to a Deluxe version), which is crazy, but Kamaka has the worst slotted bridges that I've experienced. So, I stall on changing strings, and leave myself notes in the case on how I got it to work the previous time with which strings.
 
That would my first request. You have to pay double the price to get a tie bridge on a Kamaka concert, (i.e. move up to a Deluxe version), which is crazy, but Kamaka has the worst slotted bridges that I've experienced. So, I stall on changing strings, and leave myself notes in the case on how I got it to work the previous time with which strings.

I'm not a fan of slotted bridges on concerts either but I've never had any issues with a slotted bridge in a Kamaka. For me, it's very simple. For nylon strings, you only need to do one knot. For fluorocarbon strings, always two knots except for the C string.
 
I'm just the opposite. Let people buy their hardcases separately. I guess it's a made-in-America kind of thing for guitars and ukuleles. Manufacturers think adding a $50 hardcase will make the buyer think he/she's getting a $200 value free.

Funny. Unlike you, I like the asymmetrical headstocks.
 
Top Bottom