Earlier in the week I posted about a rather unplanned NUD that was a consequence of a Black Friday sale I couldn't pass up. (A Kanile'a K-1 C.) Well, several days ago, I was pleasantly surprised when a planned ukulele purchase shipped to me much earlier than expected. There is a bit of a story behind it, but in case you are just here for some pretty pictures, I'll get those out of the way first.
Straight from their factory to my home comes a Kamaka HF-2 concert. But not just any HF-2. If you look closely, there is something different compared to a "normal" HF-2. This one has a tie-bar style bridge, rather than the normal slot style bridge on a typical Kamaka HF-2. And that bridge is where the story comes in.
One of my first really good ukes, and my first "K" brand, was Kamaka HF-2A (the centennial anniversary edition) that I found used at Elderly Instruments, in Lansing, MI. Elderly is my "local" shop, and I am blessed to have them so close. I had been wanting a Kamaka concert for a while, and I was terribly sad that I had come to the conclusion *after* Kamaka celebrated their anniversary and I had missed out on the special ones. Well, I started watching Elderly's site in the hopes that they would get a used one. Luckily for me, they eventually did, and she is an amazing uke.
There was only one problem; the normal Kamaka HF-2 (and the HF-2A's) have a slot style bridge, which I *hate*. I find them way too fiddly when changing strings. You have to get the knot small enough to fit in the hole, but big enough that it won't pull through the slot. Way too much of a pain for someone, like me, who loves to change strings relatively often. (Yes, I am one of *those* people...)
Well, the previous owner may have had issues with this too, and wasn't too careful about it, so two of the four slots were a bit chewed up, and I really had trouble getting the knot just right. Thankfully, Elderly has an amazing repair shop, so they were able to repair the slot bridge for me so it worked (and looked) as good as new. But... I still hated that slot bridge. I found I wasn't playing it as much because I didn't want to wear out the strings and have to change them. It is silly, I know, but it was a low-level source of anxiety for me.
Fast-forward several years of me being discontented with that slot bridge and I got to thinking. Kamaka makes a "deluxe" version of the HF-2, and that one *has* a tie-bar bridge. Now I didn't really want the deluxe, I wanted the rather less "blingy" HF-2, but I wanted the tie-bar bridge. I also didn't really want the *much* steeper price tag of the deluxe. But if they could use that bridge on the deluxe, I figured they could probably do it on the normal one, so I contacted customer service via email to find out if it could be done.
Quite a bit of time passed after that, and I hadn't heard back, so I kind of let it go. But several weeks later, I got a phone call rather out of the blue from Kamaka! The very nice lady I spoke to there said that yes, they could do this. They refer to these as "special order" (as opposed to a true "custom order." Those are made entirely by Chris, I believe, and they currently aren't taking those.) Basically they can mix and match standard options for an additional fee.
After a quick discussion with the wife, I decided to go for it. Based on their initial estimation it would take several months for it to be done, so I was estimating late January to early February would be about when it would arrive. Well, lo and behold I got a phone call last Monday saying it was done and they wanted to verify the shipping address. It shipped out that day and arrived on my doorstep two days later.
The pictures above don't really capture the full beauty of the wood, but the new instrument is lovely. The koa is a bit more plain than the HF-2A I have, but it still looks nice. Sound-wise, it sounds very very similar to the HF-2A that I own, so the bridge change didn't really alter the tonal characteristics much.
Now I find myself in an odd situation, with a terrible "first world problem." I have too many Kamakas (I know, such a terrible problem...), so look for the HF-2A to go up on the marketplace in the not too distant future.
The HF-2A is a prettier set of wood, sounds amazing, and does hold a special place in my heart, but this new one is really mine. It was made just for me, exactly how I wanted it to be made, so it is the one that will stay.
Well, thanks for listening to me ramble about my new Kamaka.
Straight from their factory to my home comes a Kamaka HF-2 concert. But not just any HF-2. If you look closely, there is something different compared to a "normal" HF-2. This one has a tie-bar style bridge, rather than the normal slot style bridge on a typical Kamaka HF-2. And that bridge is where the story comes in.
One of my first really good ukes, and my first "K" brand, was Kamaka HF-2A (the centennial anniversary edition) that I found used at Elderly Instruments, in Lansing, MI. Elderly is my "local" shop, and I am blessed to have them so close. I had been wanting a Kamaka concert for a while, and I was terribly sad that I had come to the conclusion *after* Kamaka celebrated their anniversary and I had missed out on the special ones. Well, I started watching Elderly's site in the hopes that they would get a used one. Luckily for me, they eventually did, and she is an amazing uke.
There was only one problem; the normal Kamaka HF-2 (and the HF-2A's) have a slot style bridge, which I *hate*. I find them way too fiddly when changing strings. You have to get the knot small enough to fit in the hole, but big enough that it won't pull through the slot. Way too much of a pain for someone, like me, who loves to change strings relatively often. (Yes, I am one of *those* people...)
Well, the previous owner may have had issues with this too, and wasn't too careful about it, so two of the four slots were a bit chewed up, and I really had trouble getting the knot just right. Thankfully, Elderly has an amazing repair shop, so they were able to repair the slot bridge for me so it worked (and looked) as good as new. But... I still hated that slot bridge. I found I wasn't playing it as much because I didn't want to wear out the strings and have to change them. It is silly, I know, but it was a low-level source of anxiety for me.
Fast-forward several years of me being discontented with that slot bridge and I got to thinking. Kamaka makes a "deluxe" version of the HF-2, and that one *has* a tie-bar bridge. Now I didn't really want the deluxe, I wanted the rather less "blingy" HF-2, but I wanted the tie-bar bridge. I also didn't really want the *much* steeper price tag of the deluxe. But if they could use that bridge on the deluxe, I figured they could probably do it on the normal one, so I contacted customer service via email to find out if it could be done.
Quite a bit of time passed after that, and I hadn't heard back, so I kind of let it go. But several weeks later, I got a phone call rather out of the blue from Kamaka! The very nice lady I spoke to there said that yes, they could do this. They refer to these as "special order" (as opposed to a true "custom order." Those are made entirely by Chris, I believe, and they currently aren't taking those.) Basically they can mix and match standard options for an additional fee.
After a quick discussion with the wife, I decided to go for it. Based on their initial estimation it would take several months for it to be done, so I was estimating late January to early February would be about when it would arrive. Well, lo and behold I got a phone call last Monday saying it was done and they wanted to verify the shipping address. It shipped out that day and arrived on my doorstep two days later.
The pictures above don't really capture the full beauty of the wood, but the new instrument is lovely. The koa is a bit more plain than the HF-2A I have, but it still looks nice. Sound-wise, it sounds very very similar to the HF-2A that I own, so the bridge change didn't really alter the tonal characteristics much.
Now I find myself in an odd situation, with a terrible "first world problem." I have too many Kamakas (I know, such a terrible problem...), so look for the HF-2A to go up on the marketplace in the not too distant future.
The HF-2A is a prettier set of wood, sounds amazing, and does hold a special place in my heart, but this new one is really mine. It was made just for me, exactly how I wanted it to be made, so it is the one that will stay. Well, thanks for listening to me ramble about my new Kamaka.
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