Please Help!: Kamaka vs. Kanile'a?

After playing dozens of Kamakas and owning two Kanile'as my observations: The Kanile'as are great eye candy, the Kamakas not so much. The Kamakas are bright sounding and capable of playing forte, the Kanile'as not much (but they do have lots of color to the sound). Kanilea has the wider neck and (at least in the concert) a very slightly longer scale length. Kamakas have better intonation.
Personally, neither is my favorite of the Big K builders, but these are the differences I've found, consistently.

Good luck to you.

stevepetergal said:

After playing dozens of Kamakas and owning two Kanile'as,
<chomp - my edit>
neither is my favorite of the Big K builders,

Good luck to you.

Click to expand...

I know, I know.. but, I'm curious which K is and why?

I have the "K"s except for the Ko'olau...which is my next target...likely. It is very true about the brands...each has their distinctive style/sound...but depending on the wood and the variability in production potential, you should try before you buy. The right ukulele will speak to you...or you can rely on the ears of HMS which have not disappointed me yet! Visit if you can...or demo if you can...or get help...

My KoAloha is the least played...as it is clearly different and would be noticeable by my kids and wife and I would get sooo busted

I love my HF-2L! It was my original purchased ukulele...and it is so great with the tenor neck, imho...love that ukulele...as I do will all my others...just like my kids...i love dem lots but each is different!

I have both Kamaka and Kanile'a. I like the Kamaka better than Kanile'a (slightly) as I am a bit of a traditionalist in looks and sound. However, you will not go wrong with either. Oh yes, Kanile'a does have a slightly wider neck, but it is no big deal!!

I think it is safe to say that probably no other music instrument brand (including Martin, Taylor, Gibson) has a more loyal following than Kamaka, Kanile'a, and KoAloha; and you simply cannot go wrong with any of them.

I find it really tough to generalize about these brands, because the ukes I've played from either brand can sound so different. I think this is inevitable when you're dealing with hand made instruments and you have so many people in the process. So then it just comes down to averaging it out. I have probably tried out maybe 8 Kamakas in the last few years and probably 4 or 5 Kanileas. From what I could remember, the Kamakas seemed to have a brighter and punchier sound on average, and the Kanileas were somewhat more mellow. Although the Kanileas easily look better, I prefer the sound of the Kamaka on average. Now if you are taking into consideration the vintage Kamakas and the older Kanileas, then forget about it--there is way too much variation to make a proper comparison.