AustinHing
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2018
- Messages
- 589
- Reaction score
- 7
Hope this doesn’t bored you. A short story long.
The thoughts of owning a Kamaka been haunting me for a while. I have been saving my ukulele funds for a Kamaka Concert Bell Ohta San. When it finally presented itself in front of me earlier at the local uke shop, I did not pull the trigger on it. It didn’t appeal to me as much as I have anticipated.
Instead, the kamaka that caught my eye is a soprano with the plainest looking koa among the bunch of new Kamaka shipment (2 tenors hf-3, a long neck pineapple, Ohta-San, a long neck concert hf-2L and the HF-1).
I played the soprano and I can’t put it down. I did nicely asked the sales person if I could try it. It’s the lightest uke I have ever hold. Almost weightless and yet is solidly built. In this 2019 build, Kamaka seems to have mellowed on the mirror type gloss finish. More of a satin gloss. The same can be said of all the 2019 kamakas that are hanging on the wall.
About the sound, definitely not the loudest and not exactly a bark when strum hard, when compared to my Martin S1 stringed with m600. But this is with the Kamaka stock black strings, which I like as well. I presumed it is capable of the soprano bark if stringed with the m600.
The sound could be describe as sweet but not mellow. And the body does vibrate strong when not held close to chest. A clear indication of long sustains. Intonations are all good and it still rings fine beyond the 12th fret. Note separation is there as well. The neck is comfortable to play although it is not the widest neck. This uke deserves a 10 out of 10 for sound and playability. I would called it balanced, an all-rounder uke.
And this uke is so good that I kept holding onto it until I finally paid at the cashier. I was so afraid to hang it back onto the wall for someone else could just snatch my prize away. And the shop was filled with customers.
Only after I paid for my kamaka, i felt safe that I can put it down to try the rest of the Kamakas. I then ask the shop owner for permission to try the Ohta San. It was hanged so high up on the wall like a revered holy relic to be worshipped. He naturally obliged since I could potentially buy the Ohta San as well!
The Ohta San is of course the nicest looking of the bunch, with the highly figured koa with a stripe of sap wood running through in the middle. And then I play the Ohta San for the first time. immediately I knew that this is not the uke for me. Everything was great, the sound, the playability but it was just not the ukulele for me. My UAS for an Ohta San ended right there.
And I’m glad i got the HF-1 as my Kamaka to own. Because no way I’m able to get another Kamaka. My wife makes sure of it. Haha!
So here’s a couple of pictures to prove that it happened.
Nice solid case. Nothing fancy and very serious looking.
And the precious cargo that’s within it. The Kamaka HF-1 standard ukulele. Made in 2019.
I wish I could take more pictures but I was in a rush to attend to an urgent matter. Will post more pics later!
The thoughts of owning a Kamaka been haunting me for a while. I have been saving my ukulele funds for a Kamaka Concert Bell Ohta San. When it finally presented itself in front of me earlier at the local uke shop, I did not pull the trigger on it. It didn’t appeal to me as much as I have anticipated.
Instead, the kamaka that caught my eye is a soprano with the plainest looking koa among the bunch of new Kamaka shipment (2 tenors hf-3, a long neck pineapple, Ohta-San, a long neck concert hf-2L and the HF-1).
I played the soprano and I can’t put it down. I did nicely asked the sales person if I could try it. It’s the lightest uke I have ever hold. Almost weightless and yet is solidly built. In this 2019 build, Kamaka seems to have mellowed on the mirror type gloss finish. More of a satin gloss. The same can be said of all the 2019 kamakas that are hanging on the wall.
About the sound, definitely not the loudest and not exactly a bark when strum hard, when compared to my Martin S1 stringed with m600. But this is with the Kamaka stock black strings, which I like as well. I presumed it is capable of the soprano bark if stringed with the m600.
The sound could be describe as sweet but not mellow. And the body does vibrate strong when not held close to chest. A clear indication of long sustains. Intonations are all good and it still rings fine beyond the 12th fret. Note separation is there as well. The neck is comfortable to play although it is not the widest neck. This uke deserves a 10 out of 10 for sound and playability. I would called it balanced, an all-rounder uke.
And this uke is so good that I kept holding onto it until I finally paid at the cashier. I was so afraid to hang it back onto the wall for someone else could just snatch my prize away. And the shop was filled with customers.
Only after I paid for my kamaka, i felt safe that I can put it down to try the rest of the Kamakas. I then ask the shop owner for permission to try the Ohta San. It was hanged so high up on the wall like a revered holy relic to be worshipped. He naturally obliged since I could potentially buy the Ohta San as well!
The Ohta San is of course the nicest looking of the bunch, with the highly figured koa with a stripe of sap wood running through in the middle. And then I play the Ohta San for the first time. immediately I knew that this is not the uke for me. Everything was great, the sound, the playability but it was just not the ukulele for me. My UAS for an Ohta San ended right there.
And I’m glad i got the HF-1 as my Kamaka to own. Because no way I’m able to get another Kamaka. My wife makes sure of it. Haha!
So here’s a couple of pictures to prove that it happened.
Nice solid case. Nothing fancy and very serious looking.
And the precious cargo that’s within it. The Kamaka HF-1 standard ukulele. Made in 2019.
I wish I could take more pictures but I was in a rush to attend to an urgent matter. Will post more pics later!