Ukulele Friend

[Nickie]

Has anyone ever heard of this store?
Ukulele Friend

 

[Moore Bettah Ukuleles]

Of course. Shawn Yacavone is a well respected dealer in new, used, custom and vintage ukes. His vintage ukulele collection has been featured in many articles. He’s pretty much an expert on the instrument. I’ve known him for 15 years so he’s been around for at least that long. One of the nicest and most knowledgeable guys you’ll ever meet. He’s a fixture in the ukulele community.

 

[badhabits]

Oh yes...and he has lots of videos of great players playing those ukes, on youtube and vimeo.

 

[kerneltime]

Has anyone ever heard of this store?
Ukulele Friend

He is an awesome guy. Deals mostly in high-end or vintage ukes. Very knowledgeable.

 

[Kenn2018]

I purchased an Oya tenor from him in 2019. He was very helpful, answered my questions promptly and offered additional information. A very nice guy and a pleasure to buy from. Most of his highend instruments are out of my price range, but some day, I may see something worth selling a favored tenor for.

 

[Blank Williams]

Just to add-I had a few email exchanges with them a few months back and they were super friendly and helpful. They’re legit.

 

[Ukecaster]

i see him often on Flea Market Music Marketplace. He usually lists gorgeous, high end ukes, well above my budget. But, I love seeing them, and I can always dream, right?

 

[Bluesy]

Shawn is great to work with. He's responsive when there's a question about an instrument. He's knowledgeable and personable. I had a very positive experience working with him on a custom last year. He stayed in touch and made sure that the whole project went smoothly. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase from him or sell an instrument with his help.

Bluesy.

 

[man0a]

Check out his YouTube channel. All of Honolulu's top professional ukulele players seem to be stopping by to check out his ukuleles.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBOmndkeYXzjOQVynLiX42A/videos

 

[rhiggie]

I actually got to visit his showroom (by appt. only) because of a Ken Potts uke he had listed. While there, I got to play some ukes way out of my price range (and we both knew it). He's a great guy and super knowledgeable.

 

[Nickie]

Were you looking at one of the ukes in the shop?

Nope, he sent me an email.. It landed in my 'spam' folder. But I read it.

 

[Joyful Uke]

I've never bought anything from Ukulele Friend, but have asked questions about a couple ukuleles, and have always had a very prompt, detailed response. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from UF, based on my limited experience along with the comments I've seen posted by others.

It's a favorite site for me to window browse, (pun intended), since they have many unique and amazing ukuleles. And most are tenors, and since my cranky fingers won't play tenor scale, I'm usually safe from temptation.

 

[badhabits]

that was quite possibly the best HIsessions podcast. for anyone that doesn't know Jon was a bandmate of Jake in Pure heart.

 

[hands_on_lanzon]

that was quite possibly the best HIsessions podcast. for anyone that doesn't know Jon was a bandmate of Jake in Pure heart.

I'm still reeling from my visit to the Ukulele Friend showroom with Shawn, so I found this thread to echo, bump, and thankfully learn more. I'll be listening to this episode today for sure.

To echo, Shawn exudes aloha and has an insane amount of ukulele knowledge, both historical and current. I can't wait to hear the HI Sessions conversation!

 

[badhabits]

My old post makes no sense w/o this link:

Good to see him getting deserved props after catching flak here for not posting prices for all ukes on his website.

 

[hands_on_lanzon]

My old post makes no sense w/o this link:

Good to see him getting deserved props after catching flak here for not posting prices for all ukes on his website.

Oh, I knew I would be able to find it, but thanks for making it easy. 🤙🏽

I just barely saw the flak posts and hadn't interacted with him prior, so I had no basis to chime in. Now I can undoubtedly say Shawn is a stand up dude!

If I were to venture a guess as to why he doesn't post prices, it would still only be conjecture. But if one asked Shawn why, I'm sure he wouldn't mind telling and I would bet the reason makes complete sense.

My guesses? I feel like he enjoys the contact and communication with those who are truly interested and would want to help steer the buyer in the right direction... like if this one is too much for you, try this other uke with similar qualities at this lower price.

There might also be a bit of shifting prices with the changing market? Me saying that initially feels little fishy, but then I think about how we price and lower and shift our UU Marketplace prices here. It's always changing. I also think how there are definitely fishier practices going on with certain other dealers that really aren't worth a tainting of this thread.

For me, the bottom line is that, in my brief experience, Shawn has lived up to his company name. He's a true advocate and friend of the ukulele.

 

[hands_on_lanzon]

Finished the informative HI Sessions podcast earlier today and also checked out more of Shawn's videos. Aside from sound samples of instruments he has for sale, there are great samples of his historical collection with some well known Hawaiian musicians.

Here's a couple samples on the FIRST KNOWN UKULELE from around 1879!!! Yes, Shawn owns this! His UAS is on a level I can't even begin to imagine. 🤯