Koa buttons and koa bridge pins added on my dream uke.

I just added some new koa buttons onto my Kanilea's Grover tuners. I had previously swapped out the black stock buttons for some mother of pearl as a quick fix while I waited for some koa ones I had ordered.

These are the stock tuners that came with the ukulele.  And this is how the headstock looked with the white mother of pearl buttons on the tuners.

I am actually really happy with the results. I ordered two types of tuners from Taisamlu on eBay. The first were some gold ones with koa buttons, the others were a silver plate style with koa buttons.

The first set arrived yesterday (not too bad -- only about a week's shipping) and three of them were a chocolate brown color, with one more of a golden brown. Then today the plate style ones came and low and behold, they were three more golden ones and one darker brown.

I tried both the brown and the golden colored ones, and I think the lighter set are a better match for the coloring on my headstock. I didn't use the actual tuners he sent me, just the buttons, so I popped the pearl buttons onto the gold set, and used the four lighter koa buttons on the Grovers. The darker koa buttons I kept on the silver plate style in case I ever decide to sell them or change up the look of this, or another uke.

These are the silver plate style ones:

This is how the lighter koa ones look on my uke's headstock:

Finally, this is a portrait of my uke, with all her mods in place: koa buttons, and koa bridge pins (with abalone inlay dots).

I thought I couldn't love my Kanile'a Island Inlay tenor any more. But I am glad I got the koa buttons. The shipping was super fast and it was a cost effective way to make my uke the way I wanted it, since the buttons cost so much less money than the Waverly tuners did. In addition, I don't have to worry about whether it voids my uke's warranty as I didn't drill holes or replace the actual tuners, just the buttons.

I know a lot of people wouldn't care for the koa buttons, but now my dream ukulele is a dream come true for me. I would highly recommend the $20 expenditure if anyone is contemplating using wood buttons on their uke. Admittedly, I had to order two sets to get four that sort of matched though (even though the pictures don't really show that), as otherwise I would have had one much darker or lighter than the remaining tuners.

About four years ago when I started playing the ukulele, the first "real" uke I bought was my Kanilea K2 tenor.  I really wanted one of their island inlay tenors but couldn't afford it at the time.  Ever since then, I've been fortunate enough to have some great ukes, but I couldn't get that island inlay one out of my head.  Still, I just couldn't justify having two Kanilea tenors. 

So a couple of weeks ago I was browsing the Hawaii Music Supply website and happened to notice that they had a sale on one that they had in stock.  I mentioned it to my spouse as a joke, and asked for it as my anniversary present.  To my shock, I was told that if I sold my current Kanilea tenor (I have a one uke in, one uke out policy now), the balance owed would in fact be my anniversary present.

So I ended up selling my K2 tenor (thanks Mike I hope you like it!) and bought the new one from Music Guy Mike last Friday.  He ended up dropping it off at the Kanilea factory this week so that Joe could install a pickup in it, and yesterday I took a bus out to Kaneohe and got my new baby. 

I'm not going to lie, when Joe opened up the case to show it to me, I got incredibly choked up and almost started to cry.  This uke had been my dream for so long and I couldn't believe it was finally mine.

I am still in Hawaii so I don't have any photos taken of it yet, other than the one Kristen took yesterday (and put on Kanilea's twitter and Facebook), and the ones from the Hawaii Music Supply website.  I'll take more when I get home and put it in its humidified cabinet next to its sibling ukes.

I am naming her "Ailana" which means island in Hawaiian, due to the island inlay.  I know it is probably too much bling for some folks but I love the abalone.  I ended up replacing the stock plastic bridge pins with some koa ones that I bought years ago.  They are a little too loose in this uke so I just ordered some rosewood w/ abalone that I will use instead.

So far yesterday I tried four types of strings on it (I brought six types with me to try out).  First, I tried my fave PhD (that I use on my KoAloha and Kamoa) -- to my surprise, they seemed kind of muddy, while they are great on those other ukes.  I then tried my old standby Worth CHLGHD and both A strings I tried snapped on me when I was tuning it.  The Worth CMLG were not bad but they were a bit too tinny.  On a lark, I tried Worth BTLG strings.  I usually find them too warm, but I was pleasantly surprised to find they sounded good.  They were loud and had a nice clarity.  So for now, they are what I will use until try some Fremont Blacklines (that I forgot at home).

First impressions, the curly koa is nice eye candy.  The neck is super smooth and fast.  I haven't tried the pickup since I don't have an amp with me, but I will at home.  The tone is not quite as good as my KoAloha, but seems to rival my Kamaka and I much prefer the glassy UV finish to the Kamaka and KoAloha finish.  It isn't as loud as the KoAloha either but I don't mind that.

I just want to thank Music Guy Mike so much.  Not only did he get the uke to Kanilea but he delivered a hard case to my hotel in Waikiki last night since he forgot to bring it to Kaneohe.  He really went above and beyond and his customer service was amazing.

I also want to thank Joe for installing the pickup for me in such short order so I could pick up the uke before I leave Oahu tomorrow.  He and Kristen are such wonderful people and I can't thank them enough for letting me bug them with calls and emails.

Until I can take some photos at home, here are the ones from the factory and the HMS site.

Kahi Ko'ola Uhane

Ever since I was a kid, my family has taken vacations to the island of Kauai.  Over the course of those trips, I discovered I had a deep abiding love for this little rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  Oh sure, I enjoy visiting Oahu, Maui and the Big Island but for me, there is no place on Earth like Kauai.

My family loves it so much that when my grandmother passed away, we had her ashes scattered off the shores of the island, and both my mother and I have it in our wills that we wish to have the same done for us.

I can't really explain it to someone else, why this place has such a hold on me.  But the best way I can describe it is that when I leave Kauai, I feel like someone is putting one of those heavy dentist xray shields on me.  And whenever my plane touches down at Lihue airport, or my ship sails into Nawiliwili Harbor, the weight is lifted and my soul feels complete.

I saw somewhere that the phrase "Kahi ko'olua uhane" means where the spirit resides.  For me, that place is Kauai.

So when I saw that Kamoa Ukulele was beginning to build Kauai built koa tenor ukuleles, I simply had to have one.  Well, unfortunately, I now have a one in, one out ukulele policy.  So that meant I had to sell one of my other ukes to finance (and make room) for the new one.

You can see a tiny bit of info and some photos on the Kauai Built model here.  http://kamoaukulelecompany.com/info.php?id=18

With a great deal of sadness, I decided to sell my KoAloha Pineapple Sunday.  It is a wonderful uke with a beautiful tone, but I just never played it, as the tenor style is more to my liking.  Fortunately, I was able to get a buyer, and so, this week, I went to Kamoa while I was staying in Kauai and played and looked at all nine KB-T tenors they had in stock (in the Kapa'a and Koloa stores).

I ended up choosing one, and have named it Kahi ko'olua uhane, or uhane ("spirit") for short.  First impressions are that I love the golden blonde curly koa, it really spoke to me amongst all the models there.

The tone is quite nice, though not as loud as my KoAloha tenor.  I would say sound wise, it is probably comparable to my Kamaka tenor, and sounds better than my Kanile'a (though not quite as good as my KoAloha).

These ukes come with Gotoh tuners in either a mother of pearl white or gold.  I chose the mother of pearl, and have already ordered a pearlized strap button to have installed on the uke.

So far, I have tried Worth CHLGHD, Phd and Worth CMLG strings on it.  I think I like the brightness of the Phd but the volume of the Worths, so for now anyway, I'm going to give the CMLG a go, as they seem to be a compromise between the other two.

One thing I like is that the label notes they are handmade in Kauai.  I know it is nuts, but I feel like I have a tangible piece of the island I love (though they are actually made from koa from the Big Island!)

The KB-T ukes have hand shaped Spanish cedar necks, but the remainder of the body and bridge are koa, with a rosewood fretboard.  Sam had one model with a gloss finish (which is generally my preference) but they are going to pretty much all satin finishes as he feels the sound resonates better with the satin.  The one I chose was the satin and I have to say, it has been so long since I played a satin finish uke that it feels really nice to me (see related story about changing my Kamaka from satin to gloss).

Here again is the video of Sam from Kamoa talking about these ukes.  They are not cheap, but they are beautiful, sound great, and I am thrilled to have one.  He also discusses their great new basses and electric models, but you can hear about the Kauai built at 7:25 - 8:21 on the video.

My final first impressions are that this is a very nicely made, beautiful ukulele, but probably a niche right now.  Kamoa is definitely an up and comer but for the moment, they certainly lack the name cache of Kamaka, KoAloha, Kanile'a and Ko'olau.  The price, however, is comparable to those brands.  For me, it has been a great purchase, but it probably is not for everyone.  That being said, if they end up being the 5th big K one of these days, then I'll be the even prouder owner of  KB-T #44. :)

Here is Uhane joining her fellow ukes Waimea (the Kanile'a K2 tenor), Pele (the Kamaka HF-3 tenor) and Lono (the KoAloha KTM-00 crown bridge tenor).

A new home for my ukes, and a new uke?

My family and friends know the saga I had with the seam separations on my Kamaka, and the recent crack that developed in my Kamoa soprano, so I had purchased a room humidifier and hygrometer for my office.  My ukes used to be displayed on my wall with these really cool Hawaiian themed uke wall hangers.

Once I set up the hygrometer, I was shocked to see that my office was getting humidity readings in the 30s.  I began using the humidifier and it worked pretty well, but I was dismayed to see that I had to keep my office door closed constantly in order to regulate the humidity better.  I tried putting all of the ukes back in their original cases but just didn't have the space in my office to store them properly that way, plus it was a pain when I wanted to play them to have to drag the cases out of the closet.

So I did some research online and came across a post on Ukulele Underground by a woodworker (and UU member) who made himself a cabinet for his ukes.  He placed a humidifier inside and it managed to keep the humidity regulated, while still maintaining ease of access.  I contacted him and commissioned him to build me a cabinet for my ukes, though since he had only natural or black stains available, I told him we would stain it ourselves (to match my office furniture in a darker brown).

He built me the cabinet, and my spouse spent the next few weeks (on days off) staining and lacquering the cabinet.  Eventually we plan to build a shelf system below it to house my cases, music books, and uke accessories.

But I couldn't be happier with the cabinet.  I have all four of my main ukes hanging inside -- resting on a foam pillow I made and covered with brown fleecy felt so that they don't rattle or touch one another.  The case has the humidifiers hidden in the back out of view, and I keep the hygrometer inside where I can easily see its readout.  I'm pleased to note that it is maintaining its humidity between 45-53% on a regular basis now.  I have solved my humidity issues but been able to keep the ukes readily accessible.

In other related news, I'm heading back to Hawaii again on April 10th and I have my eyes on getting an all koa Kauai built Kamoa uke.  If I end up liking it (as I'm sure I will), I will be posting my Pineapple Sunday up for sale in order to finance the purchase of the new ukulele.  I have found that I like the sound of my KoAloha tenor the best, and the looks of my Kamaka tenor the best.  I'm hoping that the Kamoa uke will combine looks/sound to be my new favorite.  And how can I lose if it is built in Kauai, my favorite place on Earth?  I feel guilty selling the Pineapple Sunday but I rarely play it, and I have no business buying a new uke without selling one of my current ones.  Check out the video below (at the 7:20 point) to see the one I'm currently dreaming of owning.

 

 

Kudos to KoAloha and my new crown bridge tenor

For the longest time I have thought that KoAloha made the best sounding tenors of all the major K factories, but I really hated the bowtie bridge they used.  I had vowed I would not buy one until I found a used crown bridge tenor for sale.  Luckily for me, a guy I know decided to thin out his uke herd, and so I bought a KoAloha crown bridge tenor from him.

I strung it up with my favorite strings last night (the Worth CHLGHD set) and it settled in nicely. My first impressions are that it seems like it is much louder than my other ukes (except for my Pineapple Sunday). It sounds wonderful and I plan to use it as my traveling uke. I have been searching for a crown bridge tenor for a while, and having a one piece top is cool to boot.

My Kamaka will probably always remain my favorite (though I suppose that could change the more I play this one) because I like the curly koa appearance, and the neck and body just seem to fit me really well to make it very playable. But since I keep having seam separation issues with it I decided it probably is time to retire it from traveling, and leave it at home where it won't be subjected to lots of flights each year.

I plan to try to do a comparison of my three K tenors in the future. Though I don't have sound clips or videos, I do want to at least consider things that I would like to have known before buying one of them (weight, tuner style, neck measurements, volume, etc.)

Since I am completely incapable of playing while standing (and some would argue barely capable while sitting), I needed to get either a strap button or input jack on the uke. While I like the uke leash for my Pineapple Sunday, or while sitting, I prefer a more traditional strap when playing a tenor and standing.

So I tweeted that I wasn't sure which route to take, and Paul Okami advised I should opt for the input. Since I already have a Mi-Si in my Kamaka, I bought the new LR Baggs 5-0 for my KoAloha.

I then mentioned to him that I was going to be in Oahu for a day, and while I knew they were crazy busy, was there any way I could make an appt. to get it installed. He had me speak with Brian, who kindly accommodated me and told me he would do it for me.

So a couple of weeks ago (in crazy pouring rain), I took the bus out to KoAloha. Brian warmly greeted me and told me he would call when he was finished. I also mentioned it had a tiny intonation issue at the 12th fret, and that the A string tuner was a little tight. He told me he would look at both for me while he had it.

Before I left, Papa and Mama KoAloha came in, and Papa smiled and told me, "I remember you!" I was shocked as I had done a tour of the factory about a year ago, and that was the only time we met. I told him why I was there, and that I loved my tenor and Pineapple Sunday and he said that made his day - what a sweet man.

A few hours later, Brian called to say my uke was ready and I headed back out to pick it up. When I got there, he told me that I didn't need to pay for the install as they wanted to thank me for my loyalty to the KoAloha brand. I was thrilled and gave him a big hug.

I can't say enough about the KoAloha customer service and ohana. They truly go above and beyond. I debated about mentioning this, as I thought they might not want me spreading it for fear everyone will expect free service. I also felt a little guilty as I may end up needing to sell my Pineapple Sunday next month. But I decided to post this anyway as it is just one more example of why, when anyone asks which of the K brands they should buy, my first recommendation will always be KoAloha. I like the history of Kamaka, and the beauty of the Kanileas, but you just can't beat the customer service of KoAloha.

PS - he also fixed my A string tuner, and the intonation is spot on. He did adjust the action a bit (it is now a tad higher on the higher frets), but he did an amazing job. He also put on some of the KoAloha factory strings, and I love the clear bell tones they are providing.  Of course now I'm worried about breaking a string since I can't replace those (they don't offer them for sale) but after much research, I opted to get a set of Worth CM-LG as a backup for my next string change, as they appear to be the closest match.