Recent content by revdocjim

My Kamaka white label is pretty loud, but I previously owned a Kiwaya KSU-1 which is their student model, not made in Japan. Nevertheless, it was put together well and it was the loudest soprano I've owned. They are available here in Japan for under 10,000 yen!

I'm not sure whether to laugh or apologize! :) But I'll share one more "ukes on planes" story. Our work dictates that we go to the US every 4 years for about 6 months. Our previous visit was fall of 2019 to Feb. of 2020. The pandemic was just starting and we suddenly decided it was time to get...

So far, I'm the only one with 7. Strange, considering it's the perfect number... My sig only shows 6 but I have an Enya I leave up at the cabin.

I have a White label soprano from '69 or '70s. It needed a complete rebuild but came out beautifully. My other Kamaka is a modern 2014 model but it's a concert so I can't really compare the two. Both sound wonderful but very, very different. Kamaka quoted me $325 for a rebuild of the white label...

Last week I flew from Denver back home to Tokyo. I really pressed my luck this time. My carry on piece was a large hiking backpack bulging full. I strapped my hardcase Pono tenor to the side of it. Then my "personal item" was a daypack sized backpack, also bulging full, with a soprano in a...

It probably depends on why you want ukes in the first place. Is playing them your first interest? Do you perform in public? Do you just admire them for aesthetic reasons? Do you teach others how to play? Are you naturally drawn to collections? Do you have money that is burning a hole in your pocket?

I can't comment on what it will sound like, but I put up a couple cords of camphor firewood a few years ago. I deal exclusively with hardwoods when making firewood, but the camphor what the hardest wood to split that I have ever encountered. Instead of a straight grain like oak, the grain is...

Kuwa is mulberry wood. I haven't heard of other luthiers using it so that definitely piques my interest.

That is amazing. My white label Kamaka soprano also needed a complete rebuild but it was well used. It too has a bit of sap-wood down the middle, but nothing close to yours... That definitely does not look like a standard HF-1 by any stretch of the imagination. BTW, I put planetary tuners on my...

My impression... which aside from Kamaka is limited to just hearing sound samples online, is that the Koaloha has the most forward, bright and loud tone, that the Kanilea is a much more reserved, darker and more nuanced tone, and that the Kamaka falls somewhere in the middle. But obviously I...

I see from your signature that you have tenors from Kamaka, Kanilea and Koaloha. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how they compare, how they differ, what you prefer etc.

Last summer I decided to attempt to grow out my right hand nails a bit for playing. It was incredibly difficult as I normally keep my nails extremely short... as in, if I see any white, it's time to nibble it off, right down to the flesh! Other than constantly picking at my growing nails, I...

My luthier in Japan told me that old Hawaiian ukes tend to have really sloppy workmanship. Like my wonderful white label soprano that sounds great but has a clearly lopsided body. If you consider the prices at which they were being sold, the low-tech workshops where they were made, and the...

As long as you don't look too carefully, it looks just fine! (Spur of the moment, scrap lumber, designed on the fly, fine)

I'm sleeping in the guest room this week while getting over a cold. It became very evident that this room needs a bedside table. But the wall is at a funny angle so normal tables wouldn't work. Yesterday morning I went into the garage, scrounged up some lumber scraps and had the table put...