 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Not logged in - | |
| Moderated by: Richard Hefner |
|
||||||||||||||
| Kiwaya Ukes - Beginner Questions - Ukulele - Ukulele - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
| Author | Post | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||
|
EggerRidgeBoy Approved
|
Hello all. I'm new to this forum and have a quick question. Do any of you know anything about Kiwaya Ukuleles, from Japan? My sister and I are about-to-be-beginner uke players, and are looking to buy our first ukulele (it's really for her, as I have to get a bit further on the banjo before adding another instrument). I only ask about Kiwaya ukes because about 80% of the stock in our local acoustic instrument store seems to be Kiwayas, and I like to buy from them whenever I can. The Kiwayas range in price from $250 to $600. Our budget is about $350 - could go just a bit higher if there is a compelling reason to, and of course would be happy to spend less if possible. She is looking for an instrument that would last beyond the beginning stages of learning, one that you could "grow into" a bit. If it were for me, I would probably get a Flea, but she would really prefer a more traditional wood instrument. Most likely a soprano, but that isn't set in stone. Most of the Kiwayas at the store are described as being made from "extremely thin laminate". After reading through several pages of posts here on the uke forum, I have learned that solid wood is generally preferable to laminate (correct?), but the Kiwaya website seems to treat the "extremely thin laminate" part as a plus. Guess that isn't a surprise in a way, but I did notice that many manufacturers of laminates simply don't mention that fact - as several members here have explained, if it doesn't say solid it means they are laminate. I have also read that the thinner the top of the uke the "brighter" the sound - is that maybe why Kiwaya is stressing the "extremely thin" thing? Anyway, I realize Kiwayas might not be a good choice, and we may very well end up with something better suited to our needs. Just wanted to give the local store a shot before going elsewhere. There are obviously many internet options (including this great site), but having never played a uke before it would really help to be able to actually hold and strum some before making a purchase. Any advice would be appreciated. 
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
|
apenino Approved
|
I don't know Kiwayas, but I have a jenny bushman tenor and i'm very happy with it, it's not very expensive and is a good uke, not a toy. Anorther attractive ukes are the Pono models, everybody says that are very good ukes and they aren't expensive too. http://jumpingflea.com/bushman.cfm http://www.koolauukulele.com/
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
|
leakydesk Approved
|
I don't want to condemn all laminate ukuleles, they can look very nice and even sound nice. There is nothing wrong with getting a laminate, especially for just playing around with in the livingroom. If you plan on getting a soprano in the $200+ range you would be paying way to much for a laminate. A good laminate can be had for well under $100. If you get up into the $350+ you can buy a handmade or custom, or at least a very special uke. The bigger the uke the more it will cost, of course. Here are a few just to give you an idea. http://www.onlyuke.com http://www.koaloha.com http://www.elderly.com http://www.ukes.com Ebay always has a bunch of inexpensive laminates available. Last edited on Fri Jan 19th, 2007 07:35 pm by leakydesk |
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
|
Poesjenel Approved
|
Laminate means thin layers of wood glued together. It's this glue that hardens and makes a laminate top sound a bit dull after a while. Hamano is in your price range and had a nice review on the board. It seems to be very much inspired by the Vintage Martin Uke's. I don't own one but it is on my list. Make a search for it on the forums and you get lots of opinions.
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
|
Topstan Approved
|
I had an opportunity to play a bunch of Kiwayas recently as well as a number of other ukes. First of all there is a world of difference between Kiwaya laminate and most other laminate ukes. Most laminate is "furniture": It looks good and sounds like... furniture. It usually sounds dead compared to solid wood. Kiwaya obviously developed their own laminate and it is very musical, brite and amazingly loud. Another nice thing about Kiwaya ukes is they have that Japanese precision. The action and intonation is great and you get this on the lower end ukes as well as the more expensive ones. Now if your store is selling laminate Kiwayas for as much as $600 they are charging FAR too much. My advice is to shop the internet, then go in to the shop and tell them how much you like buying there, but that they need to match the prices you are seeing elsewhere. Trust me... they can do that. All of the aforementioned about Kiwaya laminates aside, if you are willing to stretch your budget a bit you might consider a KTS-4 which is a solid mahogany soprano. It's the closest thing to a 50's Martin style 0 you are likely to find at a reasonable price. By the way, Martin is still selling a Style 0 they have made for them in Mexico. It's not a bad uke, but not up to their "Made in Nazareth PA" standards. Check out ebay for Musicguymic's Room. He is selling KTS-4s for $399. Ask your shop to match that. If they won't, I can recommend Musicguymic. I have done business with him and been satisfied. The quick and dirty way to tell a laminate Kiwaya from a solid one is the laminates have the Kiwaya logo on the front of the peghead. It's on the back of the solid ones. As I read this, I sort of sound like a Kiwaya rep... just so you know, I'm not!
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
|
50gritchris Approved 
|
Topstan wrote: The quick and dirty way to tell a laminate Kiwaya from a solid one is the laminates have the Kiwaya logo on the front of the peghead. It's on the back of the solid ones. Bringing this back to clear this up... It seems that this isn't the case anymore. Recent KTS series solid wood ukes are showing up with the gold logo on the front and the impressed logo on the back. My KTS-5 just has the impressed logo, but my new KTS-4 has both. I've seen the KTS-7 style 3 copies come both ways. YMMV. Cheers, Chris
____________________ Blessent mon coeur d'une languer monotone. |
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
|
scrooner Approved
|
If you're looking at MGM's selection, check out the Hamanos too. These get very high marks.
|
||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
|
ezmember Approved
|
I can vouch for the Kala Ukes in Tenor and Concert (I don't have the Soprano). You're smart to be asking around. You probably can't go wrong with any mentioned on this page so far. Have fun shopping! 
|
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Current time is 05:44 pm | |
| ezFolk Forums > Ukulele > Beginner Questions - Ukulele > Kiwaya Ukes | |
