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A Look into Ko’olau Guitar & Ukulele Company – 15 Years as Hawaii’s Custom Ukulele Shop

Much of Noa’s building knowledge simply came from growing up at Kitakis stringed instrument repair. He was changing tuners and strings at 10 years old.  As a teenager, he was already doing warrantied Martin neck-resets. Later, Noa attended schooling in Michigan with Dan Erliwine, and a few years after in California with Charles Fox. He had a passion for building. I remember him reading Guitar Maker magazine late at night and thinking up new ideas for jigs in his head.

Noa has studied and personally experimented with different tools, techniques, and materials. At the foundation of all great artists and craftsman is this pursuit of mastery. I have witnessed it first hand consume him and now am able to witness the results.

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The Truth About Kanilea Ukulele

There is something advantageous about not being “#1”. Maybe they aren’t the oldest or biggest, but the companies or individuals clawing for the top are always the best. That’s what Kanilea has been doing for the last 10 years. Driven, not by money or prestige, but a genuine love of the craft, and a desire to give something that can inspire,  yet still making it attainable for us ukulele lovers that aren’t rich$.

The emergence of Kanilea is comparable to the way Taylor Guitars came up in the 90’s as a fresh alternative to the Martin or Martin-like acoustic. Refreshing new designs and sounds are irrefutably beautiful and loveable.
A collaborative push from Joe Souza and Bill Griffin has made the Kanilea wave undeniable. These two artist/musician/master luthiers have what Hawaiians call “the mana”, and of course the Koa! (Man, they got some nice logs!!)

~These Koa Ukuleles will outlast us, and their sound will only get greater. Practically nothing else out there you spend money on has that quality.~

As musicians we LOVE good instruments. And it’s hard to not, in turn, love their makers in that “I love you man” kind of way. They’ve made our lives better!

The Cordoba Tenor

Most guitar players know Cordoba from their super nice Classical guitars. That is how we first got to know of them. For years we have been completely sold on the value of their guitar line. Beyond looking great they sound…great. Cordoba has factories in Spain, Portugal, and Asia. I have always been most impressed with the Portugal factory even though their most expensive guitars are built in Spain. The Portuguese are a musical bunch. Living on the islands you learn that. Heck, the Portuguese invented and brought over the first incarnation of the ukulele.

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The 6 and 8 string ukulele

As an ukulele instructor, one of the most often asked questions I get is, “What’s with the 6 and 8 string ukuleles?” These multi stringed anomalies of the ukulele world have been both amazing and bewildering us for as long as they have graced the Hawaiian music scene. Well, today I will try to shed some light on the 6 and 8 stringed ukuleles and explain some of the local applications and uses.
The 8 string ukulele is widely used for a driving rhythm sound. Walk into any hula halau and odds are there will be atleast one 8 string being played. The characteristic “chorus” effect us brought about by the combination of both octave and unison harmonies that occur from string to string. Like the 12 string guitar, the 8 string ukulele has the highest pitched strings tuned in unison, and the lower pitched strings tuned to octaves. ( G, lower octave G, higher octave C, C, E, unison E, and A, unison A) When holding chords the blend of these notes create the aforementioned “chorus” effect.

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High G or Low G?

I get this question quite often so I thought I would share an older video we did, but never put up here on The Ukulele Review. Aaron goes over some of the differences and demonstrates benefits with both low and high G. It should be worth noting that any tenor with a high G can be changes to a low G, and vise verse, simply changing the string.

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Tenor String Review

In this video Aaron runs through 6 of the 20 or more string options you have with a tenor ukulele. The first set is the Kamaka all nylon. Aaron describes them as bright and loud. To me they are strong in the higher mid range, so you get a cutting, punchy, mid range tone. Very different from the Aquila strings brightness, which are sharper in the highest frequencies with a more scooped mid section. The scooped mid range is a common way to make an acoustic sound “sweeter”, but you lose a little body as you go. The two biggest factors are the way the instrument was built and the technique of the player. And even after that, the way a string affects the EQ of an instrument can not prove it to be better, because the best sound is still an opinion.

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Ko’olau Curly Koa Cutaway

This is one of the finest instruments to come through the shop and so I wanted to share it with you. The Ko’olau ukulele sound has excellent body and balance. An instrument of this caliber gives a player the inspiration to attain a higher level of musicianship, and enjoyment! Corey here plays the Tenor Ko’olau in a few different styles …

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Lanikai or Kala?

Let’s first go back in time to the year 2003 and see how this story starts. Mike Upton worked for the Hohner company and was heading the design and production of a new line of ukulele’- Lanikai. At that time I still worked for my dad at Ko’olau doing finish and final assembly for some amazing instruments my brother, Noa, was making. We also had started to warehouse Lanikai ukes in the upstairs of our shop in Kaneohe and the stores would come pick up from us. My dad helped Mike tweak the construction a bit giving him pointers and the Lanikai’s started sounding better and better. At some point along the way, around 2005 Hohner made some changes that left Mike “out in the cold”. …

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Kala Travel Tenors Compared- Cedar and Spruce, Low G and High G

So with these two models the main difference is that one has a solid cedar top and one has a solid spruce top. Now keep in mind that each instrument and model is unique in how it sounds with different woods. One thing I have learned is not to assume the same woods will have the same sound in different brands and shapes. Still, I was suprised at how bright the cedar tops are. A little scooped in the mids and a wider range than we have heard in the travel tenor. Very dynamic!

The Ko’olau Tenor Deluxe!

This is a Tenor Deluxe, Spruce top and Myrtle wood back and sides. It is framed off with curly koa binding giving it an elegant look without being too “fancy”. It still retains a woody, natural look. Most importantly it has a fantastic tone and perfect intonation. Noa Bonk custom builds these and is adamant on solid construction that will last hundreds of years. He builds with a solid foundation of instrument making from years of warranty repair for Martin, Taylor, Gibson and others.