My Favorite Hawaiian Ukulele Brand: Kanile'a || Demo & Review of My 2 Ukes! 

WIN Your OWN Kanile'a Ukulele: rockclass101.com/april-2020-challenge

I play Kamaka and Martins, my reason is they sound good and made with quality.

You made me a believer on Kanile , y just came back from the Music Store and they only had only 1 kanile in stock ; it is a KBSP tenor , it was a high G, I did nit even play , I just asked them to change to low G . I love the pretending cutout . I will play tonight…. I am just a beginner .

BRAVO! RAY!! That was a LOT of work!!

Can only agree. I have owned a K1 concert for a few months now and also have a Ko'aloha tenor scale concert which I fitted out with a low G set of strings as having tried a low G on the Kanile'a it just did not sound right. The Ko'aloha restrung sounds fine but not as much punch. I bought it because I had just missed the last of the Kanile'a super concerts ( albeit a pre-owned example ) at SUS and having tried the equivalent Ko'aloha instore, I bought it. When compared to my Kanile'a I missed That sound so much that I searched until last week and finally found one a Uke Republic. I'm currently waiting for this to arrive in the UK , hopefully in the next few days. I fear that the Ko'aloha may be taking a back seat after this. I must say that not only are the instruments of superior construction and striking clarity but the most comfortable instruments for elderly and stiff fingers to play. I am by no means a player of particularly high standard but if your instrument is the best you can afford then your playing will be the best it can be and you will feel encouraged to practice more and improve. Just love that Kanile'a sound.

I was playing along with you using my Martin and both sounded really good.

Hi Andrew, I know this video is a couple of years old now but I think it's still likely to impact some searching for their first Big 4 Hawaiian ukulele purchase; specifically those without a lot of experience with what's out there to choose from. I really don't care for bigoted, negative comments so I'll say right up front that a few of my comments will be contradictory to your conclusions and will conflict with your method of choosing the best instrument to purchase. I don't mean to tear you down, these are just MY opinions based on MY experience. So, Andrew and dear readers, your mileage may (and almost certainly will) vary! First I'll list the Big 4 in the order of the way I see it: 1-Koaloha, these instruments are my favorite. I own 2 Koaloha Hawaiian made (a soprano since new in 2012 and a concert I purchased in 2019 that was made in 2008). 2-Kamaka, I own a mid 1950, pineapple soprano since 2010. With the correct strings it is brilliant and I find the sound, tone and playability to be on par (at least) with any Koaloha. Otherwise, I have played, compared and closely examined many Kamaka's in well stocked dealers, in the Oahu factory store and more than a few privately owned. All excellent! 3-Kanile'a, I find they sound wonderful online and sell well online by reputation, but having played several privately owned and in well stocked ukulele dealers, they just don't hold up to Koaloha and Kamaka. That is my opinion only and not generally shared by the owners of the Kanile'as I've played. 'Koalou, I have never seen one in the wild, nor have I played one. My only experience is seeing and hearing them alone online, which I believe is not experience at all, so I can't comment. I encourage anyone searching for a Hawaiian ukulele to get to a dealer who carries Koaloha and some other brands. Try them in comparison for yourself. Also examine them closely. What I find is that Koaloha always stand out compared to Kanile'as, regardless of size or level. Kanile'as tend to sound duller to me and lacking some volume. In my opinion it's a fantastic parlor sound, but if you're going to play with any other instruments, you'll be hard-pressed to be heard, or even to hear yourself. Also, and perhaps most disappointing, I usually see bits of glue or bits of wood fibers hanging on around the bracing. Bits that should have been wiped away or sand and clean during the Kanile'a factory quality control inspection phase . Regarding Kamaka's, I own one and have played many over the past 30 years. I don't live in Hawaii but I have spent a great deal of time there playing, examining, shopping and buying ukuleles. If you want the most traditional, mellow and punky Hawaiian sound, buy a Kamaka and play it as delivered from the factory. The quality of the Kamaka instruments paired with the black nylon factory strings will deliver that sound unlike no other ukulele available on earth. If you, like me, tend to prefer a brighter, cleaner, more precise sound, put on some fluorocarbon strings and the Kamaka will sing as well as the best Koaloha or G-string I've ever owned or played. I strongly encourage anyone and everyone to get thee to a well-stocked ukulele dealer and play these instruments one against the other before making a buying decision. If that's not possible, get to the Southern Ukulele Store RU-vid channel and listen to the excellent head-to-head comparisons there. Alex works hard to record excellent examples in a way that can be honestly compared. Listen with high quality earbuds or the like; Alex recordes in a way that allows high-quality sound reproduction. Please don't base your decision on a crappy smartphone speaker. Please don't base your decision on a recording of a ukulele that is not compared to anything but itself.

Hi Andrew, thanks for this video. Your playing was beautiful and the kind of representation of this ukulele I have been looking for. I will be purchasing a Kanile'a KSR tenor soon and it is difficult to decide on the wood. It was nice to hear your interesting combination.

Well, if I can win the spring challenge, then I too can have an awesome Kanile'a.

fantastic starting story, thank you

That is the brand I will be getting next!

Gorgeous.

man, that tone is insane! i have to say that my Kanile'a K2 Premium does not sound nearly that good as an acoustic. i'm going to have to electrify it. if you are still watching these comments, would you mind sharing the pickup that you installed on each uke? thank you so much! sub'd.

Instead of buying a second uke, you could have just changed the high G for a low G* ; ) *as most of us guitar players do.

Hey Andrew, this is an interesting story behind your ukulele playing and I like to hear those. I own a Kanilea OHA model with a really beautiful koa top. But I don't like those strings they put on it at all and it is way harder to play than my Koaloha. Do you play the original strings or do you have any recommendation? Whenever I see your low g Kanilea, I think of van Gogh's pictures because his brushstrokes look similar to the ukulele grain. Greetings from Germany!

Whole won?

Why? Maybe juste because it's one of the best brand on hearth...😅

Similar story - played guitar for many years, stumbled upon Honoka and Azita ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WeSdwBOsXKA.html, then Jake Shimabukuro playing Bohemian Rhapsody at a TED talk on YT. Bought an inexpensive uke from Amazon to try it out. My GF followed suit. Here I am now, surrounded by a Kanilea K-2T, a gorgeous Mango Kala, a Kanilea Islander, and cheaper models - this is joy!

However with my budget i can never buy one kanile’a ukulele lol

I dont pronounce it ewwkulele cause its not a Hawaiian original instrument. Its a modification of an existing instrument :) Also prefer Cook Island Ukes over Hawaiian and also Cook Island playing.