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KoAloha Black Label

This is a rare and unique "Black Label" tenor from KoAloha. Black Labels are instruments that are made by Paul Okami. Paul is the second generation master luthier at KoAloha. Just like his father, Alvin, Paul has the artist eye and musical ear. What's interesting is that even though Paul runs the KoAloha shop and the regular line of ukes ...

Fender Revamps Their Ukulele Line

There is no doubt that Fender has been inspiring guitarists for over 60 years. Leo Fender was an innovator that changed the music world forever. But Fender has only been making ukes for 5 years now. We have carried them from the time they were released. They definitely have a “cool factor” with their Tele headstock and Fender logo, and ...
14

2014 Photo Contest Winners

Aloha friends. First off, mahalo to everyone that participated in this contest. I apologize for any imperfections involved in the setup. Honestly we just don’t have the time to really run a contest tightly and properly. But we did what we had to to make sure the popular vote was correct. With that said, our winner was Michael Horn. On …

2

In Loving Memory of Chino Montero – One of Hawaii’s Finest Musicians

A salute to one of the finest musicians ever~ A good friend of ours passed away today. My dad was especially close with him and so I asked him to share some of his thoughts. For many years Chino has been a part of our life here at Ko’olau Pono Guitar and Ukulele. Just three days ago he was here ...
9

Moore Bettah -Skull Island/ Tiki Love

The Birth of Bettah This is a striking and unique masterpiece from Moore Bettah custom builder Chuck Moore. It's a depiction of the Island as young Charles experienced it when he first washed up on shore many years ago. The mountains were flowing with lava and foreigners were commonly given to the tiki gods. Luckily, Chuck knew how to make ...
10

Southcoast String Set HML-RW

This review is not on an ukulele but a specific string set I have been using. If you play tenor and are open to a low G, or linear tuning, then this one could be the sound you have been looking for. The G and C string are a thin phosphor bronze wrap and the E and A strings are ...
4

Maui Music

Peter Lieberman formed Maui Music when the only "k" brand was Kamaka. On december 27 2000 a fire burned down his factory forcing him to close down. He was soon back to building, but instead of running another crew and factory production, he decided to be a one man custom shop and focus on the highest quality. Both the "pre-fire" ...
8

Installing an L.R. Baggs 5.0

If you want to install this pickup in your uke, this tutorial could be of crucial help. Almost every ukulele we sell can get a pickup install included. The L.R. Baggs 5.0. has been a very popular choice for our customers and Joel has installed hundreds. We did this tutorial because we like the 5.0 and want to help you ...
4

Blackbird Tenor Ukulele through Roland Guitar Synth Pedal

Sometime last year I was talking with Joe from Blackbird and said, "You guys should make a uke that can get synth access." His reply was, "we already have". You just have to get the RMC preamp to convert to 13 pin. So I ordered one from him and it came in last week. A few days ago I got ...