Definitely a picker!

Oooh - sparkly beard! ;-)

I do try to get them all the time - but loans are out of my hands - and brands tend to send other sizes.

To be honest, I don't know any uke players with a baritone myself so I guess it's rather a special interest.

My pleasure - thanks!

I guess pricing is subjective of course - if I had a million in the bank i'd probably buy it without thinking... But... I don't!!

Certainly a pretty one fingerpicked!

All top end acoustic stuff is made that way now. Machines do most of the forming, and then humans finish it off. Just makes for better, more consistent quality all around.

Indeed - even Pete Howlett over here in the UK has moved to more automated processes - means more consistency

Thank you!

And mine!

Yes - very!

I love the classy look of it. Cheers fella.

Worth what people are prepared to pay I guess - and they DO buy them. I could never justify a Ferrari - but saw one only yesterday in my town!

That's a good point - you may well be right.

Sus did a good comparison of the 3 cedar spruce and koa on their channel 😉

They can be - but most go with low D - more for picking I guess

Agree with all of that but is Hawaii much more expensive than Montana - a Gibson J45 uses far more materials and is cheaper than this? Made in USA by craftsmen too

It may have something to do with economy of scale. I dont know how many ukes kamaka build or how many guitars martin build but i guessing martins manafacturing scale would be larger, making materials and processes cheaper and more efficient ...result: lower priced nstrument for same amount of work. Miminum wage in montana is 20% less than hawaii ..major factor

@@GotAUkulele I got curious and looked it up: 2021 Cost of Living Calculator: Missoula, Montana vs Honolulu, Hawaii · A salary of $23,920 in Missoula, Montana should increase to $43,375 in Honolulu, Hawaii I agree with you, I just try to understand why some things are the way they are.

@@julesbrunton1728 Good point!

it's a good point you raise and one I have discussed with both guitar and uke luthiers. The bill of materials is actually a small part of the price of an instrument, though when you move to Hawaiian Koa it does become more prominent - koa is significantly more expensive than, say, mahogany. Especially when, like Kamaka do - they age it for 4 years. The construction of a uke is less intensive, but they are actually more fussy on accuracy. The smaller you go with scale length, the harder it is to dial the intonation in. As such, a soprano is tougher to 'get right' than a baritone. Which then starts to undermine the cost increase. Perhaps the guitar comparison wasn't fair, but I bought a USA, hand made Gibson guitar for less than this.

Just don't think they can have it both ways on the finishing issues. I could have given it a better score on value, but would have needed to trim back on fit and finish. Don't get me wrong - it's still a marvellous instrument but if you spend this sort of money with Kanile'a - you get flawless finish

That's a good way of looking at it - heck - you could buy two Moonbirds for this money!

It was the rubberised leg of the camera tripod!

Been reviewing for over 10 years, hundreds of models - worked with all UK uke stores to get loans, several others and many brands. NEVER damaged a single instrument in all that time. Do you think SUS would loan me a 2.5k instrument if that was a risk?

@@GotAUkulele we believe you honest 😁

@@GotAUkulele sorry Baz didn't mean anything by it, just an observation of the noise.

I said I don't like them for that. Others mileage may vary! Both the wound strings on this, the D and G are steel over nylon and the other two are plain black nylon

Standard baritone tuning - DGBE - low D

Honestly / if you saw the state of my house and boxes piled everywhere you may not!

Is that right? Thanks

Thanks Chuck!

I think there is some of that - but also paying for heritage, US rent, taxes, power etc. Still - pricey!

Yep - serious wedge of cash.

If you get one, don't get the two confused!

No apologies needed!

I think it's a bit more complex - I think the are too expensive - but the base build quality is up there with the best i've seen no matter the country. But - I think the markup between standard to deluxe is off the mark here. I gave it a bye on the tooling marks (as they don't bother me) - BUT.... for 2.5k they should not be there - they can't have it both ways - either I up the value for money element of the score and drop the fit and finish - or the other way around. It's a high score - but there are much higher in my review list.

@@GotAUkulele I hope Kamaka are not taking customers for granted - for a long established company that’s been at it for over a 100 years, now using more modern techniques and machinery as well, I don’t think it’s now still acceptable for them to send instruments out with finish flaws and tooling marks at this price point. This is a LOT of money. If they are sending them out like this, then they need to reduce the asking price considerably for it to be considered value. Maybe they should take a look at what modern builders like Kanilea are doing. Kanilea are on a much higher level in the finishing and detail. Kamaka are a big established brand name and will probably still be here for a long time to come, because of loyal customers and the history, but please don’t take your customers for granted. This instrument is representing Kamaka as a top of the range Deluxe, where you would think extra special attention would have gone into it. This is all just my opinion, I may be wrong, others may think differently.

I'd agree with you that it should be perfect for the money - it's why I had a choice to either chip the value for money down or the fit and finish - they can't have it both ways. Saying all of that - I don't think they are taking customers for granted - it's likely more just a very old fashioned approach that the family haven't changed. Doesn't make it right of course - and people DO buy them!

Certainly a fun hobby!

Fair enough