New Facebook Page devoted to Ohana Ukulele Lovers in Australia.

New Facebook Page devoted to Ohana Ukulele Lovers in Australia.

Open for public  posts, so post your Ohana Pictures, Videos, Reviews. 

Like Ohana ukuleles? 
Well I do and  as I sell them here in OZ, thought it was about time I gave their range of Ukuleles some love.

So here is my Ohana in OZ fan page, its open for public  posts, so post your Ohana Pictures, Videos, Reviews. 
https://www.facebook.com/OhanaUkuleleAustralia

Ohana CK-350G Concert ukulele Review

REVIEW
Open the hard-case and whoa it looks so damn good.   Beautifully figured Koa wood all round in a gorgeous Honey Blond.  The Gloss finish is of that "Dipped in Glass" level of shine.  Lots of hand-sanding and sprayed coats are needed to achieve this level of finish.

The Abalone inlay binding is installed neat as a pin in the Rosette, Top and Headstock, and although Abalone  won't improve the tone, it endows the CK-350 with that massive "Wow factor" where ever it goes.

Select Solid Koa Wood top, back and sides with 19 fret rosewood fingerboard and rosewood bridge. Mahogany neck with koa headstock overlay. Abalone inlay, bound body, glossy finish, deluxe tuners, bone nut and saddle. I find that Ohana Ukuleles always have well-dressed frets, the CK-350G is no different, it is really rich full sounding uke of fine craftsmanship.

FEATURES
Solid koa top, back & sides
Rosewood fingerboard & bridge
Abalone inlay top rosette & headstock
Mahogany binding & head overlay
Gold-finish geared tuners
Aquila strings
Bone nut & saddle
Gloss finish

TESTIMONIALS
Customers tell you their thoughts on purchasing an Ohana ukulele CLICK HERE

FAMOUS OHANA UKULELE PLAYERS
Through the ukulele, we’ve been lucky enough to make some talented friends. Check out some of these fantastic ukulele players! Ohana Players CLICK HERE

INTERESTED OR NEED MORE INFO
email me Chris From Ukulele Trading

ABOUT OHANA UKULELES
"Ohana, where you will find the many hand-crafted ukulele models on offer - from soprano to baritone, mahogany to selected koa from the islands of Hawaii, conventional to vintage models, plus unique ones for those who are looking for something different.

At Ohana, our goal is to provide the highest quality product at a reasonable price.

Every ukulele that leaves our warehouse is carefully inspected and set up for maximum playability.

Yes that's right — EVERY UKULELE, regardless of model and price. Should musicians compromise on quality just because they need an entry-level ukulele? We don't think they should.

NOTE: Before Shipping to you I install the Strings you want and set it up how you want. The ukuleles have come from the Ohana USA warehouse, via the Importer here in Adelaide  Australia and Transportation half way round the world by Ship and differences in Weather plays its part, I make sure that your ukulele plays well.  Cheers CC

At Ohana, we believe in the basic concepts of QUALITY, PLAYABILITY, and VALUE. As a player you deserve each of these when you purchase a musical instrument.

Ohana Music markets its products primarily through a network of terrific dealers (Like The Ukulele Trading Co Australia ;-)  around the world.

However,we are here to answer any questions you may have. So go ahead, send Ohana an email or call; we will be happy to inform you about the products Ohana offers.

Meanwhile, have fun, share the Aloha spirit with your loved ones, and Happy Strumming!"

The CK-350G Concert Ukulele is the TOP-OF-THE-LINE MODEL in concert size and what a cracking Ukulele it is. 

At The Ukulele Trading Co Australia we ship the CK-350G  with Hardcase, Setup, Headstock Tuner and Free Shipping in OZ.

INTERESTED OR NEED MORE INFO
email me Chris From Ukulele Trading

Worth Strings 多彩な音色、キレ・ヌケの良い音 Worth Premium ukulele strings

Proud Day.
Worth Strings Japan has added me ( The Ukulele Trading Co Australia )
to their website as an official importer of Worth Ukulele Strings into Australia





Worth Strings 多彩な音色、キレ・ヌケの良い音 Worth Premium ukulele strings

OHANA SK38 Mahogany Soprano Ukulele is a crackingly good homage to a 1930's Vintage Martin Style 2

Review of the Ohana SK-38 Soprano Ukulele 

THE CHALLENGE

Ohana SK-38 Solid Mahogany Soprano Uke

Ken Middleton, well known British ukulele teacher and player posed a few questions.

1. Could Ohana Ukuleles make a modern ukulele in the style of a vintage Martin Ukulele?

2. Could Ohana Ukuleles get it made in China at a reasonable Price?

3. Could you recreate some of the 'charm of old things' in a new instrument straight out of Chinese industrial processes?

Quite a challenge that Ken Middleton proposed to Ohana Ukuleles, a vintage Martin feel at an affordable price! 

HOW IT CAME TO PRODUCTION

Ohana Ukuleles searched for two years for a suitable vintage Martin ukulele analyse and dissect. They chose a Martin style 2 1930 as "The Martyr' ukulele to be dismantled and reverse engineered.

Several stages and successive prototypes later they have released the SK-38 which shares the essential qualities of the "Martin Style 2" but with a low Aussie Dollar Price of $330.

Ken Middleton and Ohana Ukuleles have made an impressive team to produce an impressive Ukulele, the enthusiasm of Ken for this project is contagious, the SK-38 is a very enjoyable instrument that is in the "Hard to put down' Category.

The uke sports all solid mahogany construction, robust sound, and vintage appeal with a very affordable price tag. The overall tone, playability and quality of the Ohana SK-38 certaily ticks off the 'Vintage Vibe" check-list nicely.  

To add to the vintage style vibe the finish is satin and the binding is a nice cream colour.  The ukulele has world famous quality Gotoh Brand friction tuners that hold tuning very well and are easy to dial in accurately.  The SK-38 comes strung with Italian Aquila Nylgut strings, no doubt the sting choice teaming with the ultra thin mahogany soundboard to make this a loud little bugger, The SK-38 has that 'cut through the mix' quality, you will be heard in the crowd.

Great feel under the fingers from the Rosewood fingerboard and well seated smooth finished nickel frets. The Neck is Mahogany and is of a nice C shape, not too much of a taper along its length there is still plenty of 'meat' at the nut area where the headstock tilts back, very comfortable and Barre chords at the 1st and 2nd frets are a breeze.

STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BOX:
I'd guess that the time allotted at the production facility to do the factory set-up is more generous than some because right out the box the SK-38 is pretty good.  All Ohana Ukuleles get checked at the factory and checked again by Ohana themselves. The Ebony wood Nut looks neatly cut and the strings slots well cut. The Ebony wood saddle is also neatly made and fits well in the Rosewood Bridge. Action is pretty good and intonation good

I don't settle for a ukulele that is below par so neither should you.  But of course ALL Ukuleles can benefit from a good final set-up and this set-up process makes a huge impact on the playability and enjoyment of your instrument.
   

Purchase a ukulele from me and I will include a final Set-up before it ships to you.  Your Choice of High G or Low G Set-up, with either Aquila or Worth strings, nut / bridge saddle adjustment, string action adjustment,  fret levelling (as needed), fret polishing.  You ukulele will be 'ready to rock" right out of the case when it arrives, tune up the strings and GO!. 

SUMMARY
The Ohana SK-38 is an all Solid Mahogany Soprano Ukulele styled on a Vintage 1930 Martin Style 2. The SK38 gives you High quality at an incredible price. The tone has that classic soprano "bark". and warm woody tone that owners of vintage mahogany ukuleles crave. The build specifications copy those of vintage ukulele from the ebony wood nut / saddle combination and the ultra thin lightweight premium solid mahogany top back and sides, vintage style friction tuners, to the vintage dimension and style bracing etc... well it all combines very nicely to produce a lovely sounding soprano ukulele. Another winner from the folks at Ohana! 

SPECS:

Rich Premium Grade Solid Mahogany Soprano Top/Back/Sides
Vintage Finish and weathered look
Body Binding
Rosewood Fingerboard & Bridge
Ebony Nut & Saddle
Gotoh Friction Tuners
Aquila Stings

Ken Middle Talks and Demonstrates the Ohana SK38

French Review of Ohana SK38 ukulele From Ukuleleboudoir.com

Guitar Makers Jumping on The Ukulele Bandwagon (Gravy Train)

Ukuleles are not just little guitars. 
Some Guitar makers get it right, many don't.

My advice is generally to Stick with a specialist ukulele maker that loves what they do and you rarely go wrong.  Their whole business depends on their ukuleles reputation, to them a ukulele is not an after thought, a 'tacked on extra' to the guitar line.

Some Ukuleles just sound "Dead and Box-like" 
Some Instruments just do not encourage you to play as they just feel stiff and hard to play. Even worse some actively discourage you from playing because as well as being hard to play they sound just awful with all the tone of a cardboard box.

You can fit a set of Italian Aquila strings to liven them up, and a proper set-up always helps.  This will almost certainly improve volume and playability. But alas as they say "You can't polish a Turd, but you can spray paint them gold". Cheap or expensive, if your ukulele suffers from Dead Boxy Syndrome its probably the basic design that's the cause.

Yeah but my favourite Fancy Guitar Makers just released a Mega-Expensive Ukulele, So it must be good, Right?
You would hope so, but it is no guarantee. These days it seems that just about every Guitar brand has tacked a ukulele or two onto their model range. And people assume that if they make good guitars then they must make a good ukulele too.  Plausible but sadly flawed logic.

It's not just the cheap end of town that suffer this Dead Boxy Syndrome. Even expensive ukuleles by well know guitar makers can be lack-lustre and "boxy" sounding even when you have paid $600 plus Aussie Dollars.

Constructions Methods
Just because you are a big Guitar maker does not mean that you know how to make a great ukulele. Ukuleles and Guitars are very very different beasts, with very different design considerations.

A steel String guitar is literally trying to pull itself apart with string tension as those six tightly stretched steel strings have a lot of energy in them. A thick solid top, back n sides and ultra stiff bracing works well on steel stringed guitars to keep it from breaking under the strain.

But big thick and heavy just what you Do Not Want in a ukulele.    
With a steel string Guitar you need strong bracing and a strong top to stand up to high string tensions without deforming.   Little short scale ukuleles with their nylon (or new modern Gut like Aquila strings) have no where as much tension being exerted on the neck and top.

People rave over the "olden days" ukuleles.  When you get a chance to play a vintage ukulele you generally find that they are light, very light in fact,  with minimal bracing, and the tops sides and backs are Ultra thin by today's modern standards. They really are very delicate animals the old ukes.  Some 'Johnny Come Lately' modern ukuleles weigh a lot more by comparison. The wood seems too thick and they are over braced IMHO.

Some Guitar brands do make pretty good ukuleles.  But generally I find they are the brands that in their past made ukuleles. Often they are resurrecting models and adapting the old designs to modern manufacturing methods. You are getting their vintage designs made in modern factories.  Look into their History and Ukuleles have been major parts of their business in the 1920's/30's.

Traditional Ukulele manufacturers simply know how to make ukuleles, obvious really, it is all they do.  If they were to turn their hand to guitar making it might not turn out too well, similarly why assume big guitar maker can stamp out a ukulele.

I'll say it again, Stick with a specialist ukulele maker that loves what they do and you rarely go wrong.