There are as many reasons to play the ukulele as there are people who love to play it. Some of the advantages of the uke are: it's small and very portable, easy to learn and fun to play, brings out the smile in your audience, everyone on your block doesn't play one, doesn't need to be checked as baggage on a flight, great conversation starter, and last but certainly not least, a unique and beautiful sound.

When the Portuguese arrived around 1879 to work in the sugar cane fields, they brought the braguinha. The Hawaiians were impressed at the speed of Joao Fernandes fingers as he played this instrument. One story has it that the Hawaiians called the instrument 'ukulele', which means jumping flea in English, the vision that they saw as his fingers jumped across the instrument. Others say that it was the way that Edward Purvis, an English Army officer, jumped when he played the braguinha.

In the 1940's one additional size ukulele was introduced; the "baritone." It is the largest ukulele. Popularized by Arthur Godfrey, it is tuned D-G-B-E, the same as strings #4 to #1 on the guitar. This makes it easy for guitarists to pick up and play. It's worth noting that the baritone was a mainland invention made for student guitarists and not originally played in Hawaii.

These are played and tuned exactly the same as regular wooden ukes. As the ukulele fad of the 1920's wore on, players were looking for a louder instrument for public performances. The banjo uke answered this need perfectly. Ukulele banjos were a huge success in the 1930's. In fact, their production totals may equal regular ukes of the same era. Unfortunately, the majority of ukulele banjos were crudely built and not designed well.

Because our Mele Ukuleles are made of solid tonewoods, we recommend that you exercise the same care as you would any quality solid wood instrument, such as a fine handmade guitar, violin or clarinet. When relative humidity falls below 40%, be sure to "humidify" the environment of your ukulele. (Air conditioning or winter heating can cause very dry conditions indoors.) We recommend keeping a "Herco" guitar humidifier in your ukulele case to maintain constant humidity.

You can purchase a new Kamaka ukulele from any of our authorized dealers or order one directly from the factory. As a Kamaka customer you are entitled to the highest quality customer service. Our Retailers can assist you with any questions you may have about our instruments, including our Limited Warranty and serial number registration. The demand for our instruments greatly exceeds the supply.

A good ukulele should have excellent sound and be comfortable and easy to play. It should also have good tone, intonation and resonance. Tone is the overall quality of the sound when a note is plucked, and is a highly subjective criteria from individual to individual. Intonation is the accuracy of the notes along the fretboard. Resonance is reflected by how round the sound of the ukulele is. The best way to check for resonance is to have someone play the ukulele while you listen across the room.

A custom Kamaka ukulele is an ukulele made to your specifications by our luthier, Casey Kamaka. Due to our present backlog, Kamaka Hawaii is currently not accepting any orders for custom ukuleles.

Kamaka Hawaii recommends three types of ukulele cases: chipboard, hardshell and Protec. The chipboard cases are the most basic and affordable ukulele cases we carry. The hardshell cases offer greater protection for ukuleles and are a higher grade case. The Protec cases are sturdy, light, water-resistant and perfect for traveling. Protec cases are utilized by many of our customers who are professional musicians. All three cases are available in our On-line Shop.

Kamaka ukuleles have a lacquer finish and can be cleaned with a damp cloth, not wet. We recommend buffing your Kamaka with a dry, soft, clean cloth such as 100% cloth baby diapers. You can also use a commercial instrument cleaner like Martin Guitar Polish or GHS Guitar Gloss. We do not recommend that you use a cleaning product that has wax in it. Oil should only be used on the fingerboard and not on the lacquer finish of your ukulele.

If you bring your Kamaka to our Kakaako factory, we can assist you in having your ukulele evaluated and repaired. We are sorry, but we no longer repair any ukuleles other than our own. For more information please see our service and repair page.

Nope, we haven't. In fact, we have plans for an even more spectacular and colorful third issue. But we're hard at work on the Fretboard Journal and we haven't had the time resources to allow us to produce it just yet.

Probably! We'd love to see a handful of writing clips and discuss working with you. We need stories! Just email us. Note: Due to the money losing nature of this project, we can't really pay our contributors much, but you will get free copies of the issue.

The baritone uke is tuned like the first four strings of the guitar: (low to high) DGBE. Be sure to tune the instrument to an accurate source like a pitch pipe, electronic guitar tuner, or a piano, remembering that the instrument sounds an octave lower than written. In other words, the high E string should match the E immediately above middle C on the piano, but in baritone uke and guitar music, that E is written an octave higher.

The name ukulele came from Hawaii. The instrument itself was adapted and developed in Hawaii from earlier instruments that were brought over in 1879 from the Portuguese island of Madeira. There are similar instruments to the ukulele in many cultures around the world.

Nylon strings usually last a very long time. They wear but rarely break. However, new strings sound better and are easier to tune (after the first week or two of "breaking-in"). (Old classical guitar player's joke: "How do you know when it's time to change your strings?" "When they start to stay in tune!") When strings are visibly worn or sound lifeless and dull,, we recommend replacing them with new ones. For frequent players, this will be every few months.

The Key of C which is the traditional tuning goes (low to high) G-C-E-A. Key of D tuning which is slightly higher tension goes A-D-F#-B. Some tune down their tenor ukuleles to D-G-B-E just like a guitar. (That's also the normal tuning for a baritone uke.) There is also a slack key ukulele tuning.

Generally, yes. See Dating Your Uke and Historic Kamaka Ukes. However, there are always exceptions, particularly since our company has continuously made many kinds of ukuleles since 1916. Thus, in order for us to be able to accurately date your Kamaka, we need to see it. We are frequently referred to eBay auctions for highly sought after vintage Pineapple ukuleles that contain the item description "Made in 1928.

You can't, unless you have someone who is a Kamaka expert look at it in person for you. Certain features such as the "KK" decal on the headstock, the label in the soundhole, the shape or tuners, may identify a uke as a Kamaka, but are by no means conclusive. You will not know for certain if the uke you bid on is the real deal until you receive it in the mail. We have received countless inquiries at the factory about auctions on eBay for used Kamaka ukuleles.

For years, we've seen images of folks strumming the uke on sheet music covers, television and in old movies. Invariably, they were playing the soprano (or "standard") size uke. This has been the most popular uke and the one we associate with people like Roy Smeck, Ukulele Ike and Tiny Tim. However, there has always been a small contingent of musicians who wanted a larger instrument. Martin designed two larger ukes back in the 1920's. They were the concert and tenor.

Mele ukuleles, although partially assembled overseas, are entirely handmade, by experienced luthiers, of solid tonewoods. Each and every Mele is a professional-quality instrument, even the $199 soprano. Hula Ukes, on the other hand, come off an assembly line in China, just like Bushman, Lanikai, Kala, Mahalo, Vineyard, and others.

We recommend that you contact an independent appraiser for the current value of your Kamaka. Many factors such as markings and the original condition of the instrument are considered. We do not appraise our ukuleles in the current secondary market.