Showing posts with label Solid Wood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Solid Wood. Show all posts

Saturday, 13 January 2018

The Ohana Story: A Small Family Business making a Big Splash in the Ukulele World


THE OHANA STORY 
Quality . Playability . Value

As an homage to the spirit of family and with a passion for music, Ohana was born. We are a small, community-oriented ukulele company best known for our commitment to quality—every instrument is individually inspected and set up before delivery to our authorized dealers around the world.

That’s because we believe that regardless of your skill level, your ukulele should be functional and immediately playable, so the places you go with it are marked by the experiences that awaken you.


Today, Ohana contributes to interesting lives everywhere, heading out to far reaches of the globe. Bands have formed. Songs have been played. Relationships have been built. Lives have been changed. And whether you are purchasing your first, next, or best ukulele, we’re here to help. Welcome to the family.

Quality, Playability, Value
Headquartered in Long Beach, CA, we at Ohana, believe in the importance of Quality, Playability, and Value. Since 2006, we have focused on making ukuleles from rich tone woods and constructions that yield the best-sounding instruments possible.

From Our Warehouse To You
We are passionate in what we do, which is why we make it our top priority to properly inspect and set up every instrument before being shipped. We believe that an instrument ought to be functional, playable, and most importantly, be able to inspire a person to continue to learn and create music.

At Ohana, we believe innovation is the key to any endeavor, tempered with an appreciation of those who paved the way for the ukulele before us. When conceptualizing a new line, we take everything into consideration— from sourcing and pairing tone woods, to the unique shape and construction of each model.

The Ohana Spirit
As a player, you deserve Quality, Playability, and Value, when purchasing a musical instrument. Thank you for choosing Ohana as part of your ukulele collection. We promise to continue to strive for excellence in our instruments and service.

Sunday, 19 June 2016

Kala ASAC-T Tenor Ukulele All Solid Acacia Wood + FREE BONUS WATERMAN UKULELE

Kala KA-ASAC-T Solid Acacia Wood Tenor Size Ukulele RRP $635
FREE Waterman Soprano Ukulele ($50)

Includes; 
FREE Waterman Soprano Ukulele ($50)FREE Tenor Gigbag ($30)
FREE Clip On Headstock Tuner ($15)

FREE Setup ($50)
FREE Shipping (approx $40 value within mainland Australia).

Your Choice of
1. Low or High G String.
2. Right or Left-handed.


Solid Acacia Series The All Solid Acacia Series have powerful projection and a round tone. The Acacia wood Kala use is from Taiwan, and is well known for its beautiful, varied grain pattern and curl. It is a close cousin of native Hawaiian Koa. Its all solid construction will have you playing it more as it gets older and is broken in. the Tenor ukulele feature a slotted-headstock, which is a favorite with many of ukulele players. You will enjoy playing your Tenor Acacia Kala for a lifetime!

MAX BANG FOR YOU DOLLAR
Kala have got a lot of things right with their acacia range of ukes. They’re obviously going after a more serious ukulele player but they’re keeping it affordable by using Acacia wood (a close relation of Koa and much cheaper) and manufacturing it in China.

'Definitely worth checking these Solid Acacia ukuleles out if you’re in the market for a quality uke,
but don’t have a massive budget.'

Solid woods are usually reserved for high end professional luthier constructed ukuleles great to see a solid wood ukulele at this mid range price point. If you were looking for a beautiful, solid wood concert in this price range, then put this All Solid Acacia Concert from Kala on you short list, check out the pictures and the sound demo and you may find that the KA-ASAC-T may be just what you want.

SOLID WOOD AGES LIKE FINE WINE
Solid wood ukuleles sound better from the get go, but they get better with time, the wood ages like fine wine.  Unlike Ply (which is a laminate of 3 slices of wood glued together) solid wood ukuleles will dry out over time.

As moisture leaves the wood the top, back and sides become stiffer and lighter, that’s a good thing as the lighter and stiffer the wood the more resonant it is.

The stiffer and lighter the wood the better string energy can be transferred, that means a better dynamic range of frequencies and more volume.

Ply Ukes will sound pretty much the same now as in ten years, solid wood ukuleles will  improve every year you own it.

A RELATIVE OF KOA WOOD
Solid Acacia trees are also called the Mimosa or Shower Tree; these tropical trees are cousins of the Hawaiian Koa tree. They have gorgeous striped patterns of light and dark brown and have a deep colourful tone that match their visual beauty.

My analogy for the Koa v Acacia wood is its 'Champagne if it’s made in France, sparkling wine if it’s made elsewhere'.  Do not think that Acacia is inferior to Koa, it's the same wood.

These solid wood ukes are trimmed with rosewood edge binding and classic herringbone purfling and custom position markers accent the fret board.

'This beautiful, all-solid Striped Acacia has the WOW FACTOR that is going to get admiring looks from your friends at ukulele club'

Some of the key features -  a rosewood bridge and fingerboard, and ebony nut and saddle. Decorative features include custom abalone fret marker inlays, rosewood binding and vintage-style herringbone purfling.

With the all solid acacia wood construction this Kala is sweet and loud... a sweetness that ply laminate construction just cannot achieve.

DON'T BUY A LEMON
I never ship unopened boxes, every Ukulele I sell gets a thorough inspection for cosmetic flaws and a play test, every note at every fret.

The Higher the action the harder your ukulele is to play, some ukes I've seen you can drive a truck under the strings.  I don’t like that and you won’t either.

SETUP IS INCLUDED
Mass produced ukuleles come with "factory settings" and to get more units 'out the door' they err on the side of Medium to High-action (ACTION = The Gap between the bottom of the string and the top of the frets).

DO I NEED A SETUP?
Ukuleles are made in the Far East and travel to Australia via Bulk Cargo Container Ship.  Sitting in 40 foot containers out at sea for months takes its toll on the wood, as it reacts to the changes in temperature and humidity. That's why I never ever ever ship out an unopened uke box, every ukulele is checked, tuned and played.  Also fret boards dry out a little and shrink leaving the ends of the frets exposed and feeling sharp.  I remove these rough fret ends and treat the board with lemon oil to hydrate and protect it.  In the drying process frets can move about a little, some pop up causing fret buzz.

You get your choice of
1. Low or High G String.
2. Right or Left-handed.
Standard is Aquila High G Right-handed,
let me know if you want something else.

FEEL THE DIFFERENCE
Just about every Ukulele can benefit from having a thorough setup.  You can feel the difference between a non-set up uke and a uke that has been through the Set Up Process.

I set up each instrument to ensure you get the absolute best feel possible from your ukulele for your money.

This includes, if required, altering Saddle and Nut heights/slots, Fret work and intonation checks, with levelling, re-crowning, fret end filing and fret polishing.

In Set up Ukuleles, the Fret ends will be smoother so your instrument feels more comfortable in your left hand, frets will be level and polished so you get the best possible contact between string and fret to extract every ounce of energy and tone.

SPECIFICATIONS
Size: Tenor
Slotted headstock
All solid Acacia Top, Sides and Back
Rosewood Binding with herringbone purfling
Silver Nickel Frets
Custom vine Fret position Marks at 5th,7th,10th and 12th frets on neck and top of fingerboard
Rosewood Fingerboard and Bridge
Ebony Nut and Saddle
Mahogany neck
Multi-Layered Headstock cap with carved Kala logo
Satin Finish
Chrome Die-Cast Tuners