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Original Post By:
Ukie Yuk Yuk
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Date: 8/6/2008 1:22:04 PM |
| Anyone own or has played a Hamano concert? Can you tell me about the build quality, sound, etc and how they would compare to a Kala? |
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Posted By:
WildChild
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Date: 8/6/2008 6:00:49 PM |
I had a Hamano soprano. It played and sounded great, but I got tired of looking at Hamano's very fakey attempt to make the uke look "vintage". I assume the same cheezy finish and antiqued bindings are on the concert version.
I have a Kala koa bodied cedar top concert, with beautiful maple bindings. It is one of my favorite ukuleles. The workmanship is impressive, and the projection is amazing. It is loud, but has very nice tone. For less money than the Hamano, you will get a much better uke.
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Posted By:
gilla
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Date: 8/6/2008 9:52:16 PM |
I think the Hamano is a very underrated ukulele, in my experience it is better than the Kala's I have played, not that Kala is bad. The Hamano does remind me of a vintage martin the neck is very thin, the only thing I have seen to compare to it now days is a Kiwaya, which are nice but cost more money.
I am a little confused by WildChild you say the ukulele played and sounded great but you didn't like the finish so the ukulele isn't good? Each to his or her own but playing and sounding great are big priorities to me, I actually like the finish it is a very understated matte rather than glossy finish.
Good luck on your search, I think your decision will come down to the sound and feel you want, Hamano has only one style, Kala has lots of different combinations. Trying them out first would be the best option.
Aaron
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Posted By:
ChefJeff
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Date: 8/7/2008 8:58:39 AM |
| Slightly off topic but I had a Hamano tenor, which I thought played and sounded great. I've never had a vintage Martin but my understanding is that Hamanos are copies of those designs. Fit and finish were first rate and I liked the understated finish. I sold my Hamano at M.A.U.I but only because I'm a restless soul and needed to make room for the three new ukes I bought from Rob Deel while we were there.
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Posted By:
Ernie
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Date: 8/7/2008 9:13:02 PM |
| The Hamanos I've played have impressed me more than the Kalas I've noodled around with...
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Posted By:
Jamie_T
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Date: 8/8/2008 7:47:32 AM |
| I also had a soprano...was very impressed...nice Uke..
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Posted By:
lecky
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Date: 8/9/2008 5:03:11 AM |
| The binding is wooden binding - nicely done. The finish is clean and flat and thin and when you dink a corner it doesn't detach itself - it ages well. The back of the neck goes nicely shiny with use, it would be easy to polish the whole uke up to a soft shine. I've a soprano, It's an excellent instrument with bone nut and saddle, a one piece neck, nice thin frets, it came set up very well, only the tuning pegs are poor but still usable. Some Kalas are very nice but Hamanos are a step up in build quality. I understand that the concert's string spacing is a bit wider than typical at the saddle which may suit pickers well.
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Posted By:
jnoteast
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Date: 8/10/2008 10:42:06 PM |
I have a Hamano Tenor. I have set it up as my low g-string instrument. I have Mike DaSilva flourocarbon strings. I bought the instrument because of its similarity to the Martin Tenor. My good buddy L. Martin has and loves his two Martin tenors and thinks I should have one still but he has given my Hamano quite a bit of praise.
Someone mentioned that the finish was not to their liking. I agree a bit but the instrument is not 50-60 years old. I bought my Tenor from Elderly Music. They say there is a waiting list but I got a call from them within 2-3 weeks. I have noticed that the instrument polishes beautiful and natural from the oils in my skin. The neck now has nice hand polished look.
I enjoy it. For about $300 there's a lot less worry bringing it around to club meetings. I just had a multitasking friend crush her ko'aloha concert at nearly $700 that really hurts!
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