Lanikai Curly Koa CK-TEQ Ukulele

4 Comments

1. steveuke April 29th, 2010 8:09 pm
   

   HEAVIER THAN MY OLD MARTIN TENOR BUT, A GREAT UKE VALUE. ELECTRONICS A BONUS.

2. Jackson April 9th, 2012 4:56 am
   

   I bought one and glad I didn’t spend more than 200 delivered. Was really hoping it would be more then what it turned out to be, judging from all the positive reviews.

   Shoddy construction:
   – slapped on binding, uneven, rough, used lots of filler.
   – stain slopped over headstock & uneven
   – frets not filed well, sharp edges
   – had to sand nut down. Edges too sharp made it very uncomfortable
   – Action is too high
   – Sound is a bit dead, but sounds ok through an amp
   – intonation is fair

3. Steve April 12th, 2012 5:10 am
   

   This is a beautiful looking instrument. Mine has a full on cross grain pattern to die for. The action and intonation are spot on. It is very easy to play and stays in tune. Mine came equipped with Aquila strings, with a plain 3rd. You can see that a little filler has been used between the maple binding and the koa in places but it’s not that noticeable and doesn’t detract from the overall beauty of the instrument. Like the other reviewer said, it’s not extremely loud but the tone is lovely. Played through an amplifier it sounds great. I paid $500 Australian for mine and I’m very happy with it.

4. Jackson July 22nd, 2012 3:40 am
   

   Ok, so the story of shoddy construction continues. I called Hohner (office park in Richmond VA, not Hawaii like they try to make you think)

   They sent me a new CK-TEK, this time with the new Fishman Kula active pickup. (much nicer pickup) First thing I noticed was the action was very high. Sighted down the neck to find it had a sizable bow or warped neck.

   Called them back, and they sent me another one. The first thing I noticed on the 3rd one was the neck seem much thinner then the orignial (which I still had but was due to send back with the RMA number they gave me)

   I used a pair of woodworking calipers to measure the neck on the old vs the new. At the first fret next to the nut, the new uke was 1/8th of an inch thinner, and at the 10th fret was 3/16th thinner. These were measurements from the top of the fretboard to the back of the neck.

   Also the width of the neck is a little less then 1/8th narrower.

   The neck on the 3rd Uke is straight but the frets need filing and dressing. The action needs lowering just a bit. The wood-workmanship is only slightly better then the first.

   The big plus is the new Fishman Kula pickup. It’s a very clean sound through an amp and it has an on-board tuner.

   All that said, with frustration with the Asian made instruments (in this case Indonesia), I went and busted the bank and ordered a Kanilea Tenor. I’m done with the Asian junk.

   You get what you pay for.