Larrivee Uke's

[fongie]

Has anyone thought of starting up a uke column on this forum? Especially Lav ukes. I love these instruments, they sound great and are easy to play,  light,and most of all they cost less. I have four ukes, two from the 60's Japan, a beautiful Koa Hawaii, and a roustabout which I use for my travels. I come from Papua New Guinea so I grew up with these instuments playing island music, just like in Hawaii....'Beautiful'. So is there anyone interested?
Fongie

[fongie]

Go for it Lawn, they sound great. I also heard Larrivee ukes are powering in price and are most collectable in the uke world. I wish I could get my hands on one of these, unfortunately the Aus.$ is my problem against the U.S. I can see ya' 'Hulaing' in the near future. Let us know what happen's. Thanks.
Fongie

[fongie]

G'day again Lawn, I forgot to give you the website on you tube, on your search engine just type in "Ukulele weeps by Jake Shimabukuro". Please do us a favour and watch this if you haven't already done so...'Magic'.
This piece will surely put anyone on ukes if they haven't got one. Especially finger pickers. I play a song called 'Waikiki Tamure', ....'Beautiful'.
Fongie

[NotRevGDavis]

Saw Jake last night.

[Walkerman]

Here's a Larrivee uke......

[fongie]

Oh, for sure L.J, you are definately bidding on a serious lookin' uke. Curly Koa as well, boy that is sure nice. Yes for sure curly's always look good, John sure know his Koa's. I definately love both ukes shown here, good colouring, grain, charactor, inlays and Lav's to top it off. How cool is that. I'm jealous!
Cheers Fongie 
P.S Go for it L.J 

[es-335]

Where do you find the Larrivee UKES??

it is impossible to find them here

[NotRevGDavis]

Why do people desire that they will never have? For me it is Kim Kardashian for others it is Larrivee ukes. I guess I would consider a Larrivee uke if they were to make a tenor 'cause I'm not comfortable with anything smaller. So for now I will be happy with my Tanguy Tenor and my Kamaka Taro-patch (8-string tenor) but no Kimmy.

[fongie]

Don't get me wrong, I sure love all ukes provided they are made with good wood, name and not from China. You sure got yourself some serious ukes. I like Kamakas, Aren't they suppose to be the Martin of ukes? Anyway, you've done ok.
Cheers Fongie

[fongie]

G'day es-335, found you couple of web sight on Lav Ukes for sale. Big orange guitar http://www.bigorangeguitar.com/ and Vintage Instruments  online Catalogue, click to home page and then click to ukes. A word of warning....'Hope you got a big bank account'.
Cheers
Fongie

[Parlor Picker]

I have a relatively cheap Ashbury tenor ukulele, made in Indonesia and sold here in the UK. (I'd prefer a Larrivée, needless to say.)   I was given a tip on how to improve the sound of any uke - expensive or modest.  I took up the tip and the difference was phenomenal - change the strings for Italian-made "Aquila" strings.  Some of the high-end makers now send out their instruments already fitted with Aquilas.

The difference in tone and volume is quite unbelievable.  I would recommend them to all ukulele players.

[fongie]

G'day just received my uke today, very happy. It's a 1960's, Japanese uke, rosewood veneer back and side, hog front and neck, teak veneer fretboard. Purchased from a lady in Melbourne Aust. I named the uke 'Susie', after the owner and because Susie sounds Japanese.
Cheers
Fongie

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[fongie]

G'day P.P, your uke sounds awesome, how about some pics? Thanks so much for your tip on the aquila strings, I'm definately on to it.
Cheers
Fongie

[es-335]

G'day es-335, found you couple of web sight on Lav Ukes for sale. Big orange guitar http://www.bigorangeguitar.com/ and Vintage Instruments  online Catalogue, click to home page and then click to ukes. A word of warning....'Hope you got a big bank account'.
Cheers
Fongie

Oh MY GOSH......

after looking at the price, I don't think I'd go with the Larrivee Uke...

Koaloha or Kamaka would be my choice...

[acoustic6]

I just bought my first uke and it should be here today!  I'd of course love to have one of the Koa Larrivee models but they are a bit more coin than I wanted to spend on my first ukulele.  I still ended up with probably more instrument than I need but I bought a Kiwaya KTS-5.  It's made in Japan, all solid woods, and sounds fantastic to my ear.  Had the opportunity to try one in a store here in Seattle but found a smoking deal online.  Modeled after the vintage Martins, mine has all mahogany body and the cool little friction tuners.  They seem to get a lot of positive reviews for their instruments.

Anyone looking for a Larrivee uke should look here:
http://www.fleamarketmusic.com/marketplace/default.asp

I saw two listed.  One a concert in mahogany and the other a real looker in Koa!

[NotRevGDavis]

Here are some photos of my ukes.
The Tangi was around $375.00 when I bought it. It is a boomer so much so that when playing with other ukes I have to tone it down. His shop was on the east side of Honolulu but I haven't contacted them in a while. I bought it direct.
The Kamaka was around $750.00 when I bought it but now they are a lot higher I should have bought one when I was at the factory in Honolulu but I was looking at my first uke at the time and the Kamakas were at bit pricey. I purchased the Taro-patch at Gryphon.

Tangi Tenor



Kamaka Taro-patch 8-string Tenor



Don't take this wrong I own two Larrivee guitars and they are my #1 000-50 and #2 0-05 but it is too bad that Larrivee has a habit of building an instrument for a short time then discontinuing it. I guess I was quite lucky when I found the 0-05 because I have yet to see another.

[fongie]

G'day, congrats on your 'Kiwaya KTS-5', sounds awesome, believe me you won't regret. It'll take a little gettin' use to, but once you do, you won't stop. Hog body & from Japan , great combo. Japanese are so excellent in their workmanship. I've got two japanese ukes, beautiful. Oh, thanks for the websight, I will check it out.
Cheers
Fongie P.S. How about pics?

[fongie]

Oh Boy, sure love the 'Tanguy' & 'The Kamaka ukes', beautiful. O yes, you should have bought at the Kamaka factory, not to many can say they've been there let alone buy a uke direct from there. Then again who cares, I think you bought well. Thanks for sharing them with us. Boy, I'm so jealous.
Cheers
Fongie

[PortHueneme]

I have a Larrivee uke. The size is between a soprano & concert, beautiful mahogany from the last run in Canada.
There is no inlay on the headstock, but the top at the binding is inlaid well.
For a small instrumet it is loud. AQUILLA strings made a BIG difference. The uke is intonated very well.
I have a Tangi concert, great ukes very resonably priced. I also have a Koaloha D-VI, it is unbelievable.
I would love to have a Koaloha tenor, but can't justify another ukulele. If anyone is looking for a quality uke from Hawaii I highly recomend the Koaloha.
My 1926 Gibson tenor is the crown jewell in my collection.

[fongie]

G'day folks, just bought a beaut uke today, I reckon maybe 50's or 60's not sure. The seller not sure either. Not sure if it's 'Koa', I believe it might be, hard to tell till it arrives. Paid $222.00 Aust. WOW, WOW, WOW. From 'Hawaii'.  What do all you folks reakon, koa or not?
Fongie
P.S Pics

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