Just a photo of my beloved ʻOli ukulele. Simple, beautiful, and an absolute joy to play. Every time I pick it up, it makes me smile.

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I’m so in love with my ʻOli ukulele. It’s an absolute joy to play, and the quality and craftsmanship are far beyond my other ukuleles. Even my beloved Mele can’t hold a candle to it. Honestly, it’s shaping up to be one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.

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I finally pulled the trigger on an ʻOli ukulele that I had been eyeing for a few months, and today it arrived. It is a beautiful cedar top acacia ukulele, and it is absolutely perfect. I bought it from The Ukulele Site in Hawaiʻi and asked them to do a full setup. I also asked if they could send a photo of my ukulele being worked on, and they said, “Can do.” A couple of days later, I received a really cool setup video instead. How awesome is that.

Fast forward to today and the ukulele showed up at my door. Just like I hoped, it is perfect. The action is nice and low, exactly as I requested, and the low G string sounds great. It came strung with Koʻolau Aho fluorocarbon strings. I usually prefer nylon, but these are highly regarded, so I decided to leave them on for now. They actually sound really good. I will probably swap them out eventually, but for the moment I am enjoying them.

This is my first ukulele with a gloss finish, although the neck is satin, and it is absolutely gorgeous. I love the wood grain of the cedar and the soft blonde color. I spent about $800 on this ukulele, which is the most I have ever spent on one, but it is completely worth it. My other ukuleles honestly pale in comparison when it comes to sound, comfort, and overall fit and finish. The ʻOli is definitely a keeper.

Bonus photo of Yuzu enjoying the shipping box:

Photo info: Apple iPhone 15 Pro, 6.7649998656528mm, f/1.8, 1/20 sec, ISO640

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I really like the rope binding on my Uma ukulele. This concert-sized ukulele sounds great, but a few weeks ago, the glue connecting part of two pieces came apart. You can’t really see it, but if you press on the seam, you can feel it. I don’t think it affects the sound, but it’s still a bit of a bummer.

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This morning, we stopped by Ala Moana Center for some shopping, and I ended up spending quite a bit of time at the Kanile’a Ukulele store. I fell in love with two ukuleles: a concert model with honu inlay and a soprano. Both were stunning, played effortlessly, and sounded incredible! The soprano, in particular, felt perfect in my hands, and with frets extending to the soundhole, I could easily play anything from my current repertoire. Someday, I’d love to make that ukulele mine!

In the afternoon, we went on an amazing 90-minute catamaran ride from Waikiki out around Diamond Head and back. The views were incredible, and as a bonus, they offered free alcoholic drinks – which, of course, we made the most of. What an awesome day!

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Such a nice shape. 🍍

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I now have 6 ukuleles at home. I like all of them. The pretty Kala is one that I keep upstairs in our bedroom so I can practice before I go to bed. A ukulele for every room would be nice!

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I just couldn’t resist buying this Uma pineapple ukulele. I have been impressed by the Baby-T from Uma so much that I had no hesitation to spend ~$80 US on a concert-sized pineapple by them. It’s part of Uma’s base model 03 line, but it is wonderful! I like them much better than Kala.

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I continue to practice the ukulele daily. It is a great way to exercise my brain, unwind, and have fun. My current favorite is my Mele concert ukulele, which is beautiful, sounds amazing, and comes from Maui, where my family has roots. I love it!

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My new ukulele arrived! It’s an Uma “Baby-T” Tenor ukulele – a tenor neck with a concert-sized body. It’s kind of a perfect tenor ukulele for me. I prefer the smaller body size ukuleles (my Mele concert body is much smaller than the inexpensive Kala ukuleles), but wanted to try out the tenor-size neck. So far I am enjoying it quite a bit! My concern was that my short fingers wouldn’t be able to reach comfortably, but those concerns have vanished as I’ve been able to stretch more than I thought. And the extra space between frets makes it easier to place my fingers on those adjacent strings.

The quality of this inexpensive Uma Baby-T is impressive. The Taiwanese acacia wood (laminate) looks beautiful, and is very similar to my Mele Hawaiian koa (solid-top) ukulele. The fit and finish of the frets is excellent, and the action is set up nicely, right out of the box. It has simple but attractive binding and I love the playful Uma logo. Some say it looks too cute and childish, but I think it’s great. What’s wrong with adding some joy to the world? Lastly, the Baby-T has a beveled edge so that the ukulele doesn’t dig in to your right forearm. It really makes a difference! No more “uke arm”. 😀

My new Uma Baby-T is now my favorite in my collection. To make room for it, I am selling one of my Kala concert ukuleles, but I’m not sad about that. I hope it finds a good home!

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