During our visit to O`ahu during June of 2002 we engaged in the great ukulele search. I originally thought I would visit every ukulele maker and shop on the island, but that turned out to be too long and laborious a quest. We did manage to visit about six builders and three shops, and Ko`olau Ukuleles and Guitars in Kane`oe was one of our favorites. They were also the only builder with a tenor in stock, so we just had to adopt one.
The Model 100 is the least expensive, and least fancy, of all Ko`olau ukes, but the feeling of quality, the playability, and above all the rich sound, is all there.
This simple little instrument is full of fun music, and is a pure pleasure to play. It may not be flashy or fancy, but it wins my heart every time I play it.
John Kitakis runs the shop, with his son and a helper. They build and repair guitars and other stringed instruments as well as ukuleles. They use the Cumpiano neck mounting system, which is strong enough for twelve string guitars. It certainly makes this uke feel as solid as can be.
The peghead overlay is the only fancy koa on the instrument, and the label is a decal rather than an inlay. I'm convinced that geared tuners are the way to go (I'm a wimp, I guess). John Kitakis of Ko`olau has his own line of strings that add to the richness of the sound.
There's a wee bit of curl to the body woods, but I couldn't capture it very clearly. You can just barely see the ripples in the lower bout of the back.
Even though this is their least expensive instrument, the Kitakis family puts all their build quality and workmanship into this basic ukulele.