Author Archive

Lanikai LU-8 Ukulele »

8-string ukuleles created a marvellous, shimmering sound. Unfortunately, they usually come with a hefty price tag. Lanikai are one of the few companies to make a good quality 8-string ukulele at a reasonable price in the form of the LU-8 and the LU-8E (the electric/acoustic version of the ukulele which comes with a pickup).
On Musician’s [...]

Lanikai CK-C Curly Koa Ukulele »

The CK-C is part of Lanikai’s curly koa range of ukuleles. Although it is made from laminated koa, the sound of it is still great and it’s a very nicely put together ukulele – as you’d expect from Lanikai.
On Musician’s Friend

Price: $229

On eBay

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Lanikai CK-S Ukulele »

Curly Koa (which is the CK in CK-S) is the wood most associated with the ukulele thanks to it being found on Hawaii. The appeal of it also comes from its great look and soothing sound. The Lanikai CK-S gives you the look of koa at a really low price. The koa is laminated (i.e. [...]

Lanikai Spruce Ukulele »

I think Lanikai’s spruce ukuleles are probably the best value ukes they offer. The top is solid spruce (unlike most ukes in this price range which are laminated and therefore sound duller). This gives it a bright, trebley sound – spruce is more commonly used to make mandolins. They’ve kept the price down by using [...]

Lanikai STEQ Ukulele »

The Lanikai S-TEQ is an electric tenor ukulele. Don’t let the ‘S’ in the name fool you into thinking it’s a soprano. The S actually stands for spruce. But it is only the soundboard that’s made from spruce, the back and sides are mahogany. It a sweet sounding ukulele as you can tell from the [...]

Lanikai Tenor Koa Ukulele »

Lanikai make a range of ukuleles in curly koa. The tenor models in this series are the CK-T and the Lanikai CK-TEQ. These instruments are laminated rather than solid curly koa. However, they still sound fantastic (as you can tell from the video by rawuke). The only real difference between these two models that the [...]

Lanikai CK-TEQ Koa Tenor Electric Cutaway Ukulele »

This ukulele is one of Lanikai’s semi-acoustic ukuleles (i.e. it works as both an acoustic and electric ukulele). Lanikai have a reputation for producing good quality instruments at a low price. This is one of their more expensive ukuleles but does come with a pickup.
Available on Musician’s Friend

Lanikai CK-TEQ Acoustic-Electric Tenor Ukulele Koa Rosewood Fretboard
Price: [...]

Kanile’a K1 Tenor Ukulele »

Kanile’a ukuleles are a Hawaiian made brand. That makes them comparatively expensive but also results in their reputation for high quality.
Kanilea K1 Tenor Review

Here’s Ken Middleton’s – very good – review of the Kanilea tenor. He’s obviously very impressed with it.
If you are looking to by a Kanile’a K1 tenor ukulele, the following are [...]

Lanikai Flamed Maple Ukulele »

Although it’s described as ‘flamed maple’, these ukes from Lanikai only have maple back and sides. The top of the uke is solid spruce. Spruce gives ukuleles a really great top end response (very trebley) – which is why spruce is more often used in making mandolins.
The back and sides of a uke don’t [...]

Lanikai LU-21 Tenor Ukulele »

The Lanikai LU-21 Tenor Ukulele is ideal for anyone wanting to start out with a tenor ukulele. There aren’t too many choices for a first time tenor, but this is a great one. The uke is well made, sounds great and is reliable. Obviously, it is more expensive
So why would you want to start [...]