Kimo Shares High Praise
Kimo and Jay worked closely together in the design phase so that Jay could a craft a ukulele that Kimo would completely fall in love with, that would inspire his brilliant playing, and that would stand tall among the high-end ukes Kimo plays and praises. Given he plays some of the best ukuleles in the world, that he chose Jay to build a special custom ukulele is a significant honor and it has been a build that has brought Jay so much joy.
Kimo’s Custom Ukulele Features: Tenor body style, highly figured cocobolo back and sides, Sinker redwood soundboard, paua abalone rosette, mahogany neck, bone nut and saddle, side soundport, K&K pick-up
Audio Files played by Jay
Samba Pa Ti (Santana)
Tick Pickin' Dog
Say a Little Prayer (Burt Bacharach and Hal David)
In Kimo’s words …
She finally showed up today and sends her greetings to you —– but also wants you to know she loves it here in Hawaii. She sings beautifully and is very curvaceous and good-looking to boot!!!
Everything about this ukulele is right and here are my initial thoughts about it. It really is one of the best tenors I’ve ever owned —– congratulations!!!!!
The cocobolo and redwood paired together turned out magnificently. I”ve always loved highly figured dark woods and the cocobolo really rocks!!!!! Gold was a great choice of color for the tuners and it, just like the neck, fit very well in the overall color scheme and presentation of the ukulele.
I LOVE the slotted headstock, especially as it plays into the entire color scheme of the ukulele. It’s a matter of letting some light in.
I really enjoy the widened fretboard and it has exactly the result I was hoping for. It adds positively to action and results in better sounding chords. The radius rocks!!!!
I love the shell treatment because ALL of it is stated very well and fits in nicely with the wood. Same goes with your logo. It’s wonderful!! The dots are very nice and PRACTICAL. The binding (is it koa?) is way cool —– and like everything else, fits in very nicely with the overall color scheme and presentation.
The sound —– it’s exquisite and one that I LOVE. I’m very excited about using this uke to play songs as I like to. The sound is not overbearing or strident and I do believe this sound is going to draw a ton of attention. There is a huge difference in a player just playing the stuff he/she likes as opposed to playing TO the instrument. I’m positive I’ve got this uke figured out soundwise and I know we’re going to produce some wonderful sounds. If ever I come to play a concert live for you (as I’d love to do) you’ll find I’m going to make the uke do all the work and “sing” to its own being —– and that is going to be infinitely better than me trying to force my way through the instrument.
I noticed the attention given to intonation with your bridge treatment. Thank you for that. Your efforts were worth it.
The sideport is really great. I don’t know what else to say about it except it works and works well.
The finish is beautiful. I know several very good luthiers who are guilty of having their instruments out-of-balance because the finish isn’t right and doesn’t fit the uke. Your finish is exquisite —– lots of kudos for that. What the outstanding finish does is to effectively highlight the beauty of the wood and the cocobolo is one of the most beautiful sides/back I’ve ever seen.
I really like the pickup because it reproduces a very honest sound —– which for me is as close to a purely acoustic sound as one can get.
The widened fretboard is a winner, so much so that I’m planning to go wider with our next project.
I am convinced of your quality and workmanship and don’t mind telling you you’re right up with the very best. Thanks so much for a wonderful instrument!
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