OHANA CUSTOM - 'Dealer Special' DBK-0 Hawaiian Koa Baritone Ukulele w/Hard Case

£1,699.00 £1,415.83

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Left Handed? If the uke is a 5 or 6 string, or it has a cutaway, personal soundhole or preamp panel then we cannot convert left handed.

Convert my Ukulele to left handed please

Fit a Low G string (Soprano/Concert/Tenor size in GCEA tuning only)

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Fremont Squeakless Flatwound Low G (recommended) + £5.99 (Excl. Tax: £4.99)
D'Addario J4504 Polished Flatwound Low G (recommended) + £7.00 (Excl. Tax: £5.83)
Worth Clear Plain Unwound Fluorocarbon Low G + £6.50 (Excl. Tax: £5.42)
Worth Brown Plain Unwound Fluorocarbon Low G + £6.50 (Excl. Tax: £5.42)
Aquila 16U Wire Wound Low G string + £4.29 (Excl. Tax: £3.57)
Uke Logic 42C Hard Tension Clear Fluorcarbon Low G + £6.99 (Excl. Tax: £5.82)

Fit a strap button to the bottom bout - check listing to see if it comes with one first

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Chrome + £5.00 (Excl. Tax: £4.17)
Black + £5.00 (Excl. Tax: £4.17)
Gold + £5.00 (Excl. Tax: £4.17)
Match it to the hardware + £5.00 (Excl. Tax: £4.17)

Fit a Strap button to the heel joint of the neck - check listing to see if if comes with one first

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Chrome + £5.00 (Excl. Tax: £4.17)
Black + £5.00 (Excl. Tax: £4.17)
Gold + £5.00 (Excl. Tax: £4.17)
Match it to the hardware + £5.00 (Excl. Tax: £4.17)

Fit a Piezo Pickup - do not select if the uke already has one factory fitted. Not suitable for banjoleles.

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MiSi Rechargeable Active pickup (recommended) + £179.00 (Excl. Tax: £149.17)
Fishman Pro Passive pickup + £149.00 (Excl. Tax: £124.17)

Full setup, including adjustment of frets, saddle and nut is included. If you have specific instructions regarding the action of your uke, please tell us here:

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Details

Brad Kahabka is the head luthier at Ohana's USA custom shop in Long beach, California. With an awe inspiring story up to this point that has taken him from being a mechanic in the US National Guard to studying fine art to building ukuleles; Brad has an artistic flair to his work and frankly makes some of the world's finest ukuleles with the support of Ohana head-honcho Louis Wu.

The Ohana custom shop specialises in small run and bespoke pieces but occasionally produce simpler and more affordable dealer models such as this one. The DBK-0 is a Hawaiian style classic Hawaiian koa baritone ukulele in the vein of a Kanile'a K-1 or a Kamaka HF-4.

The benefit of this baritone over many others in this style is Ohana's slightly shorter baritone scale and shape which lends itself to the earliest Favilla baritones produced in New York in the 1950s... Think of it this way, many baritones have been inspired by tenor guitars or are trying to retain the classical guitar build and feel. This Ohana instead feels and sounds like a giant tenor ukulele with a lighter tension under the fingers in DGBE tuning and a more refined overall medium scale to it at 19''.

This custom ukulele could easily work in GCEA if desired but absolutely sings and rings out like no-one's business in traditional baritone ukulele tuning. The scale may be shorter than an equivalent Kamaka Ukulele but the thicker body and chunkier neck make for a lovely playing experience.

With Hawaiian made baritone ukuleles approaching £2000 for a style one instrument in 2024; I feel that this Ohana Custom Shop Ukulele is slightly underpriced considering it is made and designed by a single Luthier in California using Brad's tapered and streamlined custom bracing. The finish is satin and the ukulele manages to look brand new whilst feeling, sounding and emitting a vintage vibe. Ohana have always been the best brand at reproducing the ukuleles past in modern forms and the custom shop is excelling at this in the same way.

Specification:
Solid Hawaiian koa top, back and sides
19'' scale length
Indian rosewood fingerboard and bridge
Front and back Indian rosewood binding
White MOP fret markers
Mahogany neck
Open gear Gotoh tuners with black buttons
38mm nut width with 30mm string spacing at nut
Pin bridge
Bone nut and saddle
Comes in a deluxe tweed hardshell case