OHANA CUSTOM - Premium Hawaiian Koa 19'' WHALE Baritone Ukulele w/Hard Case

Brad Kahabka is a protege and we are very impressed with this custom baritone ukulele with gorgeous whale design. Brad is a luthier with an incredible background in fine art and Military Mechanics. Whilst that is not usually the  recipe  we expect when talking about this historical greats of Ukulele luthiery; it certainly helps and Brad is at the forefront of a new wave of master builders coming out of California right now. Backed by Louis Wu' the man that created Ohana Ukuleles; Brad's ukuleles are built in a state of the art Long Beach, Californian workshop and bare the name Ohana.

The unprecedented access Brad has to modern building methods and select tonewoods is matched only by Brad's imagination, patience, love for his craft and his fine art background. Long before we had the pleasure of spending the day with Brad at the Ohana custom shop in January 2024; we were fans of his work and the first wave of Ohana customs that came to Southern Ukulele Store last summer gained lofty 9.5/10 ratings from known ukulele review site Gotaukulele. Brad can build a Ukulele that will feel, sound and emote unlike anything else on the planet.

We've often spoken about the point at which a musical instrument ceases to be just a means to produce colourful noise and begins to be functional art and there is no denying these one off pieces from Ohana in the USA are worthy of plaudits and will go on to inspire production instruments that imitate his designs in the years to come. The whale ukulele is made of high grade Hawaiian koa which gives it the tropical, traditional ukulele sound you might expect. It sings softly, with control and confidence and produces colour and warmth around it as it reverberates.

Brad spent some time training under Peter Marreiros of Cornerstone Ukuleles and as such, tunes each ukulele individually, taking time to move bracing as the instrument settles so that ultimately the final product is a Ukulele that is optimised and on point immediately. Each spruce brace is riveted to reduce weight and increase resonance and the sum of this ukuleles parts makes for a rare master built 19'' baritone ukulele. This means it can be played in DGBE or GCEA.

Brad opted to keep Ohana's unusual 19'' baritone scale length which itself is based on the earliest Favilla baritones produced on the mainland in the 1950s. The body however is influenced by the Hawaiian curvy style of Kamaka and Kanile'a and Island brands. I've been at the forefront of the ukulele world now for 15 years and this is the only instrument of its kind I have come across up to now. I feel like the future of baritone ukulele innovation and refinement is happening right now in Longbeach, California and I want Southern Ukulele Store to be the store that showcases these weird, wonderful and aspirational instruments to the world.

The reason this ukulele is called the whale lies in the fingerboard. A custom designed motif of a family of humpback whales inlayed in Hawaiian koa, padauk, purple heart, spalted maple, ebony and mother of pearl. The decorative elements of this ukulele somehow look like they were carved from a single piece of wood. This ukulele feels ancient and ultra modern in the same glance.

The depth of this ukulele is slightly enlarged to give it more of a Hawaiian classical guitar voicing and the claro walnut bevelled comfort edge is a joy to lean into as you play. The binding mirrors the comfort edge being claro walnut and abalone on the front and back. Finally, the instrument has a simple abalone rosette. Please note the picture of the bottom of the ukulele we have included in the listing which shows great effort and attention to detail in claro walnut and abalone on the bottom.

The neck on this ukulele has a slim depth but a wide 38mm nut width. It is the perfect Baritone Ukulele for an experienced tenor ukulele player adaptable to whatever tuning you prefer.

Specification:
Ohana PB-WHALE 
Select Hawaiian koa top, back and sides
Abalone rosette, front, back and trim bindings/purflings
Claro walnut binding and comfort edge bevelled armrest
African ebony fingerboard and bridge
Khaya mahogany neck
Ivoroid Side dots
Bone nut and saddle
Hawaiian koa and American claro walnut faceplate
Mother of pearl 'O' logo.
Claro walnut and ebony end graft
Claro walnut heel cap
Gotoh SX-510 geared machineheads
Uke Logic H-BSW4 fluorocarbon strings
Polyurethane high gloss finish
Satin neck
19'' scale length
790mm total length
360mm body length
38mm nut width - 30mm string spacing at nut
Comes in an olive tweed woodshell hardcase