For many years Ko'olau Guitar and Ukulele has been building some of the finest quality ukes money can buy, allowing the customer to pick from many woods and decorative options. The company was founded and is still run by John Kitakis, whose career began as a furniture maker. He moved from the mainland US to Hawaii forty years ago, then for a period of time went back to the mainland doing warranty repair work for Martin, Taylor, Gibson, Guild and other guitar manufacturers, and in between built custom guitars and mandolins. Eventually he, his wife and children returned to Oahu to begin Ko'olau Guitar & Ukulele Company. All of John's children worked in the family business, from sorting screws to sweeping floors. His oldest son, Noa eventually chose to pursue stringed instrument making, and now manages all Ko'olau production. His youngest son, Andrew also joined the family doing repairs and assisting in Ko'olau construction and finishing, but eventually established his own retail guitar and 'ukulele business.

In the mid 90's John, Noa, and Andrew moved back to Hawaii and started Ko'olau Guitar and Ukulele. They had already repaired and refinished thousands of high end stringed instruments. And on a custom basis, built acoustic guitars. They knew what works, and now was the time to change the entire scene of `ukulele making. High end 'ukuleles, up to the early 90's were unknown, still not appreciated as a professional stringed instrument.

But the performers were there, and Ko'olau soon became known as the 'high' end ukulele. Finally the ukulele was respected, not as just a fun 'toy' but instead earning it's place in the world of professional music. Early on, the real 'old timers' like Lyle Ritz, Benny Chong, Led Kaapana, Ned Kaapana, Ernie Cruz, Chino Montero, Kimo Hussey, Mike Keale, Roy Sakuma, and Tracey Terada bought Kola's and were exposing others to the quality coming from the foothills of the Ko'olau mountains. In time the new and upcoming `ukulele masters, such as Abe Lagrimas, Craig Brandau, and Paul Hemmings discovered Ko'olau. And so, the beginning of a legend.

We now offer high quality handcrafted instruments at an affordable cost. All instruments are specially designed & handled by the company's own Luthier's Mark Iseman and Matthew Nigro, also owner's of Iseman Guitars and Instruments in Honolulu.

All instruments are assembled overseas by our master luthiers. They are then shipped to our shop in Honolulu where we finish the process. Your Ukulele and Lap Steel guitar will be fully set up, intonated, fret filed and specially handled by us. You will get a professional sounding instrument and a beautifully handcrafted instrument that will captivate any audience.

Travel about 30 miles north of San Francisco along the historic 101, past the city’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge, and you will cross the Sonoma County line and start to see a lot of...well, cows.

We are Kala Brand Music Co. and we are from Petaluma, CA. Our hometown is nestled in the Sonoma wine country and a harbor to an eclectic mix of artists, farmers, breweries and tech companies. We are a community deeply rooted in creativity and culture, spread across the many platforms and mediums of art, food, dairy and music.

Our character stems from our hometown drawing influence from Petaluma’s turn of the century downtown, its Gold Rush history and the modern meets historical vibe. We know it isn’t Hawaii, the birthplace of the ukulele, but it’s the birthplace of our ukulele, the handmade Kala Elite Koa ukulele.

We are proud to introduce the Kala Elite Series to ukulele players across the United States and beyond. Our Elite models mark a new standard, much the same as the original U-Bass did in 2007. In collaboration with Owen Holt, we turned the bass world on its ear with our revolutionary short scale bass. In 2016, we are excited to witness the Elite Series impact within the ukulele community.

In the past year, we opened a location in Ashland, VA, giving us a presence in Hawaii, California and Virginia. As the ukulele’s popularity continues to surge across the globe, these three locations will help us serve our customers and meet the demand for quality instruments at an affordable price.

Hawaiian Definitions of KALA

• v. To forgive, a prayer to free someone from any evil influence.
• nvs. Dollar, silver, money, cash, currency.
• n. Surgeonfish, Unicorn fish
• (Ono) Brand of Ukulele!!!

The producers of a documentary entitled"Heart Strings: The Story of the Kamaka `Ukulele", describes the Kamaka history this way: "Theirs is a story of hard work, fortitude, honesty and creativity as seen through a distinctly Hawaiian point of view, rooted in such concepts as Aloha (unconditional love), Malama (to serve and care for), and Pono (doing what's right)."

Kamoa ukuleles are being played by Directors of Opera and Philharmonic Orchestras, Concert Violinists, Pianists, Flutists, the Grammy® Recording Academy, Hollywood Filmmakers, Former Heads of State, and many thousands of satisfied musicians from Punk to Polka, Appalachian Bluegrass to Gypsy Jazz. We have customers in over 20 countries and welcome you to our Global Ukulele O’hana.

Joe and Kristen were both born and raised in Kailua on the island of O‘ahu. Joe is the youngest of eight, and Kristen is an only child. Kristen’s background is in customer sales and accounting. For Joe, the ‘ukulele has always been part of his life. He can recall, from a very young age, going to family parties and everyone sitting in a circle and jamming Hawaiian music on their ‘ukuleles and guitars. ”In elementary school is when I first got exposed to the ‘ukulele. It was a requirement for music. Hawaiian language class in High school is when I really started showing serious interest in the ‘ukulele, although, it wasn’t until after I graduated that the ‘ukulele started to influence my life.”

I have always enjoyed designing and building for my personal use–the guitar and ukulele being no exception. In 1999, I made the decision to initiate this process and was fortunate to enlist the help of master luthier John Greven. I was thrilled with the instruments I was able to make and intrigued with the process of construction and the design possibilities. Now, over 10 years later, I still find the journey far from complete since the variables seem limitless.

• 1994: Art and Design Diploma (distinction) Waltham Forest College London
• 1997: I graduated with a 2.1 with honors in Fine Art Sculpture from the now University of Gloucestershire
• 2000-2002 City and Guilds level 1&2 Fine Furniture and cabinetmaking
• 2002- present,  Self employed Luthier

( Curt. I've ordered Michael's ukulele plans an can definitely recommend them. Even if you don't build a uke. )

His musical background has provided him with all the necessary experiences to enable him to design and create an ukulele of unsurpassed quality. From the very beginning, he has been obsessed with the pursuit of producing the finest ukulele available in the market today. As a musician and craftsman, he would accept nothing less than handcrafting the most beautiful and best sounding instrument.

#####A Koll Ukulele##### <div class="img-center"><img class="bmm" src="//curtsheller.com/csp/app/assets/images/gtr_images/Koll_Uke.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="116" /></div> Saul studied art at San Diego State University and got his Bachelors degree there. He continued his “contraption” making but it was under the guise of sculpture. It was there at the library where Saul found Sloan’s book again. Meanwhile he continued to practice the guitar. Saul played in the highschool jazz ensemble as well as a few rock bands. In 1984 he coformed The Charms, a highly regarded pop rock outfit. Very successful artistically, a profound failure commercially. Nevertheless the band recorded several full -length records, many singles and was featured on a few compilations. The Charms toured a bit as well. The Charms had their last shows in 1995, the same year as the birth of Saul’s first child.

For many years Ko'olau Guitar and Ukulele has been building some of the finest quality ukes money can buy, allowing the customer to pick from many woods and decorative options. The company was founded and is still run by John Kitakis, whose career began as a furniture maker. He moved from the mainland US to Hawaii forty years ago, then for a period of time went back to the mainland doing warranty repair work for Martin, Taylor, Gibson, Guild and other guitar manufacturers, and in between built custom guitars and mandolins. Eventually he, his wife and children returned to Oahu to begin Ko'olau Guitar & Ukulele Company. All of John's children worked in the family business, from sorting screws to sweeping floors. His oldest son, Noa eventually chose to pursue stringed instrument making, and now manages all Ko'olau production. His youngest son, Andrew also joined the family doing repairs and assisting in Ko'olau construction and finishing, but eventually established his own retail guitar and 'ukulele business.

In the mid 90's John, Noa, and Andrew moved back to Hawaii and started Ko'olau Guitar and Ukulele. They had already repaired and refinished thousands of high end stringed instruments. And on a custom basis, built acoustic guitars. They knew what works, and now was the time to change the entire scene of `ukulele making. High end 'ukuleles, up to the early 90's were unknown, still not appreciated as a professional stringed instrument.

But the performers were there, and Ko'olau soon became known as the 'high' end ukulele. Finally the ukulele was respected, not as just a fun 'toy' but instead earning it's place in the world of professional music. Early on, the real 'old timers' like Lyle Ritz, Benny Chong, Led Kaapana, Ned Kaapana, Ernie Cruz, Chino Montero, Kimo Hussey, Mike Keale, Roy Sakuma, and Tracey Terada bought Kola's and were exposing others to the quality coming from the foothills of the Ko'olau mountains. In time the new and upcoming `ukulele masters, such as Abe Lagrimas, Craig Brandau, and Paul Hemmings discovered Ko'olau. And so, the beginning of a legend.

#####Ukulele Pickup##### <img class="top" src="//curtsheller.com/ukulele/amplifying_your_ukulele/images/Kremona/ukulele-pickup.png" alt="Uke Pickup" width="100" height="48" />Natural, detachable passive piezo pickup solution for ukulele. Encased in lightweight tone wood, UK-1 ensures natural sounding amplification of your ukulele without modification to the instrument. Utilizing the tension of tuned strings, UK-1 installs safely and securely on the tie bar of most ukuleles. UK-1 comes complete with a detachable, easily replaceable cable. When not in use, UK-1 may be left in place with no detriment to the instrument&rsquo;s acoustic sound.