Kamaka Koa Soprano UKULELE 1950's Gold Label

For a 70+ year old instrument this is in excellent shape. It has mostly lived in its case, and the only signs of wear on it were left by the old vinyl case w/ metal zipper. There are small finish blemishes at the bottom edge of the face left by the case, and a small finish level scratch from the zipper on the left side of the instrument. All Koa wood and a very sweet sound. The tuners are the originals and if you were going to play this instrument regularly I would recommend investing in a better pair as the instrument will go out of tune if played hard.

I got this instrument from a family member who no longer plays, but I haven't made the time to learn Uke as Banjo is my focus these days. I've learned what I can about this instrument and what's included below is info I've found from another seller who knows much more about these instruments than I could tell you.

"This one's a "gold label" soprano and probably dates to the mid or late 50s judging by the non-fretboard "frets in neck" build. Basically, though the logo and the fret stock changed, this style of Kamaka uke is pretty darn close to the company's 1930s models in build, sound, and feel. Unlike more modern Kamakas, this has that "mini classical" wide nut and flatter, very thin (front to back) neck profile. I find this very, very comfortable for open chords but slightly slower for transitioning to closed-position chords.

Kamaka uke bodies from this time (and in general) are somewhat deeper and a little wider than your average Martin soprano (the basis for most of today's "standard issue" soprano ukes). This gives them a fuller sound right off the bat, regardless of the rest of the build. In addition this Kamaka's body is a little longer and has a slightly smaller soundhole than the more-familiar later-style body that's come to be their modern standard shape.

"The neck is one-piece with frets set directly into the top of it. This is very characteristic of older Hawaiian ukes and was retained on Kamakas for a long time. The nut is also koa.
This has original brass frets and clay or plastic inlaid dots."