Sam showed me exactly what I asked for and thought I wanted. But he helped me more by asking questions about what qualities I was looking for. He played several for me, jammed along with me as I strummed, pointed out all the subtle harmonic differences in the various models. I ended up paying far less than I thought I was going to for a model that suits me to a T. This is their business model, and they execute it flawlessly. Thanks so much, Sam. I love this uke! read more

This place was terrible, the Salesman/proprietor was a pompous poncy snob, I went in looking for a Baritone Ukulele at an affordable price, he subsequently told me to try a $1,500 Tenor Kamaka. I told him that I wanted a Baritone, to which he replied in a very snide manner that "no one wants a baritone", I guess he never heard that the customer is always right.... he bragged about tuning 50,000 ukuleles, having 1 million hits on his website in a month, and that he couldn't offer budget priced Ukuleles "because of too many flaws" when asked what these flaws were, he had no response. I'm no novice but I am far from a professional, I've played guitar for several years and I wanted a decent Bari at a reasonable price. I wasn't looking for a 10$ ABC Store piece of garbage, I was looking for an entry level uke that could last me many years. he lost a sale to his cross town competitors, not everyone can afford a Kamaka but at least he could have tried to sell me something within my price range.... read more

Last Feb. We purchased two ukes from the Kamoa store in Koloa. GIGI the owner's mom was the salesperson. She was a hoot, no high pressure, had us sitting down playing some notes in a few minutes. We left there happy and they shipped the ukes home to us. Eight months later, my concert uke developed a small crack along the grain on the back of the uke. I contacted Sam, the owner and he arranged to send me a new uke for basically shipping. then I got to keep the old uke which is easy to repair. I may give it to my son as he has been in music for 25 years. This is the kind of customer service I love. You call expecting a hassle and get just the opposite. Thank You Sam and GiGi read more

When exploring downtown Kapaa, I came across the shop and decided to buy a ukulele as a gift. Sammy, Lila, and Wolfgang provided an incredible buying and learning experience. Sammy introduced himself immediately, and it was great to see how well the team worked together. I'm excited to give a this beautiful red ukulele as a gift, and I'm looking forward to visiting again! read more

My daughter got her ukulele from here. The map link didn't work for some reason.-but its right on the highway. The person working the counter was very helpful and got us happily on our way in no time :) read more

I would just like to begin by saying that my unplanned stop into this place was so enjoyable that it got me interested in actually playing music more so than I have ever been before. The owner was incredibly charismatic and seemed genuinely concerned with our understanding of the intsrument and the music itself; which was refreshing in such a tourist oriented town so preoccupied with selling souvenir trinkets. After a short time of browsing and exhibiting a little more interest than a routine looky-loo, the owner picked up a beautifully crafted ukelele and began to expertly play. If you're looking for a quality ukelele and a brief but helpful music lesson, this is the place for you. Paradise within paradise; music paradise that is. read more

I had a great experience buying my first ukulele here. The owner's dad was helpful, hilariously sarcastic (Island variety) and not a pushy salesman. I told him exactly what I could afford, my musical background and why I wanted to learn ukulele. He spent a lot of time showing me some basics and demonstrating different models. read more

Larry's Music has a smaller store in Koloa, and a larger store in Kapaa. The Koloa store has several reviews which I read. After having read all of them, it seems safe to conclude that Larry's Music has really good days and really bad days. Today, it must have been a really bad day at the Kapaa store. The store hours on the window stated they closed at 4pm. I arrived at 355pm to a locked door with the heavy set grey haired gentleman behind the counter helping a couple. They left the store without a ukulele, and he locked the door again before I could go in. He went behind the counter and proceeded to attend to his books. He looked up at me and just went back to his books. Not a hint of a smile, no courtesy at all. Other people tried to open the locked door as well. He gave them the same unfriendly glance and went back to his books. Business must be really good, for now. read more

After spending a few days trying to figure out why everyone loved this island I walked into the store and met Gigi who brightened my day with her awesome laid back banter and no pressure talk. She taught us several cords and explained all one could hope to learn about how a quality uke compares to a cheap piece of junk. This is how you sell a uke!!!!! Heading in tomorrow morning to buy my first one!!!! read more

What a great place. Checked around the island looking for a quality uke. Only wish I would have came here first as I would have saved myself a lot of time. The person who waited on me was knowledgeable, helpful, and very friendly. He had no problem pulling stuff down, letting me play it and explaining the differences in the woods. I ended up with one of the custom shop tenors and I could not be happier. They shipped it to me and when it got hung up in shipping they even were kind enough to refund me part of the shipping fee. This is a class act music store. I will definitely will be back during my next stay on the island! read more

Friendly and helpful, nice selection and knowledgable. Bought some music books for ukulele.

We stopped to check out some ukeleles while in town. This was the third music shop that we tried out. We were helped out by the mother of the owner of Kamoa. She was super knowledgeable about the ukeleles and once we decided on the model that we wanted, we tried four of them and picked the one we liked best. She then changed the 4th string to one that is an octave lower than usual. That gave the instrument a nice rich sound. Months later we are super happy with our uke and will stop in next time we are on the garden island. read more

Sam is the best. I purchased a beautiful 500c concert 2 years back from his mother, but six months back my cat knocked it off the stand on the table and TOTALED it. Sad me it was my favorite uke. Told same the story and he reminded me they used to make cat gut strings. We laughed. Cat is still safe. Then he kindly offered me a very large discount on another 500c. After getting my wife's permission (she is wonderful and put up with my musical instrument addiction) She gave a thumbs up and I had a new Kamoa. My wife also carried it back from Hawaii as my daughter and I had already taken ukuleles to play on the trip. Moral of the story pick the right wife and buy ukuleles from Sam and you will be happy! Sam is the man. read more

Had the the most professional follow-up service from Sam and Gigi at Kamoa - I have a Kamoa bass ukulele which developed electronic problems. I called them to get a suggestion of what to do and they did the the following: First, Sam send a new pre-amp to me. It was easy to replace, but the problem remained. I called again and Sam said he would test a new pre-amp to be sure it was working properly and send it to me, which he did. The problem remained. I called again and Sam sent me a new Kamoa bass ukulele to replace the 'non-working' one ---- ALL AT NO COST TO ME (except the shipping charge for the ukulele. Gigi keep me updated with emails so I would know the process. Sam also said I should keep the original ukulele (which, except for the electronics plays like a dream) for "back-up parts" --- exceptional service from Kamoa Ukulele. Mahalo Kamoa read more

Great experience! Came back after closing to meet us and we got a wonderful package for a starter ukulele and case! Thank you!

Okay, so my wife found a Kamoa uke in a store while visiting San Diego from Massachusetts... it's an E3 Soprano in red. This store was great but I'm not reviewing them :-) My wife fell in love with it- she's played lots of ukes and that one by far is her favorite. So when she wanted to get her first Tenor, she knew that Kamoa was the only one she would accept.. but tragically there are NO Kamoa dealers on the eastern seaboard! SO she tried others, dozens of brands and types within brands and she found them all sub-par. I wanted her to have the Uke of her dreams for her 35th birthday. What is a loving husband to do?!? On a whim I emailed Kamoa around 1am EST and Sam the Man emailed me back in about 5 minutes. About 15 emails later, we had an AMAZING deal for a thinline tenor that isn't on the website, a case, a shirt, some strings and a tuner. They took the time to make sure it was exactly what my wife wanted... and boy-howdy were they on the money. I have never ever EVER seen my wife more happy about anything aside the birth of our kids. She plays it every single day without fail. It plays and sounds even better than we could have hoped! And that's not all! The shipping company apparently handled it a tad rough and the tuner screen was cracked. Kamoa sent out a new one the NEXT DAY. Little touches like a friendly post it note and stickers just made this the best and most personal buying experience I've ever had, and I never came any closer than 5000 miles to their door! Sam the Man and Elena, thanks to you my wife had the best birthday she's ever had and the joy that the Ukes you make have made my entire family so much happier (there are 7 of us and only 2 of us DON'T play uke because they are too little). Now- we just need a store 'round here that sells them!! Oh, and my wife looks HOT in the shirt :-) a million stars to you Kamoa! read more

Kamoa - This is the amazing thinline Tenor, she named him Gus! - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Kapaa, Hawaii

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Went into their ship today looking for a tenor uke to complement the e3 kamoa concert uke I bought 2 years ago. The owner Sam came over when he saw me looking and started pulling out different versions of the same model (e5-t) and explained each different wood and how it affected the sound. He had me try each and then he played each one so I could see what each was capable of (I'm a rank beginner). The man is very passionate about his work and music in general, and he worked with me until we found the one special uke that really spoke to me. Then, he gave me a screaming deal! The quality of their ukes and the quality of their service absolutely can't be beat. If you are on Kauai and are at all interested in a ukulele, THIS is the one place you must go!! read more

I happened upon Kamoa within my first 20 minutes of landing in Kauai. What a heartfelt, happy vibe I had from the moment I walked in. I really set the mood for my entire trip early this January. Sammy was helpful and super friendly and even gave me a slight discount on my purchase. Initially it wouldn't stay in tune, but I brought it back and they tightened the tuners. I've had no problems since. I've played my uke nearly every day since the purchase with the calluces to show for it. Thanks for the fun instrument! read more

As a life long guitar player, On a whim, I decided to get a Ukulele and ended up with two. One of lesser quality but electric that sounded OK unplugged and one that felt much more alive. That was a Kamoa E3T. I really knew nothing about the ukulele and it's particular tuning at that time. I soon realized the relative tuning to the guitar (GCEA Vs DGBE) and that was all it took. I really started to just love the things I could do with just the four strings. I switched out the first (G) string with a lower one, as I prefer that sound from the higher pitch( sorry purists) ;). I payed $80.00 for this Ukulele and later found it was worth a good chunk more I believe ($350.00 ish) and I really like the volume,feel, tone. I have played quite a few after getting this one and this E3T is quite nice and sweet to play. I would recommend this well built brand of Ukulele (E3T at least) as a first or advanced player instrument. read more

We stumbled into the Old Koloa Town shop just to see what ukuleles we're going for now. Gigi, the mom of the designer, was so wonderful and spent a lot of time showing the different styles and sounds of the many beautiful ukuleles there. She even gave this Portuguese girl from Oahu a brief lesson in the origination of the instrument which was interesting. After seeing the beautiful workmanship, hearing the rich sound, and seeing how reasonably priced they were, I decided to purchase one to take home to Minnesota and finally play one again since having mine stolen when I was young. I took it to Hilo when I visited my dad to get his opinion on it. My dad is an awesome ukulele player who can pick like no body's business. He has been playing his whole life and is now pushing 80. He said several times that my new Kamoa had a better sound than either of his. He kept picking mine up and checking it out. I could tell he really wanted to play it but I got a low G and he picks on a tenor with a high G. I might have to stop into the Kamoa store in Kapa'a to chech out how much a tenor ukulele costs since my Dad's birthday is next week. I wish I had more time to go back and talk to Gigi in Koloa but if the folks in Kapa's are even half as wonderful as Gigi, that would be fantastic. Gigi was the best sales person and was not at all pushy. She was even just going to give us a business card to take back to the mainland if we wanted to decide to buy one later. Thank you for my beautiful instrument! read more