When it comes to quality Hawaiian ukuleles, Kamaka (being the best and the most expensive, right up there with Pennsylvania-based Martin in terms of steep pricing), Kanile’a, Ko’olau and Ko’Aloha’s (aka the 4K’s) are right behind but their ukulele’s are typically in the thousand dollar range.
All but Kamaka offer their budget line (still not cheap) but Kanile’a has their Islander brand, Ko’olau has their Pono brand and Ko’Aloha has their Opio series.
I own an Islander MT-4 Tenor.
For Islander, there is the Mahogany (M) and the A (Acacia) and they also offer various versions such as a turtle etching, the Hawaiian islands etching. There is the GL series featuring Spruce and they also offer expensive solids, (MS) for Solid Mahogany which are about the double the price.
The MT-4 Islander Tenor is part of the Alohi (bright) series and has a mahagony body with 1st Gen Kanile’a Bracing System, Bridge Pin Technology, Open Geared Chrome Tuners, Walnut Fingerboard/Bridge, Aquila Corde Strings and a Satin Finish.
This is the RB version so it has the added top and back tortoise binding framing it off as well as the rosette.
What I love about this is that the strings are much easier to replace thanks to the walnut bridge with black ABS pins. The Islander also has the Kanile’a 1.5″ nut width of allowing a little more space.
The sides have fret marks, the sound is great, and doesn’t need to be tuned a lot within a half hour compared to other cheaper ukuleles that must be tuned way too often (ie. every three minutes).
It’s important to note that Kanile’a ukuleles are made in China. If you want pure koa, then you would want to purchase a true Kanile’a. If you want Acacia front, back and sides, then you would go for Islander’s Super Series and if you want a solid Mahogany Tenor Body, then you would go for the MST-4.
Overall, I’m quite pleased. For one, I wanted a tenor that has a longer neck that would be my choice for comfortable playing. I like the quality of Kanile’a ukuleles but knowing that these Islander ukuleles are created by a third party in China utilizing Kanile’a technology, whoever is contracted in China to produce these, have done a good job.
While I debated between going with the mahogany MT-4 or the acacia AT-4, the price difference between the two should be only about $10. I’m quite content with the quality of the Islander MT-4–RB.
I recommend it!
