Pō Mahina 'Ukulele & Guitars - 'Ukulele Models

Standard Models

These are the traditionally shaped, round hole `ukulele. They are available in all the usual sizes and a great place to start when designing your custom `Ukulele.

These are beautiful sounding, good all around instruments.

Pineapple Soprano
in Mago custom ukulele, style A

Soprano
(Granddaughter not included) custom ukulele, style B

Concert
in Koa
custom ukulele, style C

Tenor
in Koa hawaiian custom ukulele, style A

8 String Tenor
Spruce Top hawaiian custom ukulele, style B

Baritone
in Koa hawaiian custom ukulele, style C

Guitalele
custom ukulele, style A

I designed this model with a lot of input from Keola. The design is based on the double hole guitars he helped create and make popular when he was involved with the Honolulu Guitar and Lute Workshop in the 1970's. This is not just a standard `ukulele with the soundhole moved but has a slightly different body shape and is much different internally. The result is an instrument with a different sound quality- perhaps a little louder, and with more sustain and overtones.

This is a great choice for fingerstyle and Jazz players and for chord style players who want a little more mellow tone. The tenor works well set up with either a high or a low G.

Each Keola Beamer Artist has a label signed both by Keola and myself.

Standard is a plain fingerboard with a handcut shell inlay of a shark at the 5th fret. This is Keola's aumakua and may be changed or omitted, no problem.

Available as Tenor or Baritone. Except for peghead choice all the Custom `Ukulele options are available.

Sinker Redwood and Brazillian Rosewood	Peghead detail
Koa body	Custom with Spruce top

Island Jazz Model

This body shape is inspired by the guitars designed for Selmer in the early 1930's by the great Mario Maccaferi. With a 9 3/8" wide lower bout and a slightly shorter overall length, the tenor is quite different than the traditional "hourglass" shape. The Baritone is a full 11" wide. These instruments are especially well suited for the modern fingerstyle player. Excellent intonation and a clear "bell kine" sound is common to all models.

I offer both the wide "D" hole and the smaller oval soundhole. I believe for most purposes, the "D" is a better all around choice.

If you play mainly single note lead style, consider the oval. I have been making this model since 2003, and it never fails to impress me with it's clear, focused sound.

I make this model in both Tenor and Baritone. All the `Ukulele options are available on this with the exception of peghead shape choice and the option of the rope style rosette.

D Hole Tenor All Koa	Oval Hole Baritone Custom
Tenor Custom Steel String Spruce top	Non-Cutaway Tenor Back view
Baritone 8 String Spruce top	Oval Hole Tenor Spruce top

Niels Andersen and Susan Howell with a pair of Island Jazz `Ukulele

Kaliko Beamer-Trapp Signature Model 'Ukulele

This `ukulele was designed for the multi-talented Kaliko Beamer-Trapp, particularly as an accompanying instrument for singing and his teaching activities.

Kaliko was Aunty Nona Beamer's hanai son, and the special ornaments are in remembrance of her. In the fingerboard, at the 5th fret, a mother of pearl butterfly is inlaid. And under the fingerboard and peghead overlay, there is a thin orange veneer. Orange was certainly Aunty Nona's color and the Kamehameha Butterfly was very special to her.

The sound is exceptionally even and suited for accompanying voice and halau.

Kaliko's instrument is an all Koa 6 string, set up with unison 1st, a high C on the 3rd and a low G, but it is also available in 4, 5 or 8 string versions, and has an abalone rosette and high gloss finish

Other than choice of case and addition of a pickup, there are no other options.

Both Kaliko and I will sign the label.

A portion of each sale will go to help support the Mohala Hou Foundation.

Butterfly inlay	Orange veneer detail
Peghead detail

Kapuailohia Model

I am honored to offer this very special traditional concert size `ukulele. This was designed with the help of Auntie Nona Kapuailohia Beamer, the details and trim were her specific requests.

A portion of the sale of each of these instruments will go to the Beamer Family Scholarship Fund.

Standard features:

Master grade koa body
Koa neck, fingerboard and bridge (all the Koa is from her beloved Mauna Kea)
Orange wood rosette
Gold Grover friction tuners with black buttons
Bone Nut and Saddle
Label signed "Kapuailohia" by Nona Beamer before she passed

Other than choice of case and addition of a pickup, there are no other options.

Auntie Nona & Dennis	Label detail
Kapuailahia closeup

Buddy Fo Special

This can be built either as a large body Baritone `Ukulele with nylon strings or as a steel string Tenor Guitar. The outward appearance is the same, but of course the interior construction is entirely different.

Made as a Baritone, this has lots of volume, and a beautiful full sound with lots of overtones. As a Tenor guitar it is bright and clear, excellent for leads.

The measurement of the lower bout is 12 3/4" and it has a 23" scale length. It has a special peghead shape and is standard with a Herringbone rosette.

Buddy's is Koa with an Engelmann Spruce top, but, with the exception of peghead shape and rosette, it can be customized with any of the `Ukulele options. Buddy also specified no frets above the body, and his has the fingerboard scooped out for his strumming style, this is entirely optional.

Each label will be signed by both Sammi Fo and myself, and a portion of the sale price will go to Sammi Fo, to help with her efforts to preserve Buddy's early LP's as CD's available to his fans.

Peghead detail custom ukulele, peghead

Another view
hawaiian custom ukulele

Cigar Box Model

Every once in a while, I make one of these for fun and also will take the occasional order. This is a real `ukulele, Concert Scale, with a real Cigar Box for the body.

The boxes I use are around 50 yrs old and made of quarter sawn Spanish Cedar, an excellent tonewood. I take apart the boxes, do some thinning, do some bracing and put them back together using the same methods as regular `ukulele construction.

These are not toys - they are real `ukulele that sound quite good and play easily and in tune.

Specifications: