reveiws

Kimo's Tenor

My first impressions: the uke is absolutely gorgeous! The combination of the Guayacan and Spruce tonewoods are amazing. I love all the great details in the rosette and top purfling. Relatively light build with clean and precise craftsmanship with great attention to detail. There is a sophistication to it that really makes it a winner. The tone, clarity, boldness of sound and absolute “purity” on every note and chord is perfect. Surprisingly bold voice and very balanced. Wonderful rich tone full of warmth that sounds amazingly different than my other ukes in a very pleasant way. I can only imagine that the 12 frets to the body construction has something of significance to do with the sound, tone, and projection. I like it! I also like the beefier neck, which feels much better to me since I've crossed over from playing the acoustic guitar. Overall, this uke is a very fine instrument! It has exceeded my expectations ... and then some!
Thanks again for all of the great correspondence, the smooth transaction, accommodating the fretboard markers, fast shipment, and the great Oceana t-shirt!!!
Thank you so much Zac!

A MONTH LATER....
You know ... the more and more I play my Oceana Guayacan/Spruce Tenor the tone is getting sweeter and sweeter!!! I'm hearing so many complex tones it's AMAZING!
I am very impressed with the quality, workmanship, incredible tone, projection and playability of my Oceana tenor uke and know that Oceana Ukuleles are for REAL!!! I am so glad that I pulled the trigger on my Oceana uke and now know that an Oceana uke can satisfy my U.A.S.!!! My search is over. Oceana Ukuleles ROCK!!! Put my name on that.
Kimo Tandaguen
Los Angeles, CA

Sean's Tenor

Hi Zac,
I bought a tenor ukulele from you in December. The more I play it, the more impressed I am with it, so I just want to pass on my compliments.
    It's the one that you loaned to Ukulele Bartt for his video. Several months ago, I stumbled across the uke comparison on that video that he calls something like Whole Lotta Ukes. So I put on my headphones, closed my eyes, and listened to hear which one I thought sounded the best. Every time, I kept coming back to that Oceana one...it sounded just right to me.
     I felt like I couldn't let it go. I'm not a collector, but I felt like this was a dream ukulele and you'd priced it at a level that I could afford. That's why I snatched it up.
It was so beautiful and it sounded so good. I really fell in love with the ukulele. It's so easy to play. And that sound. I love it.
    My wife is from Hawaii, a lot of times, our family gatherings result in us sitting around, strumming. I brought the Oceana up to my brother-in-law's house this past Christmas. My brother-in-law couldn't put it down. Even when he tried, he'd say, "No. My fingers are itching," and pick it back up. I played along with him on another ukulele. This gave me the opportunity to really listen to the Oceana as a I followed my brother-in-law's lead. I was swept away again. What a uke!
    After we finally stopped playing, my brother-in-law's father-in-law (if you can follow that connection), this old local guy from Hawaii, asked, "What is that ukulele? It sounds just like an old Martin."
I've heard those old Martin tenors. It's quite a compliment to be compared to them. To be honest, though, I prefer that Oceana you made.
I just wanted to pass all that on.
I hope all is going well with you and Oceana ukes.
Sean

The Jug or Nots

Hello Zac,
I truly love my Oceana Ukulele. My wife can tell you just how many I played before I decided on one. There were quite a number of "expensive" and a few "cheapies" that I played that sounded pretty good. But each time I passed, the one I already owned sounded better or just as well. My wife noticed your booth at Cerritos before I saw it and she called me over. I played a couple other ukuleles you had displayed before I played your C-124. Although I didn't play it long, it got under my skin somehow. We went into the auditorium to see our club members perform but my mind was on the uke. After the show we stopped by and I played it a bit more but your booth was busy and I really didn't have the money at the time. I left... but I had your card. I think I waited a couple days before I called and had you hold it...the rest is history.
The band, the Jug or Nots is booked to play at the 100 year celebration of Scouting. There will be over 20,000 people attending on October 16th. I'll be up there jammin' with my Oceana Uke in front of my biggest audience, ever! I'll send pictures and clips from that event. We're also booked at the 2010 International Jug Band Festival in Sutter Creek, CA in September. If you google search "Jug or Nots" we come up first and has links to a bunch of video clips. There's a close up of me playing on our version of "White Wash Station" played at Kulak's Woodshed. I'm the big guy...white beard. Don't miss our fan favorite "Spiderman" from our gig at the Steel Pit in Tujunga, CA.We also have a site on MySpace that should be easily accessed Thanks again, Uncle Dave of the Jug or Nots, a fan of Oceana Ukulele's

DaDawg Octavin

say hey, i got da Supa-Uke home...90.7dBthat is 'bluegrass loud' my friends, aka KILLER ;-)way cool great workmanship and quality of sound.super well balanced with no barking/wolf notes.i am sooo happy with this monster axe, luv ya baby.
DaDawg

I was at the Northern California Wine Country Ukulele Festival, I spent quite a bit of time talking to the guys in the Oceana both. They were one of about 20 fine luthiers. They had something the called a Supa’lele which was a five fret short beautiful guitar ADGCEA. My ukulele buddy Bob “DaDawg” (see the coment above) from Santa Cruz swiped it up into his collection without much hesitation!
I thought that the rosette designs were quite beautiful and perhaps they have an Equadorian flair. See the Oceana site gallery. The fronts were quite thin and the polish was much like my DaSilva ukulele. And the prices were a bit lower that other custom luthiers.
HumbleUker

The Baritone

Zac
I've had the chance to drive it for a few miles now and am extremely pleased with it. The quality of the woods and the workmanship is outstanding. It plays and sounds amazing! I've been playing uke for over 60 years (yeah, I'm a geezer) and have had the chance to play some of the best ukes in the world. This uke truly has soul. I call it "old style". It's been a pleasure to play and I know I've got many happy hours of play ahead. Please accept my thanks for producing such a great instrument. (Thanks for the t-shirt too!)
John

Al Hirsch NW DJ..90.7 Da Coconut Wireless Sunday 5-7pm

WOW! I played a few of these fantastic ukuleles at Folklife. I had heard about them on the net. Seeing them and playing them confirmed the fact, that they are well made and sound great. He builds with woods harvested in a sustainable manner. His own personal 8 string tenor was impressive. Hand built ukes right here in the maritime Northwest.
Al Hirsch