Kinnard Ukuleles || Kimo Hussey Baritone Ukulele

Kevin with Kinnardukes is a long distance ukulele friend of mine. We met at the Napa Wine Country Ukulele Festival a few years back when he was showing off some beautiful custom non-bari ukuleles at a vendor table. I brought up the subject of baritones and shared my vintage Favilla baritone ukulele. We shared conversation and played off and on during the day.

I think the rich tones of the deep bodied Favilla created a spark and about a year later I saw Kevin with an extremely delicious and gorgeous custom baritone ukulele. I don't claim to be an expert on anything but I have had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time at Mike DaSilva's shop, other luthiers, extreme collectors, and large ukulele club communities.

I find that the action, playability, and sound quality of a custom uke is a luxury that can create a lifetime of joy. I can share that I found the quality of the Kinnard Ukuleles is top notch. The sound is full especially with the top sound hole that the music will to surround you like musical honey. I can say that it (the first Kinnard Baritone) is definitely the best baritone instrument that I have ever played.

This type of quality comes with a price, My opinion is that a beautiful instrument played for years is definitely worth it. It is a personal and financial decision.


Kevin writes...

KinnardUkes is doing well. We finished this 6 string baritone for Kimo and have another baritone in build as we speak that will have maple back and sides with a master grade Sitka Spruce top. Because we are a one man shop we only make about 30 to 40 instruments per year and of those I would say baritones account for perhaps 10% of that number. Our current lead-time estimates are running about 40-42 weeks.


[Humble Baritonics Note -- love the extra sound hole!]

KinnardUkes had the pleasure of traveling to Hong Kong this past February with Kimo Hussey and participate in a Ukulele retreat. We had a wonderful time and had the opportunity to introduce KinnardUkes to some really good players in Hong Kong. It was a great time, a beautiful city and we met so many wonderful people.

We also had the opportunity to travel to Lake Chapala Mexico for a visit to the local uke club and introduce Kinnard ukuleles. Great time and fun group of people.

Check out this video on a Kinnard Tenor. You can get the link to the Great Dream From Heaven that's beautifully arranged and sounds great on the Low D bari too!