Winter NAMM 2015: Lanikai Introduces Its Handmade Makau Series

Last summer, Lanikai Ukuleles unveiled its Makau Series of instruments. Each uke in the line is handmade in downtown Honolulu, Hawaii, with all-solid koa backs and sides, rosewood fingerboards, Honduran mahogany necks, and abalone headstock inlays. The latest addition to the series is called the Makapu’u: a chamber-bodied acoustic/electric tenor with piezo pickup. According to Lanikai’s Leon Lewis, the model is the first Hawaiian-made chamber-bodied uke to go into production.

We visited the Lanikai booth at last month’s Winter NAMM show, where we spoke with Lewis about the exciting new line and also received a demo from Ukulele mag contributor Alec “Cheef” Poletsky.