Top-7 of music shops in Koloa

Ron and Lawrie were wonderful! Lawrie took the time to make sure of the ukulele fit and showed us so many beautiful looking and someone ukuleles. We ended up with one of their own designs as well as a gorgeous travel guitar. I highly highly recommend this shop.

I recently started playing ukulele and really wanted to buy a new one while we were on the island. Stopped in to check it out on our way to Waimea. Well, I was immediately handed a uke to try out and I went in to panic mode! I can’t do this in front of anybody! :-0 But Ron walked up and grabbed another ukulele and talked me off the ledge and the next thing I know I’m slightly relaxing and actually sort of strumming along with him. It was such a great feeling that this man would take the time to do that. Of course I bought the uke! And I love it!! We had a play/sing along at the house that night with the family and it made the whole trip so much more special! Thank you Ron (and Mrs. Ron…sorry I forgot your name)! I’ll be back for my next one!

I bought a 12 string guitar a few weeks ago for a fantastic deal, the owners are very personable and helpful, anytime I’m in the area I would go back for anything from a pack of strings to a new ukulele because I know that they are good people running an honest business

The clerk was not very friendly. We did end up getting a UKE but from another place. Nice selection of instruments.

I found this place to be hard to shop at. Due to Covid there are plastic screens up almost all along the counter. The workers while trying to helpful left me feeling very defeated. They do give good guidance. Make sure it is your first stop in your ‘ukulele shopping or you may find what they say contradicting what others say.

Lots of ukelele stuff (naturally) but a lot of accessories that I have never seen before like jelly caps for your fingers so if you’re a beginner you’re fingers won’t hurt as much. A very vast selection of ukeleles and you’re even able to take lessons!

Was looking for a ukulele while in Hawaii, and thought this was a good place to try. Sadly, the staff was rude and literally all of the products are behind the counters so when the staff isn’t being helpful… good luck seeing if the ones you like feel or play nicely. On top of that, the store is tiny. Many better I Keller and music stores on Kauai that I’ve found after stopping here. Nicer people, better prices, and you can actually try a few chords without being hassled. Save your time, these people don’t want your money.

The woman I spoke with was very kind and helpful, however the gentleman there was rude and dismissive. After making a purchase I was told to leave the store. I won’t be doing any more business here.

Strings of Hawaii went above and beyond to make our wedding ceremony extra special! They were friendly, accommodating, and the music was beautiful. They even learned a new song for me to walk down the aisle to — and it did an amazing job with it!

Kaycee was the violinist for my wedding in Kauai, and she did not disappoint! She was amazing during our ceremony and cocktail hour, even with the rain. And she was such a pleasure to work with beforehand, when we were picking songs. Would highly recommend her! Thanks Kaycee!

Kaycee played solo at our wedding and it was absolutely beautiful. She exceeded all expectations helping us decide on music and accommodating our needs. She plays beautifully, she is very professional and we highly recommend her!

Super friendly, and super knowledgeable!

Can someone tell me if there is Kratom for sale here???

Very nice and clean smoke shop. They were friendly,and had everything we needed. They have items for people that vape as well.

Decent selection, cool owner.

Bought a $10 piece, got home and saw they charge me $25 for it

Expensive and not very friendly.

Limited selection, pricy for what they have. Super poor customer service, cashier and what appeared to be owner had an attitude, not treated well and not at all welcoming. Best to drive elsewhere if you’re looking for a one stop smoke shop.

Very professional without being uptight. Bought two eukelays and loved the experience.

Had a great experience with my extended family all in the store at the same time (chaos!). They worked with us to pick out 3 ukes, one for each of the families. The manager was very knowledgeable but did not speak down to us, and made room for us to express our opinions (including playing them for us while our eyes were closed for the final selection). He did not just steer us to more expensive instruments; we ended up paying less than expected for a real instrument that sounds great and is fun to play.

Highly recommended for knowledge, selection, and prices (below internet advertised prices, which he’ll give you).

Amazing customer service and great selection. These guys were not only knowledgeable about each piece, but could also really play and made finding the right one fun.

They know what they sell. Helpful staff. Competitive pricing

Great service. Friendly and helpful staff. Large selection of ukuleles and gig bags.

Patient and courteous service. May not be the cheapest available but they might have something in stock where your local dealer may not (which was our case) but it is nice to have someone explain to you things and also let you try the different ukeleles vs an online store. Do be aware that buying a ukelele in Hawaii does NOT qualify as a free carry-on on any airline as the sales staff mentioned.

31 year old Male Staff employee took advantage of me(16 year old). Told me a guitar was 600 dollars retail was 400. Made the mistake of buying it, looked it up later and it was 300 dollars. I knew it was my mistake too. Definitely a store you cannot trust

this place makes me wish i wasnt poor

Came to Kauai about a week and a half a go and all I wanted to do was to go to a ukulele store. I like the sound of the ukulele and always wanted to learn! That said, I kept looking at places to go and read a lot of reviews!
The Kamoa Store Kauaʻi, Hawai‘i seemed like the place to go! After a week or so with no visit to the ukulele store, I didn’t think I would get there and finally today I got there!
When we walked in, everyone greeted my wife, daughter, and me with an Aloha and a smile! It was all family in the store, something to be said about a store with all family working!!
I shared I was looking to learn, and Sam said if you have 20 minutes, you can stay for a free lesson. I was a bit nervous at first, my daughter and wife went to shop a bit and I stayed! About an hour later, there was REALLY music happening!! Wow!!! No pressure to buy at all, told him I needed to check with my wife to see and that was no problem!
While we did some really cool things while visiting Kauai, visiting the ukulele store was up there! In the end, I did buy a ukulele. I wasn’t sure if I was going to buy one. It was Sam’s passion for the ukulele and patience working with me that sealed the deal!!
It was WELL worth the visit, and very happy I made it!!
Sam…….will keep you posted on my playing, not practicing LOL.

Amazing store with excellent ukuleles!

Was excited to stop by and had purchased a ukulele for the 1st time at Kamaka in Honolulu 2 yrs prior. I let the owner know I was an amateur, and as I played, he assumed I’d learned my strumming pattern on YouTube…but I listen to the music I like and interpret as an artist. He told me about the free lessons he offers. I said, “Let me try playing this song and you can tell me what to improve.” He says, “I don’t need to hear it; I can tell you right now.” I was enjoying playing and felt a bit disappointed. But I listened as he told me I was playing much too harshly, audiences do not like that, compared it to fingernails on a chalkboard, and told me as my audience it was basically terrible for him to listen to. I replied that he is like 2 feet away. I also agreed I could try softening my strumming, but his ex.of very soft, slow strumming did not fit the style of the song I was going for. I explained that, and he then told me that his dad had to leave the room b/c of my harsh playing. I said, “If he needs to leave that is his opinion and doesn’t offend me”(although it did make me feel bad!) I teach piano students and can’t imagine saying my husband had to leave the room b/c of the way they were playing the piano!! I guess there’s a reason the lessons are free! He could’ve said something positive and nicely asked, “What if you tried softening your strumming a bit?” I would’ve felt and responded totally differently. I was happy to take feedback but was there also for the enjoyment of trying out the instruments. This quickly dissipated through the interaction. He needs to work on his approach with a potential customer! I would never want to take lessons here, let alone purchase an instrument. Side note:, instead of starting out by explaining all the info about the instruments and knowledge, maybe could try asking what I’m looking for in an instrument. I highly recommend Kamaka Hawai’i, Inc. in Honolulu, because they treated me very kindly and respectfully.
*Response: His answer is unnecessarily scathing and of course refuses to take any responsibility or acknowledge my honest experience.
A. Don’t talk about my daughter; barely worth replying to; she was not crying because she wanted to try a ukulele. Has cried on and off during our trip when tired, and we both try to console her. Sad he’s even trying to bring up parenting to throw in our faces! Wow…no we were not looking for ukulele lessons for her but thanks for the offer. I told her about egg rolls…
B. There was 1 lady worker in the room who was quiet, and she was actually grooving a little after he walked out for a bit ;), & maybe 1-2 other people milling around, so I’d hardly say I was “entertaining” the store. As any musician can understand, we enjoy going in to a music store and trying out instruments for learning and enjoyment..
C. He has no understanding or care about the frustration that I’m expressing here. I feel like he’s not used to sharing knowledge then listening to a slightly different response. He drives his point home at the expense of a person’s feelings. He wants to paint me as an obnoxious person who was there to brag on my talents and annoy everyone, though I berated my skills sev. times, then he says all these ppl walked out who weren’t even there. Keep in mind this was a short episode: I was talking with him, trying to figure out some chords, playing a couple short songs in a virtually empty store, until my terrible playing completely emptied it?
D. This was not an official “lesson” to my knowledge. I was there to try out instruments and be free to do so /ask for input
E. I took his advice by playing a song again more quietly, to which he said it was much better, so again his story is not adding up. Also, at that point, I was the one who showed myself to the door!
F. I was told this is common behavior for store owners/employees on the island, but we did have some nice experiences! I’m sure others have enjoyed this store, but I did not, and feel it is worthwhile to share my experience, even if it means I’m berated vs. validated once again in return.

SAM was super friendly and helpful.
Great vibe!

Three years ago I stopped in Larry’s Music on a whim. I wanted to relax and enjoy my time in Kauai and was determined to take this opportunity to acquire some ukulele skills while here. From the moment I stepped in to the shop I felt very welcome. Sammy is an energetic, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and fun guy. It really made me wish I lived next door so I could stop by and just hang out – it has that kind of feel there. After feeling comfortable that I could indeed learn some simple tunes, I immediately purchased my uke. I spent the next 2 weeks carrying the thing with me everywhere… strumming the same 3 chords Sammy showed me. It drove my wife and everyone around me for more than 20 minutes completely nuts.

Now 3 years later we returned to Kauai. I’ve since spent a good amount of time with my uke off & on. I’ve had some lessons at a “Guitar Center” store in San Mateo, CA but really didn’t feel they helped much as the person teaching me never remembered where we left off the week before and always rushed my lesson after being late to start. Now that I was back in Kauai I wanted to stop in again and see what changed. I was also considering buying a new ukulele for myself and giving my old one to my now 5 yr. old daughter.

Sammy was still there and just as energetic. I met his wife & 2 kids who are all just really great. For privacy reasons I won’t mention their names on here but they definitely had Sammy’s warm & fun energy as they immediately connected with my daughter and were happy to play with her while I browsed the shop. I bought a new tenor ukulele here, and recently discovered that I purchased one of their uke’s that weren’t serialized when they first started making their own. I was intrigued to learn that they manufacture their own line of ukulele’s because of their refusal to accept “okay” sounding uke’s from other makers.

I overheard Sammy explain to another customer that Koa wood ukulele’s look really nice but really don’t sound very good in comparison to other types – he called it “swamp wood” – haha! I’m pretty sure they sell Koa wood Uke’s here, but Sammy won’t steer you wrong for what you need if you require a little guidance.

So, I left with a new ukulele (pretty darn cheap too!) that sounds great and a music book and a few new mini-lesson things to work on.

I absolutely love this place! We took our picture with Sammy and his family before leaving – hope to share it on Google+ soon.

Good people and quality ukeleles.

Great and knowledgeable sales folks. Be careful about the “Larry’s Custom” cases. Not good! Barely good enough to bring back on the plane. Need a case made by the manufacturer to protect your ukulele long term. BTW who sells Kamka Ukuleles without a case? For the money they charge it should always come with a case from the manufacturer. Too bad I was in a hurry. Everyone was in hurry that day.

My only review is due to the fact that they are actually closed weekends in a resort area. Makes no sense. Would have bought one but alas…no deal.

I wanted to like this shop. Plenty of expensive ukuleles on the wall. Sam may be friendly but I guess he was busy. Jay greeted me and is very into himself. He was selling Kamoa ukes made on Kauai at high prices. He only had a few minutes to chat as he had to ship ukes out. These might be equivalent to Kala and lots of used ones on eBay. I guess if you want one made in Hawaii, this would qualify. Shop not so friendly for me.

Larry’s Music is a great place to shop for a ukulele. We stopped in to pick up a music book for our daughter who just started taking ukulele lessons and ended up buying her a new Kamoa ukulele. The older lady that helped us was so friendly, helpful and enthusiastic.

Had a great time discussing music with Joe.He helped me out fixing the Kamoa ukulele I had made a mess of.Was a wealth of knowledge and great stories.Extremely helpful and had a lot of fun playing a number of ukes they had in the store.Already owned 2 Kamoas and 3 others left feeling that my understanding of playing was much better.Mahalo nui loa Joe.Take the time to stop by..