June 12, 2022

We didn't know what to expect at NAMM’s 1st in-person event since 2020. Nonetheless, Ohana was thrilled to see so many of our friends and dealers all in one-place. This 3-day reunion of music merchants, dealers, artists & music lovers was just what we needed! Check out the recap on our NAMM 2022 experience below:



Before We Talk About What's New...

Since its inception, Ohana has steadily grown a robust line of ukuleles and instruments for the music maker’s lifestyle. Every year at NAMM, even if we may have new models to present, it’s always a great opportunity to showcase this fact. So we bring a little of everything to display!

Our popular starter ukuleles come in starter kits perfect for your school’s music program, workshop, or individual beginner. We had the pleasure of speaking to a teacher about their school's recent ukulele acquisition for their music program and we hope to see it grow and flourish. And from there we go to step-up instruments with upgraded features to solid top and all solid higher-end models and limited editions.

Every NAMM, our tiny ukes are a big hit! It's always fun to see a face light up when they realize our tiny ukes aren’t toys but rather high-end ukes. We have a full line of sopranino and sopranissimo ukuleles with great solid tonewood options. Folks are so surprised to see these small guys but when they pick them up, they realize the high quality make and sound.

Our “More Than Four” Strings will hardly leave you wanting…more in that department! Options range from 5-string simple harmonics to guitarleles & 10 string choruses with full-bodied resonance. Ohana’s structural build, wood choice & accoutrements keep sound quality the top priority along with playability and longevity. And looks are always a plus.

Speaking of looks…

Photos by Doug Katsumoto

Our Limited Editions are our blue-ribbon showcase because they have all the best qualities plus a focus on the aesthetic and source material. Ohana uses more exotic tonewoods to outfit these models. Many are done in our special high-gloss to bring out the figured texture and color of the wood.

We have so many other ukes we can talk about but let’s go ahead and see what’s new!


What's NEW:

We surely missed Cynthia Lin in-person this year but her new models made a huge splash. Watch Chris Wu talk about the newest models released in collaboration with Cynthia Lin’s Signature line. A new size and solid top option! Find out more with the video below.

Not New, But Still A Sight To See!

Though not brand new, our dealers and ukulele lovers have been waiting for the grand return of the all-solid mango pineapple tenor. Read all about it here and check your nearest dealer to grab them before gone again. It is Limited Edition!

 

FRIENDS & DEALERS

Ohana artist Alissa Hunnicutt graced us with her sparkle and support at the Ohana booth once again this year. Since the pandemic, Alissa created a thriving ukulele community on a social app called Clubhouse. She introduced us to a fellow from Japan by the name of Yoshi whom she met through the app and the love of this instrument. We are honored to witness their first ever meeting in-person at our booth! It’s great to see that despite the last two year’s disconnect we can still find other ways to stay connected. And even better to finally meet each other in person. Check out a snippet of their performance here.

We are grateful for all the dealers we reconnected with and those we met for the first time. It was nice to show our ukes in-person and share thoughts on our products and business.

Jeff & Julie are our darling models that showed off our -450QEL and -60CG ukes in a previous shoot. They just adore ukuleles and came by to visit, thanks to a mutual friend. Don't forget to check out Jeff's DIY pineapple with its koa veneer. The possibilities are limitless for our DIY kits.

It was great to meet with Ukulele Kids Club's CEO, Marlen Wolfe! Thank you for coming by. They're doing great things with ukuleles and music therapy support for kids in need.

 

And oh! The performances.


Performance DAY 1/ DAY 2/ DAY 3

Check out our Instagram highlights for the friends and artists who came by our booth to play live! Can you name some of the artists and friends below?

Our Final Thoughts...

All in all, we think it was a success! Another NAMM booth full of new memories and exciting news for the future of our music industry and community. Thank you for joining us on this journey to spread joy through ukulele. Connect with us on our socials and stay up to date by joining our email list.