Kamaka are the original pineapple ukuleles. Pineapple ukes were invented by Samuel Kamaka and patented by him in 1928. As a result, the only true vintage pineapple ukuleles are Kamakas.

The very oldest Kamaka ukuleles have feature a hand-painted pineapple design that covers the front and back. These were made in the 1920s and are very valuable today.

Slightly later, they have just a pinapple decal in front of the bridge (under the strings). These were made in much greater numbers in the 1930s

Later on, they produced the ‘white label’ and ‘gold label’ Kamakas. The ‘Gold Label’ era was around the 1960s. These ukes are not as expensive to buy as the earlier models but do produce a great sound.

But they are not all vintage ukuleles. Kamaka do still produce a pineapple uke: the Kamaka HP-1. A soprano size ukulele. Obviously coming from Kamaka it is high quality with an equally high price with an RRP of $650.