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December 2023 by Gus Litulumar
I bought 1 8string electric, 4string electric too in 1999 when I was in hawaii. I was introduced to Sonny by a very good friend of him that happened to be a friend of mine too. I was the first one to introduce Sonny D brand in the Northern Marianas Islands. Love my ukuleles & thanks to Sonny for the great gifts. Hafa Adai & Tirow⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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February 2023 by Patricia Kamai
Bought a six string ukulele from the swap meet and love the sound of it.
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December 2021 by Jon Rice
Sonny and his son Duane were friendly and showed me some great ukes. Will definitely be back for one!
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August 2020 by Kevin Kim
I wandered into his shop many years ago. Late 80’s. I was playing my little old Kamaka to lead worship at Sunday school with the kids. I told Sonny that, and he went in the back and talked to his wife. Being that they are both Christians too. They agreed to sell me an 8 string and put a pickup in it for me, and a case too. At a serious discount. It is the most beautiful sound when played alongside guitars. I love this ukulele. It my most precious instrument. Mahalo Sonny D, and Mrs. I grow happier every day I play your 8 string. Ever since that memorable day met your wife and you.
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May 2020 by Val Y.
COVID-19 UPDATE TO UPDATE GREAT NEWS!!! Sonny D Ukuleles reopened May 4, 2020. Wearing of mask and social distancing required when visiting his ukulele studio. "Shaka" greeting accepted. No handshaking, fist bumps, long "Yo" brother to brother fancy hand greetings and absolutely no warm cheek to cheek Hawaiian greetings. Men and women will be allowed to give him a "butt slap" to show appreciation for him reopening but wearing latex or nitrate glove are absolutely required. And "ABSOLUTELY NO SQUEEZING" even if you think he has a nice looking a$$. He has some concerts and tenors for sale and playing of one of his ukulele's is allowed but please bring your own latex or nitrate gloves. Here is Sonny playing one of his ukulele's a few years ago. He appreciates your patience in waiting for him to reopen and wishes you safe journey through this Age of COVID-19. For me I believe that you need toilet paper, N-95 mask, hand and surface disinfectants, vitamins, ramen, an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy and a Sonny D ukulele to get you through this period of COVID-19 sheltering in place. Be well ........
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January 2020 by Mary Auyong
Repaired my ukulele's with care and quality, pricing was always reasonable. And done in a timely manner. I will never take my Kamaka's to the Kamaka store again! And when my moopuna's are ready for their own uku's their first will be a Sonny D ukulele!
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November 2019 by T. C.
I just picked up my concert ukulele from Sonny and it is awesome. This is my second ukulele from him, the first one was bought about 20 years ago but my mom is using for her church. Sonny D's is a two man shop run by Sonny and his son Duane. This is the only shop on the island where each ukulele is custom built each step of the way by Sonny and Duane. There is no factory line by 10 to 15 workers like the other ukulele shops on the island like Kanile'a, Koaloha, Kamaka. Sonny personally works on each ukulele from planks of wood to the final piece of art. Each ukulele is unique and there are never any two that are alike. His ukulele's are also built to last. If you ever need new strings, touch ups, or even lessons, just stop by. Sonny D's custom ukuleles is located in Waipahu next to the Honolulu Kitchen or close by Taniokas if you're not familiar with the location.
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November 2019 by Wahine N.
Be careful with these guys. I ordered a custom uke from them and what they delivered was crap-sloppy construction and the sound was flat. And they kept giving me excuses as to why they couldn't keep to the delivery time. My fault since I let them rip me off. But dont want this happening to anyone else. Go to Kanilea, Koaloha, or Kamaka if you want a good uke.
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August 2019 by michael tsumura
Great ukes. Very personal attention to his customers.
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July 2019 by 개언니와일곱멍뭉이
(Translated by Google) I think it's a custom craftsmanship class since I think of general shop. It is a place where the beginner is burdened to buy but it was a visit that did not waste a lot of fun,
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June 2019 by Byron Hikida
Love going there I learn a lot about ukuleles from him. His instruments are beautiful as we as beautiful sounding.
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February 2019 by Jack Jia
Sonny knows so much about ukes, he told us about all of our ukes, what kind of wood it is, how it can withstand weather/why it is or isn't waterproof / what makes a uke better than others, and he shared some of the most memorable life lessons with us. Great man and great ukes!
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January 2019 by 614stans
My wife and I found a beautiful aged Ukuklele in an antique shop in Honolulu. We researched the maker, Sonny D, finding out his shop was nearby our hotel in Honolulu. We set out to see if we could meet this world renowned custom ukulele maker in hopes that he could do a minor restoration of this instrument. Upon arriving at his very simple shop, he greeted us warmly and then began playing this instrument and telling stories about ukulele’s for about 20 or so minutes. He was very kind and gracious and not in any hurry to get back to his work of building ukulele’s. He said he had built our Ukulele about 25 years ago and agreed to restore it to “ better than new” saying “when I get done with it, it will blow you awake”. As we were leaving he went right back to his bench to continue work on one of the several uke’s he was making and which were in various stages of construction. Meeting and spending time with Sonny D was so cool and this was one of our best stories from this trip to Hawaii. He did restore our 25 year old Sonny D ukulele and it was restored better than we would have ever imagined. If you are a musical enthusiast this makes for a great impromptu stop while in Honolulu and doesn’t cost a dime but the experience is great!
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November 2018 by Stan Scheidler
Awesome Ukulele's! Top custom made instruments. Doesn't get any better than a custom made Sonny D concert Ukulele.
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May 2018 by Mark N.
The previous extensive reviews are on-point and I can only add to the accolades of the true artisan. A true craftsman who operates a family owned business in an unassuming location, the second floor of a two storied business in Waipahu. If not for WAZE, I would not have found the place. In fact, I drove past it and had to turn around. The business is a true "ohana" (family) business as the whole family seems to be working for the business. My mom and I visited Sonny's based on the recommendation of another skilled artisan who no longer repairs ukuleles. I had a classic, six-string ukulele in need of repairs and went to Sonny's to see if he could, and would be willing to repair it. Fortunately, he was able and willing to repair the ukulele in a timeline that was astonishing...I was able to bring it back home to the mainland (Virginia). My mom and I spent over an hour just hanging out and "talking story" about ukuleles as Sonny described his passion, many clients, and life in general...how can you not love a man with passion? His ukuleles are artwork that not only looks awesome, but sounds great! The sound, resonance of an ukulele is hard to describe in words, you have to listen and feel the melodic music of a beautiful instrument. I was sold and ordered a concert ukulele (between a small and larger tenor). I visited Sonny's to repair a classic ukulele...BUT the great vibe and work of art in progress and completed compelled me to order a work of art. Any regrets? Yup...I should have visited and purchased an ukulele earlier!
