The HF-3 2DI is Kamaka’s fanciest model and, as you can see, they reserve their finest figured koa for this ukulele. The top is bound in abalone and it has a slotted headstock. As you might expect from Kamaka, this tenor uke has a rich, robust tone with a well-balanced bass to treble response. The HF-3 2DI sounds as good as it looks. The letter I in the model name stands for 'ipuka, a Hawaiian word for an opening that lets light shine through. Kamaka uses the I designation on the slotted headstock models.
The HF-3 tenor is our best-selling Kamaka uke, hands down. We think this model's versatility is part of the reason, as some players use the traditional "my dog has fleas" tuning while others tune their tenors "low to high," meaning they use a heavier 4th string that's tuned an octave below the traditional "high" 4th string (usually changing the gauge of that 4th string is all you have to do to switch between the two tunings).
Players who use the "low to high" tuning are often playing these tenor ukes like little tenor guitars, while others use a mandola tuning. Thanks to the longer scale, the frets on a tenor uke are a little further apart, so complex chords are easier to finger since there's more room. When combined with the deeper tone it's no surprise that tenor models like this one are the most popular switch for guitar players.
