I think it's more the builder than the wood comparison

Spruce Vs Koa

  • #1 is Spruce

    Votes: 17 53.1%
  • #1 is Koa

    Votes: 11 34.4%
  • They sound the same

    Votes: 4 12.5%

  • Total voters
    32
You need another option..........."They don't sound the same but I can't tell which one is spruce or koa"

I have come to the conclusion that with a high end builder I can't tell "sh*t from shinola", they both sound great, just different
 
OK, I agree. I really can't tell which is which. Both sound great. If I had to guess, I'd say the first is spruce.
Did these both have HML-RW string sets?
In addition to the builder, the strings also matter more than wood, IMHO.


Thanks for the cool comparison.
 
Yes, both strung with Southcoast HML-RW and both have koa bindings. hahaha :p

Made within 1 1/2 years of each other. I'm sure there's a lot of variable but the typical adjectives are warm and crisp for koa and bright and loud for spruce...also, brash is used quite often for spruce as well.
 
It is always interesting how a good builder can do things to almost reverse the so called inherent properties of woods. Spruce being brash might apply to cheap ukes. I remember the Pepe Romero Spruce and Maple HMS had and how Andrew kept saying it was warm and full sounding, not at all like those woods are sterotypically thought of.
 
All ukes pretty much sound the same. Thanks for proving it once again, Daniel. Yes.
 
You need another option..........."They don't sound the same but I can't tell which one is spruce or koa"

I agree, they sound different. I like #2 a tiny bit more. But I don't know which is koa and which is spruce.
 
They do sound different, but I can't tell which is which. The Sailor tenor I heard today has a spruce top, and it's very warm but bright, not brash at all. Very Nice uke.
 
One of these days, someone will have to do a soundcloud that actually says, first, this one is Koa, this one spruce, this one mango. Okay, now I'm going to mix them up.
 
I guessed no. 1 as spruce. I could tell a difference but it was slight. Same with my Pono's but with time and lots of playing the difference becomes more distinct to my ears but still not huge by any means. The reason I own two is I want one in Low G. If I had to pick between them I'd definitely pick the cedar/ebony over the cedar/hog. But you better not try and make me. :mad:
 
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I'd guess the first is Koa and sounds warmer, the second is spruce, which sounds a bit brighter to me.
 
They both sound great, I'm hoping to have a MB someday to compare to everything else... :)
 
I think Chuck needs to send me the Douglas Fir so I can really prove that his ukes sound similar! lol
 
I think Chuck needs to send me the Douglas Fir so I can really prove that his ukes sound similar! lol

I agree. You can't have too much data.

Three Moore Bettah tenors would make a great comparison.
 
The first one was koa. I believe Chuck makes the best in the industry and you'll be happy with all ukes of his. I know I am!
 
I pretty much agree with Daniel on the premise that the woods don't make much difference. John Calkin, who posts here in the Luthier's lounge wrote the definitive argument for that point of view, here:

http://www.guitarnation.com/articles/calkin.htm

Remember that one reason certain woods have a reputation for being "bright" or "warm" is that they're mass produced. As such, there's no adjustment made for the properties of the individual boards. When you have Mahogany and Koa, for example, milled by the same factory to the same thickness and braced the same way, then the properties of the woods will likely produce different sound.

On the other hand, a skilled luthier works and braces the woods in the way he feels produces the best tone and response. He makes the adjustments necessary to get practically any species to give him what he wants.

I remember in the beginning, working with our recently retired luthier, Omar, that I would ask him which woods gave him his favorite tone. He would simply say "Bueno, todas son bonitas" (well, all of them are nice). And I could never discern a consistent difference from one species to the next. They all had "Omar's sound".
 
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Haha. I guessed wrong! Are they both of the same design?

My koa is the traditional soundhole while the spruce has an offset soundhole. Both don't have a slotted headstock.

It really got me thinking Chuck...why would I pay extra for getting a more exotic spruce or if I use rosewood, is EIR good enough as there's so many different types of rosewood? I know it's partly for the aesthetics but I'm doubting if I can hear the difference between EIR, Amazon, Brazillian, etc. I would just trust the luthier to make me the best uke possible.
 
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