New concert advice

RafterGirl

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I'm in the market for a new concert. I've been playing since April and I'm seriously hooked. At present I have a Teton laminate concert that was my starter uke, a Bonanza HPL concert that is my outdoor adventure uke, and a nice Islander tenor that I won at a ukulele festival last month. The tenor is solid spruce top/maple.

I was saving money to buy a tenor, so winning one was nice. Now that I have it, I find the concert size to be my happy place. I'm working on getting comfy with the tenor, but I'm not sure if I'll keep it long term? I'm on the verge of paying off my house (yipee) and I want to treat myself to a nice concert ukulele that I will hopefully love and keep for a long time. Once I have it, I'll gift my Teton to a friend who wants to learn to play.

So here's where I'm at.....I'm a female with large hands, but shorter chubby fingers. I'm not sure about nut width, but I don't want a chunky neck. Maybe a 1.5 inch nut if the neck is slim? Solid mahogany or koa. Nice looking, but not a lot of bling. Satin finish is my only absolute requirement, or at minimum a satin neck. Budget - $1000 give or take, would rather go lower. I do not have access to any higher end ukes locally, so I'm going on gut, recommendations, and listening to sound samples. I will probably buy from HMS, Uke Republic, or Mim to ensure a good setup. I might have a MiSi pickup installed?

Some I've considered are....
Kala Elite - however Corey at HMS says they have a thick neck with the 1.5 nut. HMS does have a slim neck 1 3/8 nut Kala Elite Mahogany that sounds nice.

Loprinzi - HMS has a Koa concert. Slim neck, 1 3/8 nut I think?

Kanilea E Silk - 1.5 nut but slimmer neck. Good recommend from Corey at HMS, but a little over budget. I wish someone had a satin finish listed.

Ohana - waiting on a recommend from Mim. I'm not familiar with Ohana. I don't know anything about their nut or neck size.

Ko Aloha - wider nut and slim neck I think? A pikake model just comes in within my budget.

What am I missing? What recommendations do you folks have for me?
Thanks
 
If you want a koa concert then one of the K brands is the way to go. From everything you have mentioned about your requirements the Koaloha Pikake would tick off all your boxes, especially your non gloss finish preference. I have owned two Koaloha concerts and they are fabulous, with a tone that is so full and resonant and loud. The neck is very comfortable, not deep at all, although the nut width is a tad wider at about 1-7/16" the string spacing is the same as a nut width of 1-3/8".
 
The KoAloha nut is 1 7/16". Not a wide neck. I wouldn't call the neck thin either, although it is surely not thick.
 
I have a Kiwaya concert that ticks all your boxes. Mine isn't for sale, but there are several places online where you can buy one. Mine is the KTC-2, and anything in that series is similar, varying only in number of frets and bling. They also make a "Strummer" series which costs less, and is available at Elderly, among others, but I haven't been able to figure out why it's cheaper or how it differs from the KTC series.

Mine is solid mahogany, feather light, has a very slim neck that's maybe a bit wider than usual. It plays like a dream and sounds great. The body is much bigger than, say, a Martin concert. I've only owned one tenor, which convinced me that's not my size, but comparing it to my Kiwaya soprano, I'd say its sound leans more toward tenor than soprano, which suits me, as I wanted something to string linear and use for finger picking. Mine came with UPT tuners, which are nice, but the standard Gotoh tuners are fine, too.

They also make a Koa model, but it's quite a bit more expensive. Gorgeous wood, though, hand selected. I like how mahogany sounds, though, so I'm happy with what I have.

There are lots of choices for a good concert. If you have patience, your money will go farther in the used marketplace. Have fun and good luck!
 
This.
From everything you have mentioned about your requirements the Koaloha Pikake would tick off all your boxes, especially your non gloss finish preference. I have owned two Koaloha concerts and they are fabulous, with a tone that is so full and resonant and loud. The neck is very comfortable, not deep at all, although the nut width is a tad wider at about 1-7/16" the string spacing is the same as a nut width of 1-3/8".

Of course, it's a personal choice, but I have a KoAloha, too, but mine isn't Pikake. Solid Koa and the satin finish is done well, so the grain looks great. It's low bling, but that's what I wanted. I suspect all K-brands sound great, but mine is louder than I expected it to be. I bought it used here for <$500 because if was a factory second (brush hair in the finish), but I believe the original owner got it from HMS and the setup is easy to play and the intonation is great.

Enjoy your new family member!
 
I'm a big Kanile'a fan and highly recommend them especially if you want a 1.5 inch nut width. You get the looks and sound that you can be proud to have in your hands.
 
The LoPrinzi neck profile is slim and very comfortable. I had a 3K longneck soprano (concert scale) that was absolutely gorgeous in all respects. The Kala Elite's are a great value in my opinion. Can't go wrong with either of these based on my experience.
 
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If I had $1,000 to spend on a concert uke, I would contact Peter Hurney at Pohaku Ukuleles. I love his work. (Unfortunately I don't have enough money to take my own advice) http://www.pohakuukulele.com/
 
And if you are looking at KoAloha, I would think the Opio line would also be in play at about 55%-60% of the price of a Hawaiian made koa KoAloha. In either acacia or acacia with a spruce top. Is there anyone near you that would carry these, or anyone that you know that owns these that would let you try them?
 
So many good choices. Mind boggling. I've been looking at options the last few days, in between being glued to the weather channel since I have family in the path of hurricane Irma in Florida. I've been playing my ukes a lot today to de-stress and also to figure out which size (1.5 or 1 3/8) I like best. Still not 100% sure, but I'm leaning towards the 1 3/8.

I sent an email to Mim about the KoAloha Pikake a few days ago, but never got a response. I love the sound of the Kanilea, but I'm not sure about the wider nut? There's a sweet looking Kanilea in Satin at Elderly.

I really like the sound of the Kala Elite Mahogany slim neck at HMS.

Two nice used ukes on UU marketplace forum and Flea Market - Pete Howlett (Koa), and Kiwaya (Mahogany).

I'll keep thinking about what I want, but it will have to wait until I see what happens with my family in Florida.
 
Out of the ones you mention, I'd go for the Kanilea or the KoAloha. On the latter, I'd change the friction tuners for Gotoh UPT which are much easier to use. HMS offers to change them for a small upcharge which is well worth the extra money, IMO. You'll also have free shipping from them.
 
I'm re-sending my email to Mim about the KoAloha Pikake. Of the two, I'm more drawn to the sound of the Kanilea. I wish I was 100% sure I'd like the neck & nut width on the Kanilea. It's hard to spend that kind of money & possibly not like it? I do have an Islander tenor with what I assume is a similar neck & nut, and I like it ok, except for not digging the tenor size as much. Most comfortable with the 1 3/8 on my Teton & Bonanza concerts.
 
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For myself, if I played a concert, Pete Howlett's concert would be mine. A person can always find a K brand or other mass manufactured instrument but finding a custom like Mr. Howlett's is rare and going to get rarer as he retires.
 
Since you're in an elevated price range, perhaps it would be worth ordering from a dealer who accepts returns. Order several different and select from among them after comparing them side by side, returning the others. You'll incur shipping fees, but that might be a good investment if you'd like some assurance you're picking the best option. Also, you might add Martin to your list of possibilities.
 
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner......well, kind of. A fellow at my uke jam tonight has a Kanilea & a KoAloha concert. He did not have them there, but he will bring them to the next jam for me to test drive. Everyone's help here on UU has been helpful to narrow down my search, but getting my hands on the ukes will be great.
 
That's the best by far! I have both a Kanile'a concert and a ko'aloha tenor. I'm a girl and I find I can play both easily. Both have very different sounds. One bright and chimmey, the other mellow and resonant and "round". Good luck and I'm eager to know what you choose!
 
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