Another Boring "What should I buy?" Topic

Hi everyone!

I haven't been to active here since I signed up, and I regret it. Junior year in H.S gets in the way. Anyway, after saving up from a summer job, I have around $1200 to spend on a ukulele. Since I was 7 years old, the only ukulele I have played (I mean for more than an hour or so at a store) has been a Tangi "Puka" style concert ukulele, all koa construction. I love it dearly; the sound is so distinct, but my ears yearn to hear something else. I love to compose my own music on the uke, but I feel limited on the Tengi because I am so familiar to it. I want a ukulele that is totally different from what I have now; something that is on the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of sound. I have tried some Kiawaya concert and soprano ukuleles (the artist series models), and aside from the horrible tuners, the sound was a bit lacking in terms of decibel output and also in terms of depth. I really like the Santo Reproductions by DaSilva, but they are out of my price range. I am only looking for a soprano ukulele. I like the look of a spruce top and a dark-wood back, but the sound is more important to me than anything else. I am open to custom or production instruments.
For those who might have a ukulele with a spruce or cedar top and a Brazilian rosewood (or similar wood) back, what is the sound like? How does it compare to all koa?

I know this was probably totally unspecific, making it hard to really recommend anything, but any personal stories and experiences would be helpful.

Thanks!

some things I've been looking at: http://www.theukulelesite.com/matsui-custom-dias-replica-concert-spruce-top-rosewood.html
http://takumiukulele.com/loprinziukuleles.html (loprinzi mrc/mrs)

Will

If you want something different, for that kind of money you have many options.

I might suggest you get two, a vintage Martin Style 1 and a soprano Flea. You would then have three very different instruments on your tonal pallet to choose from.


Scooter

Reading what you wrote here is a suggestion. How about this with a five o pickup and a roland AC-33.
http://www.theukulelesite.com/koaloha-soprano-koa-ksm-00-w-hard-case.html
Or a boat paddle would be nice with the same pickup.
http://www.boatpaddleukuleles.com/instruments.php
Good luck on your search.

Hmm..Newport local you read my mind. I actually was wondering about pickups, but forgot to mention it in the first post. The stlye D BoatPaddle ukulele looks really interesting even though it is a tenor. Maybe I'll e-mail the guy and ask him if he could make a soprano version. Also, what kind of sound do KoAloha sopranos have? Would it be similar to my koa Tangi?

Sounds like a rosewood or similar body with a spruce top. You pick the maker for $1200 I've heard some amazing ones.

fountainpenkid said:

Hmm..Newport local you read my mind. I actually was wondering about pickups, but forgot to mention it in the first post. The stlye D BoatPaddle ukulele looks really interesting even though it is a tenor. Maybe I'll e-mail the guy and ask him if he could make a soprano version. Also, what kind of sound do KoAloha sopranos have? Would it be similar to my koa Tangi?

Click to expand...

The KoAloha sound is full and bright. The construction is solid but very lightweight. They actually demonstrate that you can stand on one (but you ain't doing it on mine!). To my ear the other K-brands are quieter. I also have a KoAlana (KoAloha's import, production brand) that gives a similar volume, but is tonally richer because of the sapele (mahogany) construction. These two 'ukes are very sensitive to strings. Mine came with Worth CL strings. When I've tried other strings they both sounded muted. Can't compare to your Tangi because I've never heard one. Koa wood KoAloha are nice and bright.

If you really like the old school shape of the nunes you can try Kevin Crossett at Kepasa ukulele. Base price is $850 according to the website but to make it look like a fancy pants nunes it will probably cost you a smidge bit more than $1000
http://kepasaukulele.com/soprano.htm

Ukester Brown has one of those nunes copies called a Madiera. Not sure if he is a member here but here is his website http://www.ukesterbrown.com/

I used to have a kepasa concert ukulele. Indian rosewood + spruce top. That and a boat paddle 12 fret were probably the best sounding concert I had.
It looked fantastic too. Here's the marketplace ad I put out when I sold it http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?84435-Kepasa-middlesex-concert&highlight=kepasa

Goodluck!

I doubt you want to wait a year but I had a chance to play a walnut back and sides cedar top long neck soprano by Mya Moe awhile back that really blew me away. Great volume. Really easy to play. Don't remember the tone enough to describe it. But I remember really wanting to bring that uke home with me. And by the way, I love 'what should I buy threads'. Not boring at all.

The two you linked to are concerts. If I were to buy a spruce-top concert, it would be a Stradelele by Earnest Instruments (Joel Eckhaus). John King plays one on some YT videos.

fountainpenkid said:

Hmm..Newport local you read my mind. I actually was wondering about pickups, but forgot to mention it in the first post. The stlye D BoatPaddle ukulele looks really interesting even though it is a tenor. Maybe I'll e-mail the guy and ask him if he could make a soprano version. Also, what kind of sound do KoAloha sopranos have? Would it be similar to my koa Tangi?

Click to expand...

Sorry for the late response. I was out playing uke. Koaloha is light weight and has a bright tone. As far as pickups I think the five o is a great choice. Just my opinion wood choices can effect tone, but the builder/luthier has the most effect on tone. Only you know if you want a uke with more bass tone vs bright. You are welcome to PM me if you have any questions.

Ipcmlr said:

If you really like the old school shape of the nunes you can try Kevin Crossett at Kepasa ukulele. Base price is $850 according to the website but to make it look like a fancy pants nunes it will probably cost you a smidge bit more than $1000
http://kepasaukulele.com/soprano.htm

Ukester Brown has one of those nunes copies called a Madiera. Not sure if he is a member here but here is his website http://www.ukesterbrown.com/

I used to have a kepasa concert ukulele. Indian rosewood + spruce top. That and a boat paddle 12 fret were probably the best sounding concert I had.
It looked fantastic too. Here's the marketplace ad I put out when I sold it http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?84435-Kepasa-middlesex-concert&highlight=kepasa

Goodluck!

Click to expand...

Thanks so much! So kepasa looks to be affordable and also great in terms of sound. I wouldn't have known he existed had you not told me! What is the build quality like on his instruments? (It is hard to tell from the picture)

Newportlocal said:

Sorry for the late response. I was out playing uke. Koaloha is light weight and has a bright tone. As far as pickups I think the five o is a great choice. Just my opinion wood choices can effect tone, but the builder/luthier has the most effect on tone. Only you know if you want a uke with more bass tone vs bright. You are welcome to PM me if you have any questions.

Click to expand...

What luthiers are the best at "tuning" the sound of a uke according to the customer's needs? (That might be a really dumb question, i.d.k)

fountainpenkid said:

What luthiers are the best at "tuning" the sound of a uke according to the customer's needs? (That might be a really dumb question, i.d.k)

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There aren't any dumb questions. Everyone has their own opinion. As previously stated,my personal view is pick the luthier who already builds the kind of "tone" you want. Then you can play with woods,bindings,etc. If you don't have access to playing a lot of different ukes in your area listen to lots of different you tube ukulele videos.

Newportlocal said:

There aren't any dumb questions. Everyone has their own opinion. As previously stated,my personal view is pick the luthier who already builds the kind of "tone" you want. Then you can play with woods,bindings,etc. If you don't have access to playing a lot of different ukes in your area listen to lots of different you tube ukulele videos.

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O.K. Thanks! There are a lot of videos on youtube, so I'll give that a try!

I just re-discovered Luis Alberto Feu de Mesquita, a luthier who builds beautiful tenor macaferri style ukes. Their sound is amazing (going by a few youtube videos). How do Kepasa's tenor macaferri style ukes compare in sound to the Luis de Mesquita ones?

fountainpenkid said:

Thanks so much! So kepasa looks to be affordable and also great in terms of sound. I wouldn't have known he existed had you not told me! What is the build quality like on his instruments? (It is hard to tell from the picture)

Click to expand...

Build quality is very good for the kepasa concert I had. I think I had some pictures on the UU marketplace listing.
Gloss finish on the back and sides was very good and the heel was made of different kinds of wood which was the best looking heel I've seen in a uke.
I think the Luis feu de Mesquita has a more guitar quality vs the kepasa which has a more uke quality.
Both get high marks though.
There's some sound samples out there of both the kepasa ukaferri and the lfdm uke.
The kepasa though is much more affordable.

Here is a sound sample of the two made by doc_j from this post http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com...e-the-Chapel-Hill-visit&p=1354468#post1354468

https://soundcloud.com/doc-hj/2013-tenors

kepasa ukes are not in fashion right now I guess because of so many new builders people want to try but they always got rave reviews and the ukaferri style still always sells really quickly(I wanted to buy one used a few months ago on flea market music but it was sold in less than 2 hours!) when they are posted for sale.

Review. http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?82467-Kepasa-Gypsy-Rose-Concert&highlight=Kepasa

As for the lfdm I heard they are special but have not been able to test one out. So if anyone has one close to MD loan me one!

Lfdm though are only tenors and kepasa ukaferri is concerts and larger so you are out of luck if you want a soprano.
There is a bunch of people who have sound samples of the lfdm on the forum.

There is also a moodyville ukulele which does ukaferri. They have an even larger body than the lfdm. That uke is on the same soundcloud comparison doc_j made. Ask doc_j about it as he has all three. Kepasa, lfdm, and moodyville.

Ipcmlr said:

Build quality is very good for the kepasa concert I had. I think I had some pictures on the UU marketplace listing.
Gloss finish on the back and sides was very good and the heel was made of different kinds of wood which was the best looking heel I've seen in a uke.
I think the Luis feu de Mesquita has a more guitar quality vs the kepasa which has a more uke quality.
Both get high marks though.
There's some sound samples out there of both the kepasa ukaferri and the lfdm uke.
The kepasa though is much more affordable.

Here is a sound sample of the two made by doc_j from this post http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com...e-the-Chapel-Hill-visit&p=1354468#post1354468

https://soundcloud.com/doc-hj/2013-tenors

kepasa ukes are not in fashion right now I guess because of so many new builders people want to try but they always got rave reviews and the ukaferri style still always sells really quickly(I wanted to buy one used a few months ago on flea market music but it was sold in less than 2 hours!) when they are posted for sale.

Review. http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?82467-Kepasa-Gypsy-Rose-Concert&highlight=Kepasa

As for the lfdm I heard they are special but have not been able to test one out. So if anyone has one close to MD loan me one!

Lfdm though are only tenors and kepasa ukaferri is concerts and larger so you are out of luck if you want a soprano.
There is a bunch of people who have sound samples of the lfdm on the forum.

There is also a moodyville ukulele which does ukaferri. They have an even larger body than the lfdm. That uke is on the same soundcloud comparison doc_j made. Ask doc_j about it as he has all three. Kepasa, lfdm, and moodyville.

Click to expand...

Thanks so much for the soundcloud link! Very helpful, albeit hard to find each segment without markers.

I've narrowed it down to a few:
Boat Paddle Style D concert-starts at $750
Kepasa Gypsy Rose Concert-starts at $1100
Kepasa Madeira Soprano-starts at $850

The Gypsy Rose has the most interesting sound, the Boat Paddle is the most affordable (I can't find anything on it though), and the Madeira has the best looks (IMO). I'm stuck. Has anyone actually played a Boat Paddle Style D concert or tenor? What do they sound like?

fountainpenkid said:

I've narrowed it down to a few:
Boat Paddle Style D concert-starts at $750
Kepasa Gypsy Rose Concert-starts at $1100
Kepasa Madeira Soprano-starts at $850

The Gypsy Rose has the most interesting sound, the Boat Paddle is the most affordable (I can't find anything on it though), and the Madeira has the best looks (IMO). I'm stuck. Has anyone actually played a Boat Paddle Style D concert or tenor? What do they sound like?

Click to expand...

That boat paddle style you are looking at is a new design. So I doubt if anyone has something up on youtube already.
There is a bunch of people here who have an M, ML, Kayak, and 12 fret.
I used to have a 12 fret walnut with cedar top. That was excellent sounding.
Here is the sound sample of that from the previous owner http://soundcloud.com/mo9090x/boat-paddle-12-fret-concert

Ipcmlr said:

That boat paddle style you are looking at is a new design. So I doubt if anyone has something up on youtube already.
There is a bunch of people here who have an M, ML, Kayak, and 12 fret.
I used to have a 12 fret walnut with cedar top. That was excellent sounding.
Here is the sound sample of that from the previous owner http://soundcloud.com/mo9090x/boat-paddle-12-fret-concert

Click to expand...

thanks! That sounds great. I didn't know the style D is a new model; thanks for giving me the heads up.