UAS Quest: Concert Pineapple

Booli

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 20, 2013
Messages
6,498
Reaction score
43
Location
Midgard
I thought that my concert Flea would satisfy my Pineapple cravings, but after 45 days, it still persists. Yes, I know I have a serious problem :)

I absolutely LOVE my concert Flea, the sound, the intonation, everything...

However, I am still haunted by cravings for a pineapple body with a concert neck. I have a soprano (Mahalo U-30) and while I can play it, I find the neck a bit cramped. Thus a minimum of concert scale.

Solid or laminate unimportant, specific wood selection unimportant (I have not played anything exotic yet, so my ears are not aware of other sounds from different woods than laminate mahogany), feel free to school me on this as needed...

New or used is not a big deal, as long as if used, it is not beat to hell and unplayable or needs significant repairs to be playable at all.

I will never pretend to be a luthier, but on my own instruments I have done nut and saddle work, fret dressing, and fixed tuners, but repairing cracks or resetting a neck is not something I have done as of yet, and I am not afraid of it, if the overall price of the instrument needing the work is low enough, and the repair is not extreme.

Also, I'd be open to the variations on the pineapple shape, like the boat-paddle shape, similar to the Bradford Donaldson designs...but the Ohana VitaUke looks odd to me and I am a bit put off by that 'pear' shape. I'd rather have something without an upper bout (and be more oval like the Flea, or triangular like the Fluke or boat-paddle shape) than with a tiny upper bout and really fat lower bout.

Dare I say it? The 'pear' ukulele body shape makes me think of 'twerking' which I find offensive.

The selection criteria really are:

  1. Playability, i.e. intonation
  2. Sweet sound, i.e. not 'plinky', 'twangy' or too midrange-biased, should have some even tiny bit of 'guts' in the bass area (concert Flea sound as a reference is quite fine)
  3. Prefer geared tuning machines and NOT friction tuners
  4. Prefer that saddle is removable/replaceable and not molded as one single piece combined with bridge (like with the Flea)
  5. Slotted headstock is a plus (I like that look, seems more high-end to me)
  6. Budget, under $300 USD if possible

I really like the looks of the headstock on all the Luna ukuleles, they remind me of the Les Paul style headstock. If the Luna Pineapple was a concert neck and not a soprano neck, I would have already obtained one like yesterday...

I am on the fence about getting one with a preamp/pickup pre-installed, as I have put in several pickups myself and installing a Mi-Si is a piece of cake for me now after doing it twice, so this is not such a huge factor. Mainland has the Mi-Si for $125 and Kala (via their Amazon storefront) has them for $119 IIRC.

Over the past 3 months, I have looked high and low at WAY too many choices online, and am a bit overwhelmed right now.

So please, I am giving this over to the wisdom of those who have gone down this path before me, please share with me your journey, and your recommendations.

Thank you in advance for your time.

-Booli
 
I've been waiting on the new KPK solid acacia concert necked pineapple. It will likely be in the $200 price range, depending on trim.
 
Phil & Connor,

Thanks for the suggestion. KPK is one maker that somehow I had overlooked.

I see their solid acacia pineapple soprano is quite shiny, but looks dark and rich and is priced near $150, and their other solid acacia ukes in concert size range in price from $185-240 (these are direct prices, not sure if they are sold elsewhere online yet)...

so this price range is actually quite a bit lower than what I had seen for solid wood ukes from other makers, and is a good choice so far, but since they do not have the pineapple concert you mentioned listed on the site yet, do you have any info about a release date or even a picture from somewhere that I can drool over?

Thanks,

-Booli
 
I got an Oscar Schmidt OU2-P a year or so ago on a whim, and was really quite surprised at how well it plays and sounds for a cheap uke. I think I got mine for about $70 with a gig bag.
 
+1 more for KPK. They are adding a concert neck pineapple early in 2014. Flea price point for a solid wood 'ukulele with excellent reputation for quality & playability.
 
I got an Oscar Schmidt OU2-P a year or so ago on a whim, and was really quite surprised at how well it plays and sounds for a cheap uke. I think I got mine for about $70 with a gig bag.

Thanks for reminding me of this one.

I had been looking at the OU2-P as the price is almost too good to be true (seems to low) for something of quality, but I have been lucky so far with the lower-priced ukes I've bought previously.

There are two things about Oscar Schmidt in general that puts me off:

1. The logo on the headstock seems awfully garish to my eyes. Maybe they could tone it down somehow. For, the price, this is easy to live with.

2. The neck joint and neck profile seem overly stout, like it would feel chunky in the hands. (Sadly I never played one in person, so this is ignorantly based only upon pictures online)

How is the neck?

I'd be really grateful if you could post some close-up pictures of the headstock/nut area, side/back of the neck, and also the bridge/saddle...

How is the sound?

There are ZERO videos of this uke on Youtube, which makes me think it does not sell well for some reason, and for that reason, (which I do not know) maybe it should be avoided?

-Booli
 

Thanks ukemunga, this one is a great suggestion, and by the description seems to fit all my criteria. I wish they had a photo.

I will email them and see if they have a photo, and if so, I will post it here as well.

Does anybody have one of these that they can show in a few photos, and/or video with sound clips?

Thanks in advance...
 
You can search Google for it and go to the images page. When I posted I didn't realize that uke had a tenor neck. I thought it was soprano / concert neck. You'll also find a video review on Youtube.

The red cedar soprano pineapple with concert neck is an awesome instrument also.
 
During my youtube search just now, I found this:

"mgm musicguymic sound smaple PONO CONCERT PINEAPPLE MANGO UKULELE"



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXezsB5tQPc

I have to say that I really like the sound of this Pono (video above), as it seems to have a bit more low-end, i.e., bass than any of the cedar, koa or mahogany pinapple ukes for which there are sound demos from Uke Republic and Music Guy Mic(MGM) (RIP :().

The Mainland and Kamoa pinapple ukes that Mike from Uke Republic demos, seem a bit 'bright sounding', and I know this is a factor of the strings as well as a dozen other considerations.

Interesting that this Pono model sounds VERY similar to my concert Lava Flea.

The Pono seems to have more of the sound I am hoping for. Now off to find pricing info...

Does anybody have one of these Pono Concert Mango Pineapple ukes? If so, how do you like it?

Thanks,

-Booli

Post-Edit: Apparently these are no longer made as per the Ko’olau web site not having them listed any more. Used would be fine too, but apparently I am 3 yrs too late as another UU member (dkcrown) was selling one here back in Nov. 2010...

it seems, that I need to keep an eye on the Marketplace section now for one of these. :)
 
Last edited:
During my youtube search just now, I found this:

"mgm musicguymic sound smaple PONO CONCERT PINEAPPLE MANGO UKULELE"



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXezsB5tQPc

I have to say that I really like the sound of this Pono (video above), as it seems to have a bit more low-end, i.e., bass than any of the cedar, koa or mahogany pinapple ukes for which there are sound demos from Uke Republic and Music Guy Mic(MGM) (RIP :().

The Mainland and Kamoa pinapple ukes that Mike from Uke Republic demos, seem a bit 'bright sounding', and I know this is a factor of the strings as well as a dozen other considerations.

Interesting that this Pono model sounds VERY similar to my concert Lava Flea.

The Pono seems to have more of the sound I am hoping for. Now off to find pricing info...

Does anybody have one of these Pono Concert Mango Pineapple ukes? If so, how do you like it?

Thanks,

-Booli

Post-Edit: Apparently these are no longer made as per the Ko’olau web site not having them listed any more. Used would be fine too, but apparently I am 3 yrs too late as another UU member (dkcrown) was selling one here back in Nov. 2010...

it seems, that I need to keep an eye on the Marketplace section now for one of these. :)


Goog news...Pono is bringing mango back for 2014. Yep!
 
Terry and Perry of Covered Bridge are building me concert pineapple. Not al longnecked soprano pineapple but a proper concert sized pineapple. But... Those are at least twice your budget...

If I were you I'd check out the Ohana concert pineapple or the already mentioned KPK.
 
You're definitely on the right track to want a concert pineapple, booli. Pineapples have a richer spectrum of sound (more bass) than the traditional pinched waist body configuration. Both my tenor and my concerts are pineapples.

Pineapples are not just for breakfast anymore. lol
 
Oh and one more pineapple-ish uke. Pepe Romero creations Tiny tenor. Koa and spruce/mahogany models. They have a tenor scale but more of a concert footprint. Very rich tone on the spruce/mahogany.
 
Hi all,

I just wanted to post a follow-up and thank everyone in this thread for all of their helpful suggestions, I have a lot more information now in order to chose the best pineapple for me.

However, I have decided to put the acquisition of a pineapple on hold temporarily, and instead focus my energy towards, and start saving for a Godin Multi-Uke, which would be more useful for my immediate needs (recording and live performance).

So, to that end, I am finished with the Pineapple Quest for the time being, albeit without proper resolution. It seems that the instrument that I have in my mind either does not exist, is extremely rare, or way beyond my budget. so constantly thrashing this intent at this time is akin to kicking a dead mule.

The Blackbird Clara with a Mi-Si pickup would easily satisfy my desires, but @ $1150+, it is beyond my reach right now.

Maybe when the time comes I will get a Mya-Moe custom Pineapple concert of some flavor, but at this moment in time, these are thoughts from wistful dreams. I don't know how I can possible wait a whole year for a custom instrument, and not lose my mind in the process, but maybe I will learn when the budget allows.

Thanks again to all who offered input.

-Booli
 
Top Bottom