The grade of Koa and the effect on the sound

chenx2

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Hi I am new to UU.

I have read a lot of specs of different ukes when I was picking my beginner uke.

Koa seems like the most recommended / sought after tonewood, and there is a grading system of some sort. It seems that the grading is related to the wood pattern rather than its sound quality, but I cannot find much information about it.

Would a ukulele using higher grade of Koa has a better sound than the lower one, or it affects the look only?
 
This has kind of been beaten to death in years past here, but the general consensus among luthiers is that at least for tops the plainer koa sounds better because the grain is straighter and more consistent and thus has more structural integrity which makes it stiffer at a given thickness. This allows making a top a bit thinner and thus more responsive. This is not to say that good sounding ukes cannot be made with fabulously curly koa, but all things being equal, if you listen with your ears and not eyes, a well made uke with a plain koa top will probably sound better than the same uke with a curly koa top.
 
This has kind of been beaten to death in years past here, but the general consensus among luthiers is that at least for tops the plainer koa sounds better because the grain is straighter and more consistent and thus has more structural integrity which makes it stiffer at a given thickness. This allows making a top a bit thinner and thus more responsive. This is not to say that good sounding ukes cannot be made with fabulously curly koa, but all things being equal, if you listen with your ears and not eyes, a well made uke with a plain koa top will probably sound better than the same uke with a curly koa top.

As a player, not a luthier, what Rick said is the upshot of past threads on this subject (it's fine to ask again). I agree with Rick.
 
Thank you for clearing that up. I ended up buying an acacia uke, which is a very good value buy IMO.
 
The variety of koa that is grown is amazing, much of it having to do with the elevation and climate conditions that the tree is subjected to. Along with want Rick said, the darker koas, especially those with a lot of striations in it, can have a much higher specific gravity that the lighter, blonde koas. These differences in density, stiffness and weight can by itself have a significant affect on the tone. It's up to the builder to consider these differences and build according to whatever sound he/she is trying to achieve. It's easier for a builder to start with a wood that favors the desired response rather than to try to work around it's deficiencies.
 
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The variety of koa that is grown is amazing, much of it having to do with the elevation and climate conditions that the tree is subjected to. Along with want Rick said, the darker koas, especially those with a lot of striations in it, can have a much higher specific gravity that the lighter, blonde koas. These differences in density, stiffness and weight can by itself have a significant affect on the tone. It's up to the builder to consider these differences and build according to whatever sound he/she is trying to achieve. It's easier for a builder to start with a wood that favors the desired response rather than to try to work around it's deficiencies.
There goes the plywood theory.......................
 
And what Chuck just said can be further extended to a koa relative that some of us use, Acacia melanoxylon, aka Tasmanian blackwood or black acacia. The wood is not black, but the bark is quite dark. It is originally from South Australia and the island of Tasmania and was brought to California as an ornamental in the 1880s or so. I have literally a ton of this wood that came from a large tree (38" to 40" diameter at about 4 foot height) that was cut down up in the Santa Cruz Mountains. This particular wood has the longitudinal striations of koa, but no flame figure, and to a luthier's hand, it is much more like good Indian rosewood than a lot of koa. Yet a lot of Acacia melanoxylon has flame figure and can be virtually indistinguishable visually from Acacia koa. So there's a lot of overlap in characteristics both mechanically and visually. This black Acacia that I have has been great for both ukes and guitars, though unfortunately, most of it was cut too short for guitar sides.
 
Having seen some of the highly flamed Tasmanian Blackwood pieces that Beau has been using, I'd have to say it's at least equal to Koa from a purely aesthetic point of view. Some of them put me in mind of the type of highly figured Koa that Ko'olau seem to be able to get their hands on.
 
I'd be very interested to find out what a solid chunk of figured Tassie Blackwood would cost, purely for the purposes of having a 6 string solid body electric built. One good thing about solid electrics, you can use anything, the type of wood makes exactly 0% difference to the sound.
 
In my experience, particularly with the Acacia melanoxylon that I have, you're going to have one heavy guitar if it's a relatively normal solid body. I'm using the stuff for semi-hollow body guitars where the plate thickness is about normal for acoustic guitars @ .110" or so. This stuff is a good 25% denser than mahogany, for instance.
 
I'm used to Les Pauls and Yamaha SG2000s, so heavy isn't an issue, up to a point. Maybe have a chambered body made, or a basswood body with a carved Acacia cap.
 
Then again, if I'm going to spend that much cash, and having seen a bunch of Lindsey Buckingham live stuff recently (easily the most underrated and overlooked guitarist of his generation IMHO), one of your planks would be a better option.

Incidentally, there was one for sale in England a month ago. Didn't have the cash unfortunately, and I've also spotted the fact that Brian May has his own company, selling damn good replicas of his "Red Special".

So many guitars, so little time.

Anyway, thread hijack over...for now.
 
That's a discussion about wood. Some good answers in there. The skill of the luthier makes more difference than the wood itself....or course, wood selection is an important part of luthiery. (oh god did I spell that right?)
 
We've actually been making more and more of our Model 1 guitars (the Lindsey Buckingham "model") with fancy wood tops including very figured koa.
We book match what are essentially small guitar backs, sand them down to about 3/32" and laminate them onto chambered mahogany bodies with WEST epoxy. Works great, and we can use extremely figured wood that might not make it for acoustic instruments. I just started doing finish on a koa topped one today.
 
what the luthiers said...

Koa is the preferred wood if you truly want a "hawaiian" wood based ukulele...that also goes for Milo and Kou...although Milo and Kou are much rarer than the already rare Koa. Curly...that is higher grade "eye candy" is purely for the eye...as many have said...the sound depends on the instrument...but since higher grade...or more curly koa is rarer...you will pay more for it...and it is not always better sounding...bottom line...play before you buy...especially when it is at a higher price point...if that is possible...custom guys do not sell bad ukuleles...or their business would fold...just saying...which means it is unlikely you will get to play a custom before buying it.

happy hunting!
 
what the luthiers said...

Koa is the preferred wood if you truly want a "hawaiian" wood based ukulele...that also goes for Milo and Kou...although Milo and Kou are much rarer than the already rare Koa. Curly...that is higher grade "eye candy" is purely for the eye...as many have said...the sound depends on the instrument...but since higher grade...or more curly koa is rarer...you will pay more for it...and it is not always better sounding...bottom line...play before you buy...especially when it is at a higher price point...if that is possible...custom guys do not sell bad ukuleles...or their business would fold...just saying...which means it is unlikely you will get to play a custom before buying it.

happy hunting!

Well I saw some factory solid Koa tenors price around USD600 (and seem really well-constructed), and wonder how much does the quality really differ from those with fancy looking Koa with premium price.
 
The figuring has an effect on price. People will pay a premium for highly figured curly koa (myself included, when I bought my Kanile'a). Chuck and others maintain that highly figured Koa has a slightly detrimental effect on tone, and I'm certainly not about to argue with these folks when it comes to acoustic instruments.
 
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