Koaloha opio

Martynas

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 22, 2016
Messages
174
Reaction score
0
Hello guys what do you think about hoaloha opio as second uke of your life? size would be soprano or concert.
 
Opio's seem to change alot.
They're moving from sapele to acacia this year.
So, it might depend on which one you're looking at.
I think people are waiting to see how the acacia's sound.

There was one vid of the new one, but it seemed to have short sustain to me.
It's very possible it was a style thing, but it seemed to not ring long in a couple bits where it should have

I'd wait a bit personally to get more examples of sound.

Generally speaking though, KoAloha's are well recieved.
They are loud, but mostly plain looking, which is ok with me. I'd play an ugly uke that sounded great.
Also.. you often get more frets before the join
 
I have the KoAlana (the all-laminate by KoAloha) and couldn't be happier with the build quality and feel of the uke. I played an Opio just to get an idea of the difference between a laminate and a solid wood, and while the Opio naturally had better sustain, I got the laminate because it was less expensive and less risky, since I take it to jams and can leave it out of a humidified case when I'm not playing it. Go for it!
 
all right! i just saw that video with acacia opio the ukulele looks beautifully and sound so sweet. ill can wait for 2 months more, because after 2 months it will be my birthday and ill have to decide which uke to buy. what do you think sapele or acacia is better in this case?
 
all right! i just saw that video with acacia opio the ukulele looks beautifully and sound so sweet. ill can wait for 2 months more, because after 2 months it will be my birthday and ill have to decide which uke to buy. what do you think sapele or acacia is better in this case?

They're different, none is better.
 
I thought I liked the sound of the Acacia, but in my opinion the sapele sounded way more full. After watching the video again, the acacia sounded a bit quiet.
 
I love my sapele Opio soprano. Easily my best ukulele in tone and sustain. I still have the original strings on it and I am looking forward to putting some Living Waters strings on next.
 
ill watch few more times those videos and decide which one to buy. also acacia will be more expensive because of acacia? :D
 
ill watch few more times those videos and decide which one to buy. also acacia will be more expensive because of acacia? :D

I think its going to be similarly priced.
Acacia isn't really a rare wood. It grows just about everywhere. My folks have one in their front yard just west of Chicago.
 
I don't know how the acacia is going to sound, but I really liked the sapele when I played it. My guess is that you can't go wrong either way.
 
I have an Acacia tenor from Vietnam that rivals my Koaloha concert in tone and richness of sound. I also have an Acacia Kala soprano that has a great tone.

The used 3 piece koa pineapple soprano in the marketplace looks nice and would be my choice over anything mentioned here. Hell Im really not into pineapples but it is a soprano. Somebody better buy it I need tires for my car. lol

~AL~
 
My Opio tenor is Sapele and I've had it since July. Very woody ,organic sound mid range with some sparkle to it. But definitely more mid range. I'm on four set of strings trying to find best match. Very lite ukulele, well made and love the bound neck and tuners.
 
I do like koaloha ukes even the opio, sounds very nice cant go wrong with them.. happy strummings
 
The new Koaloha Acacia Opio Soprano and Concert ukes are on theukulelesite.com.

They look and sound good!
 
I have to say that, given the limited sound samples available, I prefer the sound of the mahogany (sapele) opio. They just sound more balanced and resonant to me.
 
Hmm, Corey's excellent playing aside, it still sounds short on sustain to me, at least relative to the sapele/mahogany models. Brighter, but somehow "cut off", if that makes sense.
 
I donʻt know, have heard some awesome Sapele ukes, but nobody has ʻheard them allʻ, but I can tell you that I truly love my KoAloha Concert! I have tenor 8's but ended up with a soprano and a concert to appease what my ear wanted.
Iʻm gobsmacked still, this is what happens when you arenʻt sure what you want. My neck snapped before the third note was finished ringing. Gorgeous and simplicity defined, with aplomb, but all I see is perfection and all I hear is spot on with my KoAloha.

For your second uke I do advise a different tone than your other, but will warn you that it expands from there.
 
Played concert and tenor acacia Opios at U Space in downtown LA today. The sound great. Really similar to the Koaloha Koa ukes at half the price.
 
Well I personally likes the sound of sapele Opio better than acacia, from the sound samples.
Glad to see Opio extending the wood options though. Can't wait what's next! :D
 
Um, they aren't extending the wood options: the sapele models are being totally replaced by acacia ones. So once any current stocks of sapele ones are sold, you'll only be able to get them used--and good luck with that.

I'm not surprised if acacia ones initially sound more inhibited; it's a large-pored wood that takes a while to open up. The same has been true of all my acacia ukes, but most did in time. I'm hoping to get a sapele Opio tenor at some point, but I'd have no qualms about getting an acacia one instead. I think it would have better clarity and separation.

There are over a thousand varieties of acacia. Only a small number of these varieties (koa being one) are used to make instruments. These varieties are relatively abundant, but still only a small percentage of all acacia trees. Nevertheless, it appears that the pricing for the acacia Opios is the same as for the previous sapele ones.
 
Top Bottom