Harold O.
Well-known member
I've had my Ohana TK35G for a few months and really like playing it. It is solid mahogany, glossy finish, closed gear tuners, Aquila strings, simple binding. List price is $339, can be found in the $230-$250 range.
The Fender Nohea arrived a couple of weeks ago. I changed the stock GHS strings to Aquila. It is a koa laminate with ebony bridge and mahogany neck and rosewood fretboard. Binding is an "aged abalone acrylic" (according to the Fender site). List price is $300, can be found in the $175-$200 range.
Both instruments are tenors. They are very close in size, though the body of the Ohana is slightly larger and the Fender is a bit longer overall. Both have a glossy finish. The Ohana's mahogany is more red while the Fender's koa is a little more to the yellow side. Both are very attractive instruments. I guess I got lucky as both backs have small knots in them, adding to their visual interest.
I changed to Aquila strings on the Fender because that's what I like. They settled in after a few days. I'm a strummer and have found both instruments to be easy to play. The Ohana neck is a touch thicker, the action on both came correct, and tuning is consistent.
My preference is for the brighter sounding Ohana, though it's hard to fault either one. I suspect I will tune the Fender slack key and learn to pick the Ohana.
Here's a sound comparo of the two with a simple C F G progression: http://hopublishing.com/0files/uke-comp.mp3
In the photos, Fender Nohea is on the left, Ohana TK35G on right.
The Fender Nohea arrived a couple of weeks ago. I changed the stock GHS strings to Aquila. It is a koa laminate with ebony bridge and mahogany neck and rosewood fretboard. Binding is an "aged abalone acrylic" (according to the Fender site). List price is $300, can be found in the $175-$200 range.
Both instruments are tenors. They are very close in size, though the body of the Ohana is slightly larger and the Fender is a bit longer overall. Both have a glossy finish. The Ohana's mahogany is more red while the Fender's koa is a little more to the yellow side. Both are very attractive instruments. I guess I got lucky as both backs have small knots in them, adding to their visual interest.
I changed to Aquila strings on the Fender because that's what I like. They settled in after a few days. I'm a strummer and have found both instruments to be easy to play. The Ohana neck is a touch thicker, the action on both came correct, and tuning is consistent.
My preference is for the brighter sounding Ohana, though it's hard to fault either one. I suspect I will tune the Fender slack key and learn to pick the Ohana.
Here's a sound comparo of the two with a simple C F G progression: http://hopublishing.com/0files/uke-comp.mp3
In the photos, Fender Nohea is on the left, Ohana TK35G on right.
