Koaloha fretboard shape question

TobyDog

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When (or why) did Koaloha switch from a shaped bottom fretboard to a straight-across?

I'm thinking it was probably financial. I prefer the shaped (but of course they didn't check with me).
 
I think they always did vary didn't they? I had a Koaloha in 2012 and it was a straight end.
 
I think they always did vary, but it seems like they completely stopped with the crown shape bottom of the fretboard. I always thought it looked pretty nice, but I think they may have stopped in 2015 or 16 when they changed their look to the more glossy finish and inlay logo. I could be talking out of my ass right now, but that's when I noticed it lol
 
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Not sure when they changed. My 2006 has the koa fret board with the crown end. Very cool looking.
 
Yes it was around 2015 along with some other design changes. But notably the new Spruce topped Opios have the nice design again. And they sound a tad more punchy than the acacia tops as well!
 
I've said this before, so I'm repeating myself, but I am pretty amazed at Pops and what he is bringing to KoAloha. He's convinced that the best tone wood, hands down, is Englemann spruce, and with the increasing cost of Koa, I won't be surprised to see KoAloha's top instruments move to Spruce. They are already doing that with the Pineapple X and the Opio lines!

That's quite a departure from a Hawaiian manufacturer!
 
...with the increasing cost of Koa, I won't be surprised to see KoAloha's top instruments move to Spruce.

And the company name will be changed to SpruceAloha? :)

Koa is a mystery to me. I have heard that koa trees my not be cut down. Woodworkers have to find them downed by storms or old age. On the other hand, it seems like thousands of koa trees have been planted specifically for their lumber.
 
As far as I remember, they changed the fretboard design at the same time as the fretboard wood: they sitched from Koa to Indian Rosewood, which, unfortunately turned out not to be such a good idea, when Rosewood was put on the CITES list two years back. That made international business a little bit more difficult for them.
However, I‘m pretty positive that the crown design disappeared at the same moment as the koa fretboards. But I also think to recall that they never used the crown design for the tenor necks, right? Or does my memory mislead me here?
 
And the company name will be changed to SpruceAloha? :)

Koa is a mystery to me. I have heard that koa trees my not be cut down. Woodworkers have to find them downed by storms or old age. On the other hand, it seems like thousands of koa trees have been planted specifically for their lumber.

Indeed Hawaiian ukulele makers have been using smaller and lower quality pieces of Koa in recent years supposedly due to dwindling supply. But at the same time there seem to be more and more Koa guitars from Taylor and other producers that use huge pieces. Sure they are dyed in a terrible colour to cover up the poor quality, but the wood has to come from somewhere.
 
New guy here, so apologies if I misunderstand the question.

I was at the Koaloha factory in Honolulu last month and took the tour. This photo is the custom built fretboard cutting tool that "Pops" designed himself. Per the tour, the only two fretboard cutting tools like this in existence are at the Koaloha Factories in Honolulu and Taiwan (?)

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As far as I remember, they changed the fretboard design at the same time as the fretboard wood: they sitched from Koa to Indian Rosewood, which, unfortunately turned out not to be such a good idea, when Rosewood was put on the CITES list two years back. That made international business a little bit more difficult for them.
However, I‘m pretty positive that the crown design disappeared at the same moment as the koa fretboards. But I also think to recall that they never used the crown design for the tenor necks, right? Or does my memory mislead me here?

Yes indeed the carved end was a feature of Koa fretboards. In the meantime they have switched to ebony fretboards for the Koa and Mango models which is a much denser and heavier material. As a result the current models may be a bit more top heavy. We will see if they plane the fretboards more to regain balance, do some other modification, or leave it like this for the time being.
 
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