RafterGirl
Well-known member
I own a 2006 KoAloha ukulele. I love the way it plays & the way it sounds. It was my first "good" ukulele after starting to play 2 years ago. It's also special because it was a gift from my mom. However, there are three things I wish were different about it. Number one ....I wish it was a satin finish and not gloss. I just don't like gloss necks on my ukuleles. Number two .... I wish it didn't have friction tuners. I like Gotoh UPTs. I know I could change the tuners, but mine has the vintage tuners on it, and changing them out on a 2006 model seems like sacrilege. Number three.... I wish it had a MiSi pick-up. Not a huge deal, but something I'd like. Also something I could change, but finding someone locally that could install one properly would be a challenge.
KoAloha used to make a Pikake model with a satin finish. They changed to the Rosette model to replace the Pikake. The Rosette model is Acacia with ebony appointments. The fret board is koa. The body is made in the Opio factory, the neck and the remaining assembly at KoAloha in Hawaii. I could get one from HMS, have them change out the friction tuners for black Gotoh UPTs that would look cool with the ebony rosette/head stock logo/bridge. Plus, I could add a MiSi pick-up. All of this at a decent price point.
What to do? Do I sell a fantastic ukulele that I love, but that has things that bug me, in the hope of getting exactly the features I want? I'd be giving up a semi-vintage koa ukulele for acacia. I listened to the KoAloha concert sound comparison that SUS put together on YouTube and that gave me a good idea on the sound difference. Acacia was very similar, but a bit more mellow to my ear.
Thoughts? Comments? Am I nuts?
KoAloha used to make a Pikake model with a satin finish. They changed to the Rosette model to replace the Pikake. The Rosette model is Acacia with ebony appointments. The fret board is koa. The body is made in the Opio factory, the neck and the remaining assembly at KoAloha in Hawaii. I could get one from HMS, have them change out the friction tuners for black Gotoh UPTs that would look cool with the ebony rosette/head stock logo/bridge. Plus, I could add a MiSi pick-up. All of this at a decent price point.
What to do? Do I sell a fantastic ukulele that I love, but that has things that bug me, in the hope of getting exactly the features I want? I'd be giving up a semi-vintage koa ukulele for acacia. I listened to the KoAloha concert sound comparison that SUS put together on YouTube and that gave me a good idea on the sound difference. Acacia was very similar, but a bit more mellow to my ear.
Thoughts? Comments? Am I nuts?