I'm all for giving things a chance, but you sound firmly in the KoAloha camp as far as sound. Life is too short to drink wine you don't like or play ukes that don't make you happy. :shaka:
Definitely try new strings. Living Water strings ^^^^^^
My Opio made my Kanile’a sound dull, I can only imagine what a Koa Koaloha would have made it sound like. However, the Living Waters made its full round beautiful sound shine. Hope you gave it a shot...
Hey thanks everyone for the Living Waters suggestions. Only have a couple days under the return policy and strings would have to be overnighted to semi rural Alaska plus I'd need restringing and playing time... I had to just go with sending her back home.
Also, the thicker neck was a surprise.
I think it would be a good idea based, on suggestions, to have a robust string library for each uke. Why didn't I think of that earlier??
My only suggestion is to try and add ukuleles that fit the sound you prefer rather than adding solely based on looks or a particular brand. I’m not saying this is easy without playing first, but establishments like HMS/Ukulele Site know exactly how a KoAloha sounds and might be able to steer you to a similar, but not a KoAloha, ukulele. it’s fun to search out different ukuleles, but it can be a pain to return them. For me it is about finding something that is not the same, different woods, cut-away, side port, but still fits my tonal preference.
Then again, tone preferences sometimes change...
John
Hey thanks everyone for the Living Waters suggestions. Only have a couple days under the return policy and strings would have to be overnighted to semi rural Alaska plus I'd need restringing and playing time... I had to just go with sending her back home.
Also, the thicker neck was a surprise.
I think it would be a good idea based, on suggestions, to have a robust string library for each uke. Why didn't I think of that earlier??