KanzaKruzer
Active member
Advice on brands and models when buying a Koa Tenor?
We I bought a Pono Acacia ULN4-1 a couple months ago which was my first ukulele. The primary reason I chose this 32.5" baritone is because I am 6’5” and thought I needed the extra size. The lower octave GCEA tuning I ended up with was especially well suited to this model. A couple weeks ago, I purchased a Tenor Outdoor Ukulele for some upcoming travel since I did not want to leave my wood ukulele in the hot car or worry about the dry climate. After playing the Tenor for awhile, I realized it was comfortable to play, but switching between a Tenor to Baritone was not seamless. I sold the Pono to another UU member and am now on the hunt for a wood Tenor. Owning one wood Tenor and one composite polycarbonate Tenor will more than meet my needs.
I've listed purchase guidelines below as well as a budget, and thought it would be helpful to gather additional input from UU forum members on what brands and models I should investigate prior to purchase. My maximum budget is $1,250 including a case, new or used. I would like to purchase a top, back and sides Hawaiian Koa Ukulele, not necessarily made in Hawaii. I’d like at least 14 frets to the body. I’d prefer a standard-length neck to minimize variation from my Outdoor Ukulele and suspect a production model would be more reasonably priced than a custom design. If a custom shop has a proven design with koa wood, I may consider it, but I don't have the luxury to experiment with beta designs. . I prefer minimal decoration (bling) and would like the natural wood grain to be the focus, but would choose straight grain over the more expensive curly grain. I'm particularly interested in the internal construction used and the type of bracing, with the goal to produce warm and clean tones.
Since UU members have purchased thousands of ukuleles and have most likely found winners, help me spend my money. What brands and models should I consider?
The following two features have been added as desired , but they are not required:
Cutaway body to allow more access to the fretboard
Slot Head Tuner since I had good results with the one on my Pono ULN4-1
David
We I bought a Pono Acacia ULN4-1 a couple months ago which was my first ukulele. The primary reason I chose this 32.5" baritone is because I am 6’5” and thought I needed the extra size. The lower octave GCEA tuning I ended up with was especially well suited to this model. A couple weeks ago, I purchased a Tenor Outdoor Ukulele for some upcoming travel since I did not want to leave my wood ukulele in the hot car or worry about the dry climate. After playing the Tenor for awhile, I realized it was comfortable to play, but switching between a Tenor to Baritone was not seamless. I sold the Pono to another UU member and am now on the hunt for a wood Tenor. Owning one wood Tenor and one composite polycarbonate Tenor will more than meet my needs.
I've listed purchase guidelines below as well as a budget, and thought it would be helpful to gather additional input from UU forum members on what brands and models I should investigate prior to purchase. My maximum budget is $1,250 including a case, new or used. I would like to purchase a top, back and sides Hawaiian Koa Ukulele, not necessarily made in Hawaii. I’d like at least 14 frets to the body. I’d prefer a standard-length neck to minimize variation from my Outdoor Ukulele and suspect a production model would be more reasonably priced than a custom design. If a custom shop has a proven design with koa wood, I may consider it, but I don't have the luxury to experiment with beta designs. . I prefer minimal decoration (bling) and would like the natural wood grain to be the focus, but would choose straight grain over the more expensive curly grain. I'm particularly interested in the internal construction used and the type of bracing, with the goal to produce warm and clean tones.
Since UU members have purchased thousands of ukuleles and have most likely found winners, help me spend my money. What brands and models should I consider?
The following two features have been added as desired , but they are not required:
Cutaway body to allow more access to the fretboard
Slot Head Tuner since I had good results with the one on my Pono ULN4-1
David
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