I have up to £300 for a ukulele, Id quite like a koa one. What would you recomend?

Samster · Jun 9, 2009

I have up to £300 for a ukulele, Id quite like a koa one. What would you recomend?

there are so many ukuleles out there,

i want to spend upto £300 (ukulele price not overall with shipping and tax ect)

i really like the idea of a koa ukulele

does anybody have any suggestions on what i should get?

any info would be great.

also is it worth gettiong a koa ukulele?

what are the pros and cons with it?

thank you

Sam

John Colter · Jun 9, 2009

In favour of koa - it is a traditional wood for making ukuleles. It has a distinctive appearance. It has a bright, sharp sound (if that's what you like).

Against koa - it is very expensive. Some koa ukes look a bit gaudy. It has a bright, sharp sound (if that's not your thing).

Have you compared the sound of koa and mahogany? For me, mahogany wins every time, but others prefer koa.

Don't go spending £300 on a uke on someone else's recommendation. The opinions of experienced players can give you something to think about, but only you can decide which is best for you. There is no way round it. You've got to listen to some high end ukes.

John Colter (Ukantor)

thejumpingflea · Jun 9, 2009

The Kala Solid Acacia series may be a good choice. Not Koa, but it is very similar.

ukulele2544 · Jun 9, 2009

How much is that is U.S $?

grappler · Jun 9, 2009

is $415.794US

Dirka · Jun 9, 2009

RISA sells these guys. He said on the german uke forum the price is below standard markup, because he wanted to sell the tenor for under 200. People who have them seem to be pretty stoked on them.

Oh yeah, and the info page is lying, its acacia.

I think I'll be saving up for one of these...

Witters · Jun 9, 2009

I'm sure I have seen these before being sold in Spain or maybe it was Portugal, a few years ago.
Never tried it because at that time I thought a 4 string small Guitar was something Spanish, and not a Ukulele - yes I was being stupid

I just thought at the time that a Ukulele was only made in Soprano size.....

Anyway, if it was these one's I saw they look much better in real life than they do in pictures. But what they sound like I have no idea.

UkuLeLesReggAe · Jun 9, 2009

totally irrelivant, especially when i cant spell the word, but my $1, Australian, is around 80cents!! i think just under 79cents. haha!!

yewwwwwwwww

micromue · Jun 9, 2009

How about a Koaloha Pikake? http://www.musique83.com/koaloha-ksm10-pikake-massif-rÃ©fkoaspik7-p-1057.html. Price is including VAT and could be in your price range. The store is in France and has a good reputation under european uke Players.

Kaneohe til the end · Jun 10, 2009

ukantor said:
In favour of koa - it is a traditional wood for making ukuleles. It has a distinctive appearance. It has a bright, sharp sound (if that's what you like).

Against koa - it is very expensive. Some koa ukes look a bit gaudy. It has a bright, sharp sound (if that's not your thing).

Have you compared the sound of koa and mahogany? For me, mahogany wins every time, but others prefer koa.

Don't go spending £300 on a uke on someone else's recommendation. The opinions of experienced players can give you something to think about, but only you can decide which is best for you. There is no way round it. You've got to listen to some high end ukes.

John Colter (Ukantor)

no, actually you're pretty wrong. Koa wasn't always the "traditional" wood for 'ukulele. Back when koa wasn't as scarce as today, other native hawaiian hardwoods were used before they themselves became scarce. Koa doesn't always have a distinctive appearance, sometimes it can look a lot like other woods, such as albizia. Koa can vary widely in tone; some koa is bright and sharp, while other koa can be dark, deep and other koa can even be very mellow. To generalize as bad as you did was a mistake on your part. i don't particularly like when people generalize (also known as bs).

John Colter · Jun 10, 2009

Nice try "K til the end", but you are wrong on two counts:- I said A traditional wood, not THE - OK?

Distinctive means recognizably different - I think it is. The grain pattern and colour varies quite a lot. Most other instrument making woods are much more consistent in appearance.

Tone is very subjective - every koa uke I have played has been bright and sharp.

So which of us is peddling BS?

Your Honour, I rest my case.

John Colter (Ukantor)

ukulele2544 · Jun 10, 2009

grappler said:
is $415.794US

Wow

Thats a lot of money!

Samster · Jun 10, 2009

reading up on here,theres been discussion about cheap koa ukuleles, is $300 cheap?

Is $300 too cheap for a solid koa ukulele?

will this mean that there is compromise in the production because its cheap

i really have no clue

Please help.

generem · Jun 10, 2009

$300 is really cheap for a solid Koa Ukulele :shaka:

Samster · Jun 10, 2009

is it too cheap?

generem · Jun 10, 2009

Are you asking if you can find a Koa for $300 or did you find a Uke for $300 and think it might be too good to be true

Samster · Jun 10, 2009

i found one, but reading things off here

id like to know like what is likely to be wrong with it for being so cheap

its concert sized may i add

just in case that makes a difference aha

generem · Jun 10, 2009

What brand, Model..etc.. We will be able to help you out a bit more..

Maybe

Samster · Jun 10, 2009

ayers, im not sure of the model number, they only do one solid koa one, concert sized

haole · Jun 10, 2009

Nope. Keli'i has a Hawaiian-made solid koa soprano for $299, and it rocks! Ohana makes some solid koa ukes at good prices, too.

I have up to £300 for a ukulele, Id quite like a koa one. What would you recomend?

Well-known member

It ain't what you've got, it's what you do with it

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

It ain't what you've got, it's what you do with it

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Similar threads