I chose "new", since I'm a "new" kind of guy (it applies to cars, houses, ukes, etc.). However, if you're specifically comparing old and new Kamaka ukes, I think it really depends on how it sound and plays. In theory the older Kamaka would have a more "opened up" sound, but every uke is pretty much different so it's hard to generalize the difference between old and new. If you can't inspect the ukes in person, the new one is probably a safer buy, since you're never really sure about any issues with the old uke until you have it in hand.