The Bearable Lightness of Uke-ing

fivetide

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One of the many problems with living so many thousands of damn miles from Hawaii is the inability to pick up and man-handle ukes before ordering.

Tone and build quality can both be assessed to some extent through videos and online demos, but one thing you can't really get a grasp for remotely is how light or heavy each uke 'feels' .

My concert Pono has a wonderful finish but is a heavy unit.
My Kala thinline is tiny but has geared tuners which play havoc with its balance.
My basic concert Koaloho might be plain and simple with some less than perfect inlay work, but it is very light and well balanced with a resonant top and friction tuners.By far my favourite uke.

I guess my question is this -- which quality sub-$1000 soprano and concert ukes are generally considered to excel for their lightness and balance (as well as a great sound) ?

Thanks.
 
Most Hawaiian factory made ukes (the "K" brands) are pretty light. One of the lightest concert sized ukulele I've ever played is my Collings UC-1. It's built with mahogany and is very light and balanced. Sounds great too.
 
Having recently spent two weeks in Hawaii and handling numerous ukes of various sizes, the Hawaiian K-brands under $1000 were all pretty light, well-made and with a nice sound when compared to the average imports. The Koaloha concerts seemed to be the lightest that I handled and had a very unique pleasing and responsive sound. The Kamaka sopranos, especially the pineapples, were really nice as were the concerts. Most of the custom ukes were of course very light with a good sound, but also costly. Having played a lot of the different brands and types at the shops, I personally do not think I would have any problem ordering a Kamaka, Koaloha or Kanilea even if I could not handle it first. They seemed to be pretty consistent.
 
I guess my question is this -- which quality sub-$1000 soprano and concert ukes are generally considered to excel for their lightness and balance (as well as a great sound) ?

Thanks.

If you want the lower end of that price, try Ohana sopranos. Every one I have played have been light and beautifully balanced.

Kiwayas as well.
 
My Collings UT1 is unbelievably light; one pound of bliss. It felt almost fragile at first. Mine's set up nicely, looking at it you'd almost think its a tad high and you can really tell it before you overdrive it. If you fingerpick sul tasto you get a nice round tone and you can kind of add a mandolin like 'bark' to it by adjusting the angle of attack. It's a beautifully responsive ukulele. . . I'm totally in love with it.
 
Thanks for your replies. I do like the Koaloha Soprano longnecks. Are these less balanced than the standard soprano, or has that (presumably) all been taken into account?
 
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