koaloha tenor vs custom uke

fumanshu

fumanshu

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Hi guys! With all the thread comparing K's company between them, but rarely do I see comparaison vs custom.
I was wodnering if anyone of you who own both a Koaloha tenor and another tenor custom such as a King, Moore Bettah, Talsma, Glyph, Sigman, etc...

So how the factory made Koaloha tenor stands beside the builders custom ones? I know it's hard to compare...but I'm just curious...

Thanks
 
I don't have a custom tenor but I do have a custom concert and a KoAloha tenor. I love my KoAloha tenor but my custom is my favorite uke thus far. Actually my custom is featured on the splash page for Boat Paddle Ukulele's site. The building of it is on their design page.
 
Nuprin wrote:
I don't have a custom tenor but I do have a custom concert and a KoAloha tenor. I love my KoAloha tenor but my custom is my favorite uke thus far. Actually my custom is featured on the splash page for Boat Paddle Ukulele's site. The building of it is on their design page.
Click to expand...

Your custom uke looks nice!!!! For wahtever reason I thought that boatpaddle are only doing the kayak shape....which I don't really like!!! But the M style is nice....with the cutaway, it looks even nicer!! Is yours a spruce top with walnut?
I just don't know how they sound? How would you describe it compare to your tenor Koaloha?

I know it's not a good comparaison because they are not the same size and wood combo, but just to give an idea..

I'll go back to check their website!!! :)

Thanks
 
fumanshu said:
Nuprin wrote:

Your custom uke looks nice!!!! For wahtever reason I thought that boatpaddle are only doing the kayak shape....which I don't really like!!! But the M style is nice....with the cutaway, it looks even nicer!! Is yours a spruce top with walnut?
I just don't know how they sound? How would you describe it compare to your tenor Koaloha?

I know it's not a good comparaison because they are not the same size and wood combo, but just to give an idea..

I'll go back to check their website!!! :)

Thanks
Click to expand...

Sounds great...I've been meaning to make a video with it but haven't gotten around to it. Hopefully sometime this week. Spruce top, 4A walnut back & sides, maple binding. Love it.
 
I do not own a Koaloha, I have played a few. I do have a Moore Bettah Concert. So while I think most K brand ukes are nice, they do not compare to a uke that was handbuilt by one person (any good luthier) that pays so much attention to every little detail.

The way I undersatand it most of the K brands (Kanilea, Koaloha, Kamaka) are made by at least a few different people (millers, sanders, assembers, finishers...). So they are factory made instruments, while a custom can be made to your exact specs by one person. I feel like it is comparing apples to oranges.

I love my MB and am always looking to get a Koaloha, or Kanilea but I don't see any K brand out shining my MB.
 
Well, a KoAloha tenor will set you back $899.00 from MGM. Which of the custom tenors can you buy for that price in order to make a fair comparison?

Jude
fumanshu said:
Hi guys! With all the thread comparing K's company between them, but rarely do I see comparaison vs custom.
I was wodnering if anyone of you who own both a Koaloha tenor and another tenor custom such as a King, Moore Bettah, Talsma, Glyph, Sigman, etc...

So how the factory made Koaloha tenor stands beside the builders custom ones? I know it's hard to compare...but I'm just curious...

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
I didn't talk much here about price range, to me it was more about just comparing sound.

And I think that, it's not because you pay 2x-3x the price of a Koaloha that it sounds way better....
 
I think the sound will vary from instrument to instrument no matter who makes it. One might have nicer highs and another nicer lows. There arer also other aspects of custom instruments besides sound that make them cost more.

I think you could get a MP for around the same price of Koaloha.
 
As someone looking at the Koaloha vs. Mya Moe vs. Mike Pereira argument, this is interesting. Those are the three on my list, BTW, in "roughly" the same price range for a longneck soprano/concert type thing. Probably with a pickup.
 
All ukes have some variability, but customs seem to have much more....
At least with a factory uke, if you don't like the sound of one, you pick up another. OTOH if you have one buit... it's yours. I've heard some customs that sounded amazing and others that were duds. Having a uke built from scratch seems like gambling way too much $ for me. If I had th $ to blow, I would consider an already-built custom ... but I guess that would reduce its "custom-ness".
 
Paul December said:
At least with a factory uke, if you don't like the sound of one, you pick up another. OTOH if you have one buit... it's yours. I've heard some customs that sounded amazing and others that were duds. Having a uke built from scratch seems like gambling way too much $ for me.
Click to expand...

Many reputable custom builders will offer you a free inspection period with a money back guarantee if you are not totally happy with your purchase. Ask before buying.
 
My KoAloha super concert is a terrific ukulele. It plays like a dream and always gets comments about how good it sounds from others.
My uke playing friends always thought it was the best sounding uke ever.
For whatever reason I decided I needed a custom uke and ordered a DaSilva.
I got the James Hill signature model. I will admit it is a great playing and sounding uke and I have grown to love it.
When I met Char & Gordon I ordered a Mya-Moe resonator. This is also an unbelieveble ukuele.
In my honest opinion if your decision to go custom or stock is purely money driven I don't believe you can go wrong with a KoAloha.
If you want something a little different and can afford it go custom. While the customs are great and I am not at all disappointed with mine, if money was the issue I don't believe they play and sound 2 or 3 times better.
 
I think there are actually 3 categories... the production ukuleles like KoAloha, a custom ukulele that is made to your specifications, and non-production ukuleles.

From my perspective, a KoAloha production ukulele will be the most consistent from uke to uke, like a Taylor or Martin guitar. Just about every uke they make is good, few if any are dogs, and a few just over the top stellar ones.

A custom is great if you have played long enough to know exactly what you want in woods, sound, neck etc. A true custom is made to order.

The third category is the non-production ukuleles, I consider my ukuleles in this category. This category probabaly offers the most interesting variety in sound for the money. If you find the sound you like, and a good luthier who produces that sound, you can end up with a ukulele that is better than a production ukulele. It will be handmade by a single individual, and while it may vary a little from uke to uke, and possibly have a few idiosyncracies, you do have the potential to get that great off-the-beaten-path ukulele.

John
 
Threw together a quick video of me playing "Me & Shirley T" on both my Boat Paddle M-Style concert as well as my KoAloha tenor. Did a bit of splicing and it should give you a decent comparison of the two ukuleles. Keep in mind, this is a comparison between a spruce/walnut concert and a koa tenor so it's a pretty bad comparison...about the only thing similar between these two are I have both strung up with Worth mediums.

 
Hey thanks a lot for for your video!!!! It was great to watch it. I think they both sound good, just different kind of sound!! I'm quite impress by the boatpaddle though!! I didn't know that they sound like that, for whatever reason, I never pay attention to what they are doing.

I think the Koaloha has a traditional uke sound....not much different from what I use to hear.... The boatpaddle has that spruce top crispness. Soud is quite clear and articulate.

Just to let people know, I already have 4 MP custom uke as well as other customs hawaiian builders such as Pahu Kani, Ana'ole, etc...

And I have a whole bunch of production ukes such as Koaloha concert, sceptre, kanile'a, and G-String.

But I never owned a Koaloha tenor so I was more curiuos than anything else, to see how their tenor sounds like compare to other custom build tenor...

By the way, with all the good ukes that I have, I'm always Mike Pereira (MP ukulele) biggest fan since 99,999995% of the time, I play with the 3 tenors that he build for me. I think I can consider myself a MP hardcore fans!!!
 
heyjude said:
Well, a KoAloha tenor will set you back $899.00 from MGM. Which of the custom tenors can you buy for that price in order to make a fair comparison?

Jude
Click to expand...

Mike from MP Ukuleles is VERY reasonable in his prices. Some of his models on his "for sale" page are $575 right now. I have put one on hold until next month. Very stoked about it.

Cheers!
 
jehicks87 said:
Mike from MP Ukuleles is VERY reasonable in his prices. Some of his models on his "for sale" page are $575 right now. I have put one on hold until next month. Very stoked about it.

Cheers!
Click to expand...

I love the look of the concert pineapple he has there. Just gorgeous. Would love to know what it sounds like.
 
The main reason I ended up buying a custom tenor had nothing to do with the usual considerations mentioned in the other posts here. I had gotten it in my head that I wanted an instrument made from "sinker" wood, that is, from a log that has been submerged under water for a hundred years or so. Long story how I came to this (a link to my blog if you're really interested: http://timberdream.blogspot.com/2010/04/sinker-log.html ), but after contacting Dave Sigman of Little River Ukuleles, he told me he currently had a custom uke in progress made from sinker redwood and claro walnut. I bought it, and I'm so glad I did, and it was only a couple hundred more than a factory Kamaka tenor that I had been considering.
 
pulelehua said:
I love the look of the concert pineapple he has there. Just gorgeous. Would love to know what it sounds like.
Click to expand...

that's not the one I'm eyeing, but yes it is beautiful. My baby girl is the cedar and myrtle concert... mmmmhmmmmm. I'll post a review next month when I recieve her!

Dougf said:
The main reason I ended up buying a custom tenor had nothing to do with the usual considerations mentioned in the other posts here. I had gotten it in my head that I wanted an instrument made from "sinker" wood, that is, from a log that has been submerged under water for a hundred years or so. Long story how I came to this (a link to my blog if you're really interested: http://timberdream.blogspot.com/2010/04/sinker-log.html ), but after contacting Dave Sigman of Little River Ukuleles, he told me he currently had a custom uke in progress made from sinker redwood and claro walnut. I bought it, and I'm so glad I did, and it was only a couple hundred more than a factory Kamaka tenor that I had been considering.
Click to expand...

That is awesome! I'm deffinately checking out your blog, but do you have any videos of the precious lady?
 
jehicks87 said:
that's not the one I'm eyeing, but yes it is beautiful. My baby girl is the cedar and myrtle concert... mmmmhmmmmm. I'll post a review next month when I recieve her!

That is awesome! I'm deffinately checking out your blog, but do you have any videos of the precious lady?
Click to expand...

A warning about the blog, it has little to do with ukes, and it's a bit verbose, but it's been fun.

My videos don't really show the uke well, and my sound system is just the built-in mic on my mac, so the sound is not as good as it could be. Here's a link to my latest:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne1VQRT7RYQ

Also, here are a couple shots Dave took during construction:

ukeimage.jpg

ukeimage3.jpg


http://my.starstream.net/cinci/ukeimage.jpg
http://my.starstream.net/cinci/ukeimage3.jpg
 
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