Kamaka Concert vs KoAloha Concert

guitharsis · Oct 24, 2010

Brought my new Kamaka Concert in for a string change. As nice as it sounded I wanted to put the Fremont blackline MT on because I knew it could sound even better. Also brought my KoAloha in to have the high G changed to low G (had a clear Fremont that I've had for quite awhile).

The technician who changed my strings is quite knowledgeable. He and his Dad make guitars. He had one heck of a time getting the Fremont blacklines on my Kamaka because the stock strings are so much thicker and the slots have to accomodate them. He had to knot the A string many times because of the slot being large. So happy I didn't attempt it myself.

The KoAloha string change from high G to low G took him about 30 seconds (his words), and he absolutely LOVED the KoAloha. Liked it better than the Kamaka.

I love them both but the KoAloha is special to me too because it was my first K brand and does look and sound awesome!

janeray1940 · Oct 24, 2010

guitharsis said:
He had to knot the A string many times because of the slot being large. So happy I didn't attempt it myself.

Interesting - I had the same experience with the A string on my new Kamaka concert! I've been fearlessly changing strings for a long time, and when it popped out for the second time I was seriously doubting that I knew what I was doing. I have *never* had a string do that before. So I knotted it several more times and hoped for the best - I'm happy to read that a professional would have done the same thing re: the knotting. It's been fine all week but I've taken the added precaution of not cutting off the excess string end, just in case!

marymac · Oct 24, 2010

I had the same experience Jane! I changed the strings on other ukes with no problem but the A string knot on the Kamaka kept popping out. I thought it was because I was a novice and wasn't doing something right. I did finally get it to stick but it took a lot of knots. Good thing they give you extra string to work with!

tonysal123 · Oct 24, 2010

I put a set of Aquilas on my (2009) Kamaka Concert, I don't recall any issue with the strings popping out or needing multiple knots. Could the Aquilas be a little thicker?

Koni

janeray1940 · Oct 24, 2010

tonysal123 said:
I put a set of Aquilas on my (2009) Kamaka Concert, I don't recall any issue with the strings popping out or needing multiple knots. Could the Aquilas be a little thicker?

Koni

Mine were Aquilas too.

molokinirum · Oct 24, 2010

I believe the aquila strings are thicker.

haolejohn · Oct 24, 2010

This isn't a kamaka issue only. I changed the strings on my koaloha sceptre from the koaloha strings to Freemont blacklinelow g. I couldn't get the low g string to thread throught the bridge. I ended up going with a high g freemont. I was a little bummed b/c i really wanted a low g sceptre.

Ingrate · Oct 24, 2010

haolejohn said:
This isn't a kamaka issue only. I changed the strings on my koaloha sceptre from the koaloha strings to Freemont blacklinelow g. I couldn't get the low g string to thread throught the bridge. I ended up going with a high g freemont. I was a little bummed b/c i really wanted a low g sceptre.

These posts agree w/my KoAloha experience. Those slots in the bridge fit the string diameters quite closely, so a single simple knot suffices, even for the A string. While restringing mine, I inadvertently tried to put the G-string in the A-slot, and it was too tight. That's tight tolerance.

You could file that slot a bit wider to fit the low-G.

marymac · Oct 25, 2010

I was putting on Worth Clears when I had the popping off issue and they do seem finer/thinner than the Aquilas.

guitharsis · Oct 25, 2010

Interesting experiences everyone. I used to change strings on my classical guitars which is seemingly a more difficult procedure but no problems other than a string ding if it wasn't looped around enough when tied.

guitharsis · Oct 25, 2010

haolejohn said:
This isn't a kamaka issue only. I changed the strings on my koaloha sceptre from the koaloha strings to Freemont blacklinelow g. I couldn't get the low g string to thread throught the bridge. I ended up going with a high g freemont. I was a little bummed b/c i really wanted a low g sceptre.

Ingrate's suggestion sounds like a good one.

Derg · Oct 25, 2010

I had to swap the strings on my KoAloha longneck pineapple just the other day and found that one knot was not enough on the G and A strings. They both popped out on my first try and I went through two sets of Worth Clear Medium strings before I worked out what was going on ( I cut the strings down too early in the fitting process). All my other ukes have had the tie type bridge and for security it does seem like a better option even if I like the clean lines of the knot type..

I'm gonna try some Worth Brown lights next, anyone have experience with them on a KoAloha?

wickedwahine11 · Oct 25, 2010

Derg said:
I'm gonna try some Worth Brown lights next, anyone have experience with them on a KoAloha?

I currently have a set on my KoAloha Pineapple Sunday. I like the BL strings a lot better than the BT ones. They are definitely worth trying out on your uke.

experimentjon · Oct 26, 2010

Oh, it's good to know that the string popping issue is more common than I thought. It popped out so many times and so violenlty on my old Kamaka concert that it would tear out a little bit of wood each time from the bridge until there was a really big gap in the A and G slots...so much that huge knots would have a hard time holding the strings in. I had to plug the huge slots on the bridge w krazy glue. Wonder how it's holding up, since I haven't played it for a while.

Gillian · Nov 19, 2010

Maybe this problem is why KoAloha is introducing the laced tied bridge, rather than the knotted tie bridge being discussed in this thread?

http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?38338-New-KoAloha-bridges-coming-out

70sSanO · Nov 19, 2010

Will a small bead work instead of more knots. My pinned bridge uses a bead, but the string feeds into the soundboard and the pin holds it so there is more room for the bead.

I wonder if tying the string around a tiny metal dowel, maybe even a short piece, 1/4"???, of something like a stainless craft needle would keep it from pulling through. The needle would be perpendicular to the slot. I would imagine it would be at least as strong as the wood around the slot.

John

wickedwahine11 · Nov 19, 2010

70sSanO said:
Will a small bead work instead of more knots. My pinned bridge uses a bead, but the string feeds into the soundboard and the pin holds it so there is more room for the bead.John

John, I use a small bead on my KoAloha so that it won't slip out. You can get them at craft stores like Michael's or JoAnn's. They are quite inexpensive, and you can get them in clear so that they are barely noticeable (or colors if you want to be more noticeable).

Forgive the large size of the photo, but you can see the beads on the end of the string here. I probably should put the clear on, but I was trying to match the koa color with the brown. I don't really care for how they look in appearance, but they are quite functional and protect the bridge better since I never have strings snapping on me anymore.

guitharsis · Dec 5, 2010

Must've missed this when you posted. What a great idea and what a gorgeous looking ukulele. The large size of the photo really shows it off. You have the nicest collection!

CTurner · Dec 5, 2010

Threading strings

I'm having a custom Lichty tenor uke built and I went over stringing options when I had conversations with the luthier. He highly recommended I try the "bead with string" option as he had had consistent success on both guitar and ukulele construction with that design. It doesn't sound like any bigger deal to string on a bead than to practice tying multiple knots to get the security you want. The beads transmit vibration very well.

mm stan · Dec 5, 2010

I agree, Usually the bead option to tie a bead from the fishing box when that happens works well...MM Stan..

Kamaka Concert vs KoAloha Concert

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