A couple things that I notice on my Koaloha concer uke

well, since I started to learn ukulele building (I am actually working on a Stew Mac soprano), I thought I should take out my Koaloha concert ukulele and learn a little bit of how they build their ukuleles.
The first thing that I notice is that there is no lining. It looks like that the top and the back are just glued on the sides.

The second thing that I notice is that the nut has four very similar size of slots. The C and E strings fit ok in the slots, but the A and G strings can actually move around in the slots, meaning the slots are too wide for A and G strings.

The ukulele plays fine and sounds great.
So, this made me wonder whether it is true that lining is not absolutely necessary?
and the size of the slots on the nut doesn't matter?

These are the confusion that I have right now. I appreciate any comment.

Linings are neccessary if you are going to do bindings/purfling. It also may be that the side thickness on your concert is thicker. I couldn't imagine trying to get a stable glue joint with just .07" thick sides and no linings. Maybe factory made stuff can get away with it.

KoAloha uses a unibrace that makes the body Superannuation strong. You can even stand on the body and it wont collapse. Its that rib you see inside the body.

Ronnie Aloha said:

You can even stand on the body and it wont collapse.

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I appreciate your confidence....but don't feel bad if I don't try this on mine.

Ronnie Aloha said:

KoAloha uses a unibrace that makes the body Superannuation strong. You can even stand on the body and it wont collapse. Its that rib you see inside the body.

Click to expand...

Hmmm... very interesting.

Chap said:

I appreciate your confidence....but don't feel bad if I don't try this on mine.

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It is true. I think WickedWahine posted some pics of Brian stasnding on one to prove the point.

Ronnie Aloha said:

KoAloha uses a unibrace that makes the body Superannuation strong. You can even stand on the body and it wont collapse. Its that rib you see inside the body.

Click to expand...

After seeing that monster in my concert I was amazed that it sounded good at all. Can't believe I didn't notice the lack of kerfing, but he's right. And the only place I have gapping between the back top and sides is at the heel block, the one place that there is a lot of glue surface. Go figure. MIne is a Pikake. Not sure if those are different structurally

I've done the KoAloha tour, and asked about the linings/bracing thing. Brian told me that the side is indeed a little thicker than normal, which gives a little stronger joint. All the sides are bent by hand as far as I know. The unibrace is pretty cool - it appears to be a solid billet that extends from back to front, with the center machined out.

I haven't seen Paul in this forum for a while; I'm he'd tell us as much as he's allowed to.