Opinions on Ohana Pineapple Soprano

Here is the uke:

http://www.ohana-music.com/sopr/pk25g/master.html

Does anybody have any experience with this particular ukulele, or Ohana's in general? I have a couple Kalas, but a UU'er here is looking to sell this model, and I wondered a bit about it. What attracts me to this one is that it's solid mahogany. All of my ukes are laminate or plastic backed. Would a solid wood uke make a sound difference? I need another uke like I need a hole in my head, but that's the way of UAS

Thanks!

John

J_Tay81 said:

Here is the uke:

http://www.ohana-music.com/sopr/pk25g/master.html

Does anybody have any experience with this particular ukulele, or Ohana's in general? I have a couple Kalas, but a UU'er here is looking to sell this model, and I wondered a bit about it. What attracts me to this one is that it's solid mahogany. All of my ukes are laminate or plastic backed. Would a solid wood uke make a sound difference? I need another uke like I need a hole in my head, but that's the way of UAS

Thanks!

John

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I really like Ohanas, but I wasn't a fan of this instrument.

I AM, however, a big fan of the Ohana SK35. That's an all mahogany instrument, and in my opinion, a little gem. I also love the Sopranino. I think Mike at Uke Republic has them both. Looking at your roster of ukes, either of those two would fit well in your collection.

http://www.ohana-music.com/sopr/sk35/master.html

http://www.ohana-music.com/sopr/sk21/master.html

pdxuke said:

I really like Ohanas, but I wasn't a fan of this instrument.

I AM, however, a big fan of the Ohana SK35. That's an all mahogany instrument, and in my opinion, a little gem. I also love the Sopranino. I think Mike at Uke Republic has them both. Looking at your roster of ukes, either of those two would fit well in your collection.

http://www.ohana-music.com/sopr/sk35/master.html

http://www.ohana-music.com/sopr/sk21/master.html

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What was it about the pineapple you didn't like?

I think Ohanas are nice, on the same level as Kala. I have seen one of those pineapple Ohanas in person, and they are very pretty. Even though most people will swear that solid is better than laminate, when it came to a blind sound test (conducted by MGM a year or so back), it was nearly impossible for the UU forum to tell the difference. Depending on the uke, there are some very nice ones in the Kala and Ohana brands. See if you can hear sound samples before you buy, just to make sure it is what you're looking for.

Also check out the Mainland Ukulele pineapple. I have been very happy with Mainland in general, and I have the discontinued Boat (flat bottomed pineapple) model.

–Lori

Thanks Lori!

Always wondered if there were really a big difference in sound. I'll tell you the one I'd really like to have is a Paulele all bamboo soprano. I just think they look/sound so cool, and made with sustainable wood (which is awesome too).

J_Tay81 said:

What was it about the pineapple you didn't like?

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Hard to say exactly. Didn't like the high gloss, for starters. Wasn't crazy about the sound. It just didn't fit me. But again, I love the other Ohanas I mentioned.

And while I agree that some laminates sound very good, I really do prefer a solid wood instrument (except for my Kiwaya KS1).

Although its better than no test at all, and I do it myself, I don't think you can really tell what a uke sounds like on a YT comparison. Before I got rid of my Kala laminate tenor, I did quite a few side by side comparisons of it and some solid top tenors at SEUkers meet ups. They may have sounded similar in TONE (although muddier) but volume wise the laminates always lost fairly convincingly. Now, volume isn't everything, but when I play in a group I do like to have some chance of being heard. I will also say that my solid mahogany Ohana SK-35G is a cannon compared to my laminate topped dolphin and my Flea.

SweetWaterBlue said:

Although its better than no test at all, and I do it myself, I don't think you can really tell what a uke sounds like on a YT comparison. Before I got rid of my Kala laminate tenor, I did quite a few side by side comparisons of it and some solid top tenors at SEUkers meet ups. They may have sounded similar in TONE (although muddier) but volume wise the laminates always lost fairly convincingly. Now, volume isn't everything, but when I play in a group I do like to have some chance of being heard. I will also say that my solid mahogany Ohana SK-35G is a cannon compared to my laminate topped dolphin and my Flea.

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That's good to know. I keep listening to various YT vids and it really is tough to tell a difference at all between various ukulele sounds unless the difference is STRONG. The videos really vary in audio quality, plus my computer's speakers may not be the best. Thanks!

J_Tay81 said:

That's good to know. I keep listening to various YT vids and it really is tough to tell a difference at all between various ukulele sounds unless the difference is STRONG. The videos really vary in audio quality, plus my computer's speakers may not be the best. Thanks!

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To be honest, even in person it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between ukes, espeically if you are playing them. When I do side-by-side tests, I always have someone hold the two ukes up in front of me with the sound hole facing me. Then, I strum them one at a time to see which one sounds better. Perhaps that supports the theory that there isn't as much difference as people sometimes imagine, but at least then I know what the ukes sound like to people in front of the soundhole.