KoAloha KSM Longneck vs KCM

So the KSM Longneck has the the same concert scale as the KCM and a smaller body. Is there a drastic difference in tone between the two?

Also, all of the Koaloha ukes I've played seem to come with so-so strings. I'm sure this uke will sound good with Worth strings. Has anyone tried D'addario strings on a Koaloha soprano/concert?

I have money to spend and am leaning towards a KoAloha or a Kanile'a

i tried putting d'addario's on my koaloha concert, but the diameter of the strings is too big for the slots on the bridge. so i threw on some clear worth's and those have worked ever since

I would have to steer you towards buying a Concert Kanilea. In my opinion, soprano bodies all sound about the same, and sound pretty decent, after you spend about 100 dollars on it and have a decent set of strings set up. But that's just my unexperienced hands and ears.

I simply like Kanilea's instruments because they look gorgeous with the UV cured finish. But most importantly, the soundmonster bracing is fantastic and I think it really adds to the resonance and the feel of the uke as you can feel the vibrations in the back of the uke against your body as you strum a chord. KoAloha is good too, and you should eventually buy one, but I think Kanilea is an excellent mix of beauty and sound.

The Kanilea's with the UV coating are irresistable. Unfortunately all the local shops here have the concerts with pickups already installed which jacks up the price to over 1k.

I love KoAloha's. They have fantastic resonance and they just have the "tone". They are very well built and are warrantied for life.

I've been disappointed in Kanilea's though - maybe I was just unlucky with them.

Anyway, I like both the long-neck soprano and the concert KoAloha ukes. They both have a bright loud tone with tons of dynamics from loud to soft, and nice overtones for a fat tone, with the concert having a bit of darkness behind it, giving it a bit more depth, so to speak. The concert has a bit more string tension than the long neck soprano. KoAloha's have a pretty sound.

The KoAloha's I have came with KoA;loha's new clear flourocarbon strings, and they are great. Very similar to the clear Worth's. They are probably the same exact strings with a different brand name on 'em.

They also have a radiused fretboard. If you get a KoAloha Pikake model, ti will have flat fretboard.

Ukeguy510 said:

The Kanilea's with the UV coating are irresistable. Unfortunately all the local shops here have the concerts with pickups already installed which jacks up the price to over 1k.

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Yeah the pickups in those things are expensive. Try MGM. His prices tend to be around 15-20% off retail (Seems like your local stores are charging the retail, or even markup if a concert with pickup is over 1k.) You can't play the instrument before you buy it, but it makes it somewhat more affordable.