What's so good

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michaeltran3

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Koa is a wood used to make 'ukuleles right? What's so special about it, why does it costs so much? What does it sound like, does is have sustain and resonance? (im using my bro's account here)
 
Ill bite....

Hawaii is a group of island's...
Hawaii is where Ukulele's came from...
"Real" Koa is a tree found only on the island's...
Being islands there is only so much space for trees...
Trees take time to grow, hotels and people take up space that trees need...

When you have a limited item (Koa) the price goes up...
When you have a unique item (Hawaiian (real) Koa Ukulele) the price goes up...
When there is a demand for that item the price can go WAY up and if the value of the dollar goes down the price goes up too.

Koa sounds like Koa, like Mahogany sounds like Mahogany and Spruce sounds like Spruce.

Does this help???
 
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hoosierhiver said:
Koa is THE prefered wood for ukuleles,look around abit and you'll find other threads and videos about koa ukes.
Click to expand...

Not always true.

Of course, when someone builds an instrument out of extremely figured Koa, the eye candy effect will always take over. Its the true players that close their eyes to find their instrument, or they have a custom made.

James Hill plays one of my favorite combinations, and Jake's Spruce top had more complexity that his current `ukulele, imo.

When talking to kupuna about `ukulele, the statement "that old Martin sound" comes up, and is usually referring to Mahogany instruments.

Why it costs so much is a matter of supply and demand, and has been covered above.

Of course, don't get me wrong. My current go to `ukulele is made of Koa, just because the Milo is not up and running, yet.

-Aaron
 
Kekani said:
Not always true.

Of course, when someone builds an instrument out of extremely figured Koa, the eye candy effect will always take over. Its the true players that close their eyes to find their instrument, or they have a custom made.

James Hill plays one of my favorite combinations, and Jake's Spruce top had more complexity that his current `ukulele, imo.

When talking to kupuna about `ukulele, the statement "that old Martin sound" comes up, and is usually referring to Mahogany instruments.

Why it costs so much is a matter of supply and demand, and has been covered above.

Of course, don't get me wrong. My current go to `ukulele is made of Koa, just because the Milo is not up and running, yet.

-Aaron
Click to expand...

Speaking of that, what company was Jake's old spruce top made by?
 
Yes, Jakes spruce top was a Kamaka. It was really bright, very clear notes. He played that uke so hard that it wore through the top.

I agree with Kekani, although Koa is desired for it's beautiful looks, and it's "traditional" look, it may not always be the best in sound, but once again, that is subjective. I do like cedar tops for a rich sound that is not as bright as spruce, and a more open sound, especially when matched well with the rest of the body. One day I'll do a youtube of my ukes for a comparison.

Classical guitar players have videos comparing guitars made by the same maker but with different tops, quite a difference.
 
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