advancedbasic
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Hey everyone, I have two separate questions...
1. There's a KoAloha Pikake Soprano for sale nearby me, being sold by someone who says he bought it from his cousin who got it in Hawaii. He says he just hasn't played it frequently enough to warrant keeping it, and being a guitarist, is also saving up for a new guitar.
I've been strongly considering getting a higher-end soprano used at the right price, and I'm wondering before I go and inspect/play the instrument in person if there are specific things good to look for whether they be indications of genuine vs. counterfeit, types of hard-to-see damage, or generally just anything useful to know.
I did go to a local ukulele shop today to play a few other KoAlohas (so I know roughly what the instrument should sound like), but otherwise I was just planning on looking for cosmetic damage to the outside, the KoAloha label and date stamp inside, and generally just how the instrument plays (action height etc.)
2. Now more specifically, does anyone have a KoAloha Pikake Soprano and want to comment on how they like it? What do you think it's worth? My only benchmark is that HMS is selling one for $659 new, and since it's HMS that includes a case and humidifier as well as set up (I know this guy is including a similar case at the very least). I'm almost positive the instrument is in great shape and has its original strings based on high-res photos:
EDIT: Here they are (you have to click the link to see all 8 photos).
http://imgur.com/a/d2TnP
I personally liked the KoAloha soprano's bright, loud, and projective sound the best of the other sopranos I tried in the local store I visited today, but am still a bit unsure whether to keep hunting for a glossy "regular" KoAloha vs this satin Pikake version (less of a big deal for me -- are they really different besides the finish?) or to keep looking for a concert neck KoAloha soprano. I played a few sopranos with concert and tenor necks and found the increased neck length to result in more string tension and less of that bright "boxy" soprano sound which I like. While I've grown to like the extra room on the fretboard of my Kala mahogany concert, I still don't mind playing on a soprano neck so I don't know if a concert neck is actually necessary for me.
1. There's a KoAloha Pikake Soprano for sale nearby me, being sold by someone who says he bought it from his cousin who got it in Hawaii. He says he just hasn't played it frequently enough to warrant keeping it, and being a guitarist, is also saving up for a new guitar.
I've been strongly considering getting a higher-end soprano used at the right price, and I'm wondering before I go and inspect/play the instrument in person if there are specific things good to look for whether they be indications of genuine vs. counterfeit, types of hard-to-see damage, or generally just anything useful to know.
I did go to a local ukulele shop today to play a few other KoAlohas (so I know roughly what the instrument should sound like), but otherwise I was just planning on looking for cosmetic damage to the outside, the KoAloha label and date stamp inside, and generally just how the instrument plays (action height etc.)
2. Now more specifically, does anyone have a KoAloha Pikake Soprano and want to comment on how they like it? What do you think it's worth? My only benchmark is that HMS is selling one for $659 new, and since it's HMS that includes a case and humidifier as well as set up (I know this guy is including a similar case at the very least). I'm almost positive the instrument is in great shape and has its original strings based on high-res photos:
EDIT: Here they are (you have to click the link to see all 8 photos).
http://imgur.com/a/d2TnP
I personally liked the KoAloha soprano's bright, loud, and projective sound the best of the other sopranos I tried in the local store I visited today, but am still a bit unsure whether to keep hunting for a glossy "regular" KoAloha vs this satin Pikake version (less of a big deal for me -- are they really different besides the finish?) or to keep looking for a concert neck KoAloha soprano. I played a few sopranos with concert and tenor necks and found the increased neck length to result in more string tension and less of that bright "boxy" soprano sound which I like. While I've grown to like the extra room on the fretboard of my Kala mahogany concert, I still don't mind playing on a soprano neck so I don't know if a concert neck is actually necessary for me.
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