Craigslist Koalana Soprano

I saw this ukulele on Craigslist about 250 miles from me. I took a chance and bought it and had it shipped to me. Less than $100 to my door.
I think it is awesome!!! I knew very little about this brand. Just what I had read while lurking here for the past few months.

The top, back and sides appear to be one piece, I can't find a seam anywhere. It has been repaired where the back had separated from the lower bout. (Undisclosed in the ad. Beware Craigslist!) I tried to show a pic of this if I'm able to post pics. The repair was poorly done and a gap still shows but I don't care.

What a sound from this little uke. It is loud and has great sustain. I'm new to the ukulele and I just can't seem to put this little gem down.

Just wondering if anyone can tell me any more about this ukulele.

Wow-I think you did very well. I would contact a luthier though and have that seperation addressed. The "mother" company of Koalana is Koaloha. I own a Koaloha soprano and they are awesome ukes and most uker's feel they make some of the best ukes available (other than custom builds).

Here is a great video explaining the origin of Koalana, made by a dear old friend to many of us at ukuleleunderground-

http://youtu.be/WLeb-O478nk

You got a great deal! Congrats! If it was mine I would take it to a luthier and have it fixed properly. Bet it sounds great.

You can search on the term 'koalana' to turn up many threads about them, but the short answer is that they're a 'budget' line made by Koaloha (so they retail for about $300 instead of over $800). They're made of solid sapele, a wood similar to mahogany. Although they're made overseas, they're made to spec in a dedicated factory that Koaloha personally oversees. Not many are made, and they're in high demand and very popular. No idea why someone let one go for under $100 unless they know how poorly they repaired it (or there's some other problem yet undiscovered).

Ah Koalana. The budget line - briefly - of Koaloha. When they stay together they are wonderful. A batch was made and sold to Hawaii Music Supply who sold out of them quickly. They are made of Sapele. If you read past messages you can see the whole history. Unfortunately, they were built with wood that wasn't fully seasoned so it seems. I had two friends who bought them, had them about two weeks and had them break apart. Mine has held together and has fantastic tone and playability. However, the seams are pulling apart. My concert Koalana sounds better than my concert Koaloha. I don't have a lot of faith that it won't come apart, but I've had mine over a year now so maybe it will be OK. Koalohas are usually very lightly built. My Koaloha soprano has a belly but sounds great.

I own a Koalana concert that has an exceptional woody, earthy sound that is great for fingerpicking and light strumming. The two pieced top on mine tends to separate a bit. During the winter and heating season I keep the Koalana in a plastic bag with a moistened sponge inside a small storage bag with small holes cut in it. That keeps the separation to a minimum. No problems in the summer as I live in a very humid city and never use air conditioning. I did not send the instrument back for a number of reasons but chiefly because of the exceptional sound at a reasonable price.

Thanks for the informative replies. I have looked closely at the repair and had a friend check it out also. It looks like super glue was used to fix it.
There are some hazy spots in the finish that make me think CA glue. Can a luthier remove CA glue and do a proper repair?
There are no other signs of drying or cracking anywhere so I may be OK.
I'm using a sponge in a perforated pill bottle to keep it humidified.

Yeah, I love the sound of these but have heard the same thing about their tendency to crack. I believe KoAloha offers their better than the weather warranty with them though. So if you have any issues you can just send them back to get them repaired or replaced.

wow it looks like you got a good deal! very worth fixing! Congrats! now to go to Craigslist, LOL

It's my understanding that at first the KoAlanas were made in China, and that didn't work out. Looking at the finish of your model, I notice the difference from it and the finish on the ones in the MGM YouTube review mentioned above and my own Thai-made KoAlanas. Could it be that your model was made in China?

BTW, The Thai company that made those KoAlanas is now making their own brand called "The Rebel" - soon to be sold in the U.S. I had the good fortune of trying them out while here in Bangkok the last two weeks, and I can say they have a very similar beautiful tone as the KoAlanas.