Cedar/Koa or All Koa

[nublele]

I recently got a cedar rosewood tenor from a custom builder here in my country. I like the sound of it.
Im planning to get a new one so I can have a high g and low g tenor and im very curious for a Koa ukulele. I like the sound of it from the internet ofc they are the better models, and im not sure if it will sound the same on a locally built.

Considering i like the cedar, is it a good idea pair it to a Koa body? Or all koa is better? Thanks!

I know better is pretty subjective so I just wanna know your opinion. Thanks!

 

[kissing]

If I had the opportunity to get an all Koa custom uke, I'd go the all Koa.
The ukulele's tone is going to be influenced most by the top wood and the luthier's technique.

All Koa seems more prestigious from an aesthetic point of view.

 

[UkerDanno]

All Koa for me, but I'm not a fan of cedar. Besides, why mess with koa?

 

[merlin666]

Ukuleles historically are all tropical hardwood instruments and use of softwood tops like cedar is a fairly recent development. This makes them more like a small guitar which can be nice with linear tuning. For more typical ukulele sound go for all koa or all Honduran mahogany. If you decide for all koa get one that was built in Hawaii as non Hawaiian builders may not have enough experience with this wood.

 

[Arik]

Since you already have a cedar top already, maybe an all koa would be a good idea. I'm a cedar top lover but I think having an all koa and cedar/rosewood would sound different from each other, which is nice. Guessing the Cedar/Rosewood would be a little louder and have a little more bass, and the koa would have stronger mids.

 

[ripock]

Personally, I would go for whichever one was prettier. It is a custom uke; it is going to sound great regardless of wood. So my concern would be figured wood, striations of grain, etc.

 

[Peter Frary]

Cedar soundboards are my favorite for classical guitars: fat round timbre, robust dynamics and forgiving touch. On an 'ukulele, it tends to add brightness and volume compared to a koa build, at least in the instruments I've played. The extra brightness is something I don't care for. A good luthier can control the brightness by adjusting the bracing and other aspects of the design.

Not too long ago I was shopping for 'ukuleles at HMS and played several Kanile'a—all koa and koa with cedar top. I preferred the sweet mellow timbres of all koa over the bright and punchy cedar topped model (which cost a grand more). I also have a mahogany Kremona Mari and a rosewood/cedar Coco. Very similar design but Coco is noticeably brighter and louder. Cuts through an ensemble like a knife but not nearly as sweet for soloing at home.

With all that said, I play with fingernails, a technique more prone to revealing brightness. If you're a finger fresh only picker, the extra brightness of a cedar topped instrument may be welcome. Probably should play one first.

 

[Kenn2018]

The majority of the sound comes from the vibrations of the soundboard top of the ukulele. The second part is from the back of the uke. The sides are usually thicker and don't contribute much to the sound.

Hold your Cedar/Rosewood tightly against your chest and strum it a few times. Then angle it away from you and strum it. This frees the back to add to the sound. That gives you a good idea how much of the sound comes from the top and the back.

Koa isn't as hard or rigid as rosewood. So the koa back will sound differently to the rosewood. Most likely warmer and not as loud as the rosewood. The cedar top will sound pretty much the same. (If it's made by the same builder.)

I have a Hoffman ML tenor that is cedar/koa that has a wonderful warm, nuanced sound. Plenty loud. Lovely sustain. Difficult to draw too many conclusions because of the very different body style.

If you like your Cedar/Rosewood then a cedar/koa made by the same luthier will probably sound good to you as well. With a warmer tone. You can fine tune the sound a bit more with the strings you put on it.

 

[rafter]

Since sound mostly comes from the top, and you already have a cedar/rosewood from the same builder, it seems like going with all koa would give you more variety. I guess it depends on how important variety is for you. Myself, I like variation, even to the point of having different builders if I can. So having two cedar topped ukes from the same maker seems too redundant to me.

 

[eternal tinkerer]

Seriously - can't go wrong with either - but for variety, I'd go with all koa like the other replies, since you already have a cedar-topped uke.

 

[robinboyd]

Seriously - can't go wrong with either - but for variety, I'd go with all koa like the other replies, since you already have a cedar-topped uke.

Yep. That's exactly what I was thinking, too.

 

[captain-janeway]

Ukuleles historically are all tropical hardwood instruments and use of softwood tops like cedar is a fairly recent development. This makes them more like a small guitar which can be nice with linear tuning. For more typical ukulele sound go for all koa or all Honduran mahogany. If you decide for all koa get one that was built in Hawaii as non Hawaiian builders may not have enough experience with this wood.

Ukuleles historically are all tropical hardwood instruments and use of softwood tops like cedar is a fairly recent development. This makes them more like a small guitar which can be nice with linear tuning. For more typical ukulele sound go for all koa or all Honduran mahogany. If you decide for all koa get one that was built in Hawaii as non Hawaiian builders may not have enough experience with this wood.

Love my cedar top but it is because I like the linear tuning and do kind of play it like a small guitar. If I could afford it I'd go for the all koa.

 

[Kenn2018]

I know these aren't the same as the custom ukes you have and are considering. But the video pretty clearly demonstrates how koa, spruce & cedar woods sound boards can change the sound of a koa-bodied ukulele. Along with two different strings. They also talk about how to figure out songs. It's worth a listen:

HMS' TheUkuleleSite.com did a video with Corey and Kalei comparing Kamaka HF-3D2i tenors. All koa, spruce/koa & cedar/koa with High-g & Low-G strings:

Comparing Kamaka Tenors Koa-Spruce-Cedar 17:58 Koa HF-3D2i w Kamaka High G Strings 18:39 Koa HF-3D2i w Ko’olau Aho Low G Strings 19:20 Spruce Top Koa HF-3DS2i w Kamaka High G Strings 20:03 Spruce Top Koa HF-3DS2i w Ko’olau Aho Low G Strings 20:57 Cedar Top Koa HF-3DC2i w Kamaka High G Strings 21:37 Cedar Top Koa HF-3DC2i w Ko’olau Aho Low G Strings 22:29 Spruce Top Koa HF-3DS2i w Kamaka High G Strings 22:52 Cedar Top Koa HF-3DC2i w Kamaka High G Strings 23:14 Koa HF-3D2i w Kamaka High G Strings 23:37 Koa HF-3D2i w Ko’olau Aho Low G Strings 23:59 Cedar Top Koa HF-3DC2i w Ko’olau Aho Low G Strings 24:23 Spruce Top Koa HF-3DS2i w Ko’olau Aho Low G Strings

 

[LaserWater]

I'll put a vote in for variety. Neither wood is better imho, just different. That being said, I really like having two woods to alternate between. I get to experience more variety, I'm encouraged to play more by the variety, and I come up with things on different tone woods I would never come up with on others. I have an all Koa and an all Mango Uke and love them both equally. The overtones of Koa are incredibly beautiful. The bass and warmth of mango is the mostest. Both are super sweet sounding woods, which is what I gravitate towards.

 

[Ziret]

That was so pretty. They’re amazing.