Review of the new KoAloha Opio Tenor

Very cool. I am interested Rainer.

Their site says $518 USD. Can you post or email me the details you are referring to?

That's the discount, originally from $576.
 
The Soprano is discounted from $369 to 332 USD, the Concert from $405 to 364 USD, and the Tenor from $576 to 518 USD. As it says on their Facebook page, the deal will be on until January 20, and will include free international shipping (which is like an additional discount).
 
is there anywhere in Thailand that you can buy these ukuleles? Because I am out there for a month come summer and it be great to pick one up on my travels
 
is there anywhere in Thailand that you can buy these ukuleles?

They are sold at Baan Ukulele, they even have a special deal on them that ends today (as discussed above). Perhaps you could even pick one up directly at the Rebel factory. Ribbee is in that area as well, but not sure if they have the Opio. All of these places are in the Bangkok area, I think.
 
For those who have been worried about the thin satin finish: The KoAloha Opio line will soon be coming with some sort of semi-gloss finish which should be more protective (also, they will be made of Acacia instead of Sapele, so this should make for an interesting comparison):

 
For those who have been worried about the thin satin finish: The KoAloha Opio line will soon be coming with some sort of semi-gloss finish which should be more protective (also, they will be made of Acacia instead of Sapele, so this should make for an interesting comparison]

That is great and interesting news, Rake. Thank you. I'll watch for it with interest.

And for the record, my iPad, fridge door handle, and steering wheel do NOT look like I've been eating fried chicken, and I don't "eat my own dandruff", thank you. Geez, all. I just like a semi-gloss, so shoot me.

 
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I still don't know what to think of the switch to acacia. The sound of the acacia models will be much closer to the koa models, which will make them a genuinely awesome alternative to the regular KoAlohas, but I also thought it was nice to have an affordable option for a ukulele with a mahogany-nuanced KoAloha signature sound. I'll most likely get the sapele Opio Concert next week, just so I have a quality concert in mahogany.
 
I still don't know what to think of the switch to acacia. The sound of the acacia models will be much closer to the koa models, which will make them a genuinely awesome alternative to the regular KoAlohas, but I also thought it was nice to have an affordable option for a ukulele with a mahogany-nuanced KoAloha signature sound. I'll most likely get the sapele Opio Concert next week, just so I have a quality concert in mahogany.

Sounds like a perfectly logical excuse............I mean reason to buy one. We can rationalize anything can't we.

All joking aside I agree we your reasons. I have an Opio concert and I had a KCM-00 and there was a difference in sound. The Opio still has that signature Koaloha volume and resonance, just with a warmer tone.

I'll look forward to your review of it and what you think of the tone.
 
You're right, though, there is definitely an element of UAS-driven rationalizing going on, on my part! It does SEEM logical to me, and I don't have a quality concert at all (only the Stagg, which was my first real ukulele), and I do know I don't want an acacia model (I'd just go for koa instead, for that sound), so there is some time pressure in the picture, but I don't exactly have a lack of ukes!

Ah well, I'll do that and get the nagging question whether the concert size is perfect for me out of the way! There are Good Omens anyway - like the dealer having a HSC for it at a reduced price because of a tiny scuff (on the case, not the uke). Let's just add some superstition to the rationalizing. :p
 
All right, I had my Opio Concert for a couple hours now! :) Too soon for a review (I'll write something better structured in a couple weeks), but my first impressions are favorable, and pretty much everything Rainer wrote about the Opio Tenor applies equally to the Concert model, as well.

The sound is what I had hoped it would be: it combines the KoAloha-distinctive sound (open, loud, very wide) with the mellowness of mahogany. With both this concert and my KoAloha LN Pineapple (koa) I can hear that they are from KoAloha, but the wood's tonal properties also shine through. The Opio is, like Rainer also wrote, very woody and uncompressed sounding, with less treble than you'd get from koa, but nice lows. It is noticeably less muted than some mahogany concerts I've heard, but it is also less twangy than concerts usually are. In a way, it sounds like some tenors. It certainly is as loud and projects as well as my tenor - maybe louder, since it cuts through due to the higher timbre (is that the term?). It does have a concert body after all). I really like the sound mix, it's a good marriage of bracing and wood type. Big sound.

The finish is ... well, it looks and feels like it has no finish, somehow. It shows less finish than even matte finished instruments. It doesn't collect fingerprints at all, and there is no reflection. It really looks like it's in the pre-finish building stage, but that's not a minus to me. I think I prefer this to high gloss. It has a very dry feel to it, nice to touch, like a piece of raw wood.

Playability is fantastic, low action, side markers, the friction tuners seem to be identical to the Hawaiian models (high quality tuners), has a date stamp of its birth month and year inside (I love that), its very well built. It looks unremarkable, a true Plain Jane, but so far I believe this is an excellent instrument with desert island potential.

More in a couple weeks when I played the heck out of it. :)
 
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