Koaloha headstock

The body is made from koa and the neck/headstock is made from mahogany. Different wood species so they are different colours. Sometimes they come pretty close in colour and sometimes they don't
 
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I've never seen a Koaloha in person, but in almost all the pictures I've seen of them the headstock appears to be a very different color from the body of the uke.

For example: https://www.mimsukes.com/listing/mi...made-in-hawaii-ukulele-hard-case-710/11962247

Am I seeing things?

June
(overly observant of ukulele minutiae)

Probably due to the lighting when photographed. I've owned two, and both headstocks matched the body of the instrument perfectly. Hope this helps.
 
No way that's lighting; the carved edges of the headstock let you see it from virtually every angle. It's a completely different color and pattern.

The description mentions a combo of striped koa and quilted mango; my guess is that headstock is the mango of which the seller speaks. I've got an uke with koa top and bottom and mango sides. They don't match either; but like I suspect is the case with this uke, they are not meant to match. It's about the contrast. :)
 
It's a different wood, if you don't like the looks, don't buy it. Look around, you'll find one you like..maybe, maybe not. :eek::shaka:
 
A lot of the listings on HMS for the new KoAlohas list either sapele or mahogany as the wood that the neck is made from. I'm guessing that the headstock is the same wood as the neck. My KoAloha is 2006 & appears to be completely koa.....body, neck, fret board, and headstock. The wood color, grain, and appearance are all the same. My Loprinzi & my Gary Gill have different wood on the headstock than what's on the top & body. My Imua has a mahogany neck, but the face of the headstock is koa that matches the appearance of the koa on the body. I don't have a particular preference either way, matching or not doesn't matter to me.
 
Unlike most other brands, Koaloha does not use a faceplate on the headstock, so what you see on the front is just the bare wood of the neck, which is usually some sort of Mahogany. It's just one of Koaloha's design choices that makes their product look unique and different from any other brand. Some like it, others prefer what they are more used to see.
 
I saw a video on YT recently, shot during a Koaloha factory tour. They explained that they get all their necks CNC-cut from National guitars in California. They're all made of Sapele, a type of Mahogany apparently, and they use them on all their models, from the top class to the Opios (although I am not sure about the new Koalanas here). So yes, it's basically the same shape and color on all Koalohas.
But it's definitely the same wood on the new mango and mahogany models. At least from what I can tell from theukulelesite's pictures of the new models.
 
I saw a video on YT recently, shot during a Koaloha factory tour. They explained that they get all their necks CNC-cut from National guitars in California. They're all made of Sapele, a type of Mahogany apparently, and they use them on all their models, from the top class to the Opios (although I am not sure about the new Koalanas here). So yes, it's basically the same shape and color on all Koalohas.
But it's definitely the same wood on the new mango and mahogany models. At least from what I can tell from theukulelesite's pictures of the new models.

Any chance you can provide the link to that video?
 
Is that a mango headstock and neck?

No, it's the same neck made of sapele wood used on the koa models as well. It doesn't say so on the Mim's site, but you can see from the pictures that the neck is a different, slightly darker wood. Plus you find the information on theukulelesite.com. Although not yet on Koaloha's own site.

The video I saw was shot by the German importer and seller of Koaloha ukuleles, Andreas David (who happens to be a fantastic ukulele player, as well!). Therefore it's most of the time dubbed in German. It can be found on YT under "Der neue Shop von Koaloha" (The new Koaloha shop) and it's a series of three or four shorter films. I don't recall in which part the necks are presented.

But I noticed there are a couple of videos of Koaloha factory tours on YT. I'm sure they will give that information on the tours regularly. And I think it's pretty obvious from the many pictures of Koaloha ukes on the net, that the necks always have the same look, at least the models from the last couple of years. I have no idea about models from about ten years back. But obviously, that isn't the question here anyway.
 
My biggest grouse with the Koaloha necks is that for the tenors the joint near the body is a 2 piece joint and they have a lot of ukes that have mismatching 2 piece color joint. I have even seen these on red labels. Here is an example
 

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My biggest grouse with the Koaloha necks is that for the tenors the joint near the body is a 2 piece joint and they have a lot of ukes that have mismatching 2 piece color joint. I have even seen these on red labels.
My soprano KSM-00 and my Pikake Concert look amazing....no concerns
 
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