There must have been at least two different versions of ukes produced under the KoAlana name. The ones in the photos above look like decent instruments.
My experience of the brand was back in (I think) 2007. There was an on line ukulele supplier in London, England, with which I had some dealings. I was looking for a source of ready made necks for making cigar box ukes, and I asked this Ukulele Shop (now no longer trading) if they had any broken or unsaleable ukes. They supplied me with a couple of broken Ohanas, and then one day, a large carton arrived containing five KoAlanas - three sopranos and two concerts.
These sapele KoAlanas were not suffering from shrinkage or cracking, but the frets were so uneven (correctly placed, but not flat and level) that the ukes were completely unplayable. They were the most badly made ukuleles I have ever seen. Everywhere you looked there was evidence of sloppy workmanship, and the (glossy) finish was splattered with imperfections, runs and inclusions. The fret board had not been masked off before spraying, and the varnish (or whatever it was) had been applied thickly over the frets.
I was shocked that a premium company like KoAloha would allow their name to be associated with such an inferior product. The following may or may not be accurate, but I was told that KoAlanas originated as a cheap "pirate" product in China, seeking to imitate the KoAloha brand. It was said that KoAloha had them shut down, but some of these instruments (if they could be called that) made it onto the market.
The proprietors of The Ukulele Shop told me that they had returned all the KoAlana stock that they had received, with the exception of a few that had been sold and not returned. My five KoAlanas had been returned to the store for refund, after the main consignment had been sent back.
I like a challenge, so I set about trying to make one of the sopranos playable. I scraped the flaking varnish off all the frets, re-seated most of the frets in the slots with superglue, then levelled them off, adjusted the nut, rubbed down the finish with cutting paste and replaced the rubbish strings. It took me at least three hours, but I was astonished by the result. Not only was this thing playable, but it sounded very good indeed. If you looked at it from four feet away, it actually looked quite decent, too! I liked it so much that I kept it for about ten years, before finally letting it go to a friend.
I also fettled the other four KoAlanas, and sold them off for a nominal sum to members of a ukulele club. All three sopranos sounded really good. The two concerts were not as good, but were tolerable.
The "second wave" of KoAlanas (as pictured above) have some distinguishing features. The fret board markers seem to be contrasting wooden discs (not white plastic) and the bridge has the name etched into it. They seem to have been produced from a completely different source.
After I disposed of my KoAlana, I missed it so much that I bought a lovely second-hand KoAloha soprano, which is now my favourite ukulele, bar none.
John Colter
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