"AO" in Hawaiian means “new beginning” as well as being Alvin “Pops” Okami’s initials. For those unfamiliar, Pops is the founder and “patriarch” of KoAloha Ukuleles. He is retired, which means he chooses where to devote his time and interests. There is something special having an ukulele personally designed and built by Pops Okami when his creative juices are flowing. The care, love, and design innovations makes it a special ukulele in my collection.
Appearance and build:
It is a beautiful ukulele with the contrast between the light and the dark.
- The soundboard is made of Engelmann Spruce, what Pops considers the best sounding wood among all available.
- Backs and sides appear to be Bear Claw Spruce (not positive on this - will update if I learn differently). This is a perfect complement to the front soundboard.
- Neck/headstock appears to be pine with a beautiful light pattern complementing the other woods.
- Fretboard and bridge was upgraded to ebony with the body bound with ebony as well, giving a striking contrast to the light wood. There are 17 frets, joining the body at the 12th fret. I prefer this than having only 12 frets as I improve my skills.
- Instead of fret dots, the third, fifth, seventh, and tenth frets have zebrawood bands (love this!) with matching zebrawood on the bridge and the bottom of the body.
- The AO logo is inlaid on the headstock (Asking for this “AO” logo is what sparked some of his creative juices due to its simplicity, yet elegance in design)
- Gotoh Planetary tuners! … in black, of course. This is a thoughtful upgrade by Pops for me.
- And finally… a unique innovation on function and appearance: the “slant-away” upper body instead of a cut-away on one side to allow better access to the upper frets. Functionally I can vouch for it working as well as a cut-away but the slant-away changes the traditional upper bout shape to maintain its pleasing symmetry (and would work equally well for a left handed player).
Sound and playability:
It is loud and balanced. I have been comparing it with my KoAloha Pikake soprano. It has an equivalent sound and projection. My untrained ears notice that there is a difference in that the AO has a bit fuller and more balanced sound. Maybe a little less treble and a stronger midrange. Neither is better, just slightly different and subject to personal preferences. Pops had made an earlier model that was for me, but was unhappy with the projection and sustain of the model due to additional decorative changes he experimented with, so switched his effort to this one (giving me the choice between appearance and sound… how’s that for a quality control department and customer service?).
The AO “feels” right. Neck is comfortable, it is lightweight, and the slant-away makes playing the upper frets easy. Having the Gotoh tuners starts every session off well.
Criticism?:
Well, if you are really fussy, you can see some glue marks if you get really close. I know this is important to some. It is not noticed when holding and playing it (about one foot away) and becomes forgotten when you start to play it.
Summary:
It is a special ukulele because it was personally built by Pops. It is even more special because he knew he was building it for me (Wow!). And it looks great and sounds great. And it is priced incredibly low for all that goes into it… it competes on price with the Ponos, Opios, etc. and is much less than the koa models that set the bar for Hawaiian ukuleles. If looking for a soprano, this would be my first (and last?) stop. And it is a limited edition model based on Pops availability and interests.
Appearance and build:
It is a beautiful ukulele with the contrast between the light and the dark.
- The soundboard is made of Engelmann Spruce, what Pops considers the best sounding wood among all available.
- Backs and sides appear to be Bear Claw Spruce (not positive on this - will update if I learn differently). This is a perfect complement to the front soundboard.
- Neck/headstock appears to be pine with a beautiful light pattern complementing the other woods.
- Fretboard and bridge was upgraded to ebony with the body bound with ebony as well, giving a striking contrast to the light wood. There are 17 frets, joining the body at the 12th fret. I prefer this than having only 12 frets as I improve my skills.
- Instead of fret dots, the third, fifth, seventh, and tenth frets have zebrawood bands (love this!) with matching zebrawood on the bridge and the bottom of the body.
- The AO logo is inlaid on the headstock (Asking for this “AO” logo is what sparked some of his creative juices due to its simplicity, yet elegance in design)
- Gotoh Planetary tuners! … in black, of course. This is a thoughtful upgrade by Pops for me.
- And finally… a unique innovation on function and appearance: the “slant-away” upper body instead of a cut-away on one side to allow better access to the upper frets. Functionally I can vouch for it working as well as a cut-away but the slant-away changes the traditional upper bout shape to maintain its pleasing symmetry (and would work equally well for a left handed player).
Sound and playability:
It is loud and balanced. I have been comparing it with my KoAloha Pikake soprano. It has an equivalent sound and projection. My untrained ears notice that there is a difference in that the AO has a bit fuller and more balanced sound. Maybe a little less treble and a stronger midrange. Neither is better, just slightly different and subject to personal preferences. Pops had made an earlier model that was for me, but was unhappy with the projection and sustain of the model due to additional decorative changes he experimented with, so switched his effort to this one (giving me the choice between appearance and sound… how’s that for a quality control department and customer service?).
The AO “feels” right. Neck is comfortable, it is lightweight, and the slant-away makes playing the upper frets easy. Having the Gotoh tuners starts every session off well.
Criticism?:
Well, if you are really fussy, you can see some glue marks if you get really close. I know this is important to some. It is not noticed when holding and playing it (about one foot away) and becomes forgotten when you start to play it.
Summary:
It is a special ukulele because it was personally built by Pops. It is even more special because he knew he was building it for me (Wow!). And it looks great and sounds great. And it is priced incredibly low for all that goes into it… it competes on price with the Ponos, Opios, etc. and is much less than the koa models that set the bar for Hawaiian ukuleles. If looking for a soprano, this would be my first (and last?) stop. And it is a limited edition model based on Pops availability and interests.