NUD: KoAloha Silver Concert

When KoAloha announced the Silver edition for their 25th anniversary, I knew my wallet was in for a bit of abuse. I have a Kamaka centennial concert, and knew that I would want to get a KoAloha that celebrated their history as well.

While Mim was at NAMM 2020, she posted to her Instagram that she would be getting some Silvers and that if you wanted to be on her list to get one, you should email her. I don't think I let the video even finish before I got my email off, asking to be put on the list for a concert (my preferred size.) And boy did Mim deliver... she had serial number 001, and since I was first on her list, she offered it to me. Needless to say, I took her up on it.

It arrived earlier this week, but I was traveling, so my wife set the box aside and I got the joy of unboxing when I got home Friday (yesterday) night. It is quite the beauty.

The ebony fingerboard and headstock really pop with the high gloss finish on the body. The koa in this one isn't overly curly, but it has a simple beauty to the wood. I'll see about posting some pictures soon, but I don't know that pictures will really do it justice.

Sound wise, this baby sings. Great volume and sustain, but I would expect nothing less from a KoAloha. I don't have a concert koa KoAloha to compare with, but I think it sounds better than my Opio acacia concert. I'm going to try to do some recordings to blind-test my senses, so it isn't just my imagination doing it.

I absolutely love it. I'll need some more time with it to be sure, but it seems amazing so far.

Congratulations! 001, that's really very cool! I love the black headstock with silver logo, I think it looks really classy and chic.

Wow 001. That’s special. Enjoy!

Congrats on 001! Am interested to hear samples when you have them available.

You know the rules.......no pictures it didn’t really happen

Congratulations, I think, maybe, don’t know, haven’t seen it :biglaugh:

DownUpDave said:

You know the rules.......no pictures it didn’t really happen

Congratulations, I think, maybe, don’t know, haven’t seen it :biglaugh:

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That’s true... put my congrats on hold...

Alright, alright... I needed time to get some decent lighting...

Classy to the core!

Really lovely. I know there are one or two on the way to the UK. Hopefully not number 13!

Beautiful!!!! Congratulations!!!

Great score, congrats on #1.

Love the headstock. I wonder why they don't opt for rear facing tuners? Would really make the shape pop

Very nice. Now I'm waiting to see who gets 007.

pix.fairydust said:

Love the headstock. I wonder why they don't opt for rear facing tuners? Would really make the shape pop

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This is the reason why I'm not getting one. They even have geared tuners for the soprano which is blasphemy for me, which is why I'm going to get the regular soprano. That said, the geared tuners look great on the concert (and tenor as well). The ebony headplate is really nice but reminds me a bit too much of Kanile'a. Still, no doubt an excellent uke.

Congratulations! 001 is fantastic. Just because it's cool to have the first.

I know I'm in the minority, but I have no problem with the geared tuners.

Lovely looking. Show it off and enjoy it.

Thank you, everyone, for your kind words. It really is quite a looker... sounds not too shabby either!

Now that I have had a couple of days with it, I would say that it really is a great balanced sound. Might be my best sounding instrument, to be honest. (It does have some tough competition in that department, but my goodness it sounds great!)

Does anyone know what strings KoAloha is shipping with these days? They seem to be clear fluorocarbon, but slightly lower tension than most concert fluorocarbons I know. It feels quite nice on to play.

Cluze said:

Does anyone know what strings KoAloha is shipping with these days? They seem to be clear fluorocarbon, but slightly lower tension than most concert fluorocarbons I know. It feels quite nice on to play.

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KoAloha uses large reels of "fishing line". They do not ID the supplier. You may be able to order a replacement set directly from them (best via phone, not email). I did so over a year ago and they charged $8 or $10 and sent the cut strings labelled in a standard envelope. It did take them a few weeks to get around to it. Ed F, who is in contact directly with Pops Okami of KoAloha, said that Pops may be intending to package and sell the strings.

Wow, great ukulele! Congrats!!

Congratulations, so glad to hear that someone from the Underground got #1!

Very shortly Pops will be coming out with Koaloha Strings through ukESA. We are just waiting for the packaging to be complete. Hopefully it will be soon. They will be branded as Uke-Reka (Eureka), and put out by Pops through UkeSA, however, they are exact same strings that KoAloha and UkeSA use. They will be available through me, CONUS. They are flurocarbons from Japan. Pop's says, "The proprietary double layered strings create a sound that combines the naturalness of 'gut' strings and brilliance of steel strings. Experience the best sound of both worlds with Uke-reka Fllurocarbon." The string packet will be shrink wrapped and contain a set of four “high” G strings that can be utilized for a Standard, Concert and Tenor ukulele. A separate set will also be available for those players who desire a “low” G instead of a high G. The target retail price is
$12.50

rainbow21 said:

KoAloha uses large reels of "fishing line". They do not ID the supplier. You may be able to order a replacement set directly from them (best via phone, not email). I did so over a year ago and they charged $8 or $10 and sent the cut strings labelled in a standard envelope. It did take them a few weeks to get around to it. Ed F, who is in contact directly with Pops Okami of KoAloha, said that Pops may be intending to package and sell the strings.

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