Ranking the K brands by size

Sometimes I hear the opinion that a particular K brand is better than the others at making a particular size. So one excels at sopranos. Another at making concerts. And another makes better tenors.

For example, I've heard before the opinion that Kanile'a makes better tenors. KoAloha shines with concerts. And Kamaka's standard size is, well, the gold standard.

But that's just one example. Does anybody else have them ranked depending on the size? I'm curious if there's some general consensus.

I know some just think one is better than the rest regardless of size. And others (maybe the majority) think there's no real winner, and that the differences are just a matter of preference. But setting aside questions of subjectivity vs. objectivity, I'm wondering if there are common opinions in matching K brands to uke sizes.

I haven't played all three sizes by all the K brands, so I can't say.

Well.. I don’t think there’s a general consensus about who makes a better size uke. However, HMS did some amazing videos on the sound samples of various models and sizes by the K brands. And they are all played by same musician, Corey Fujimoto as a control measure, who is one of the greatest uke players. I think we have to put on earphones to hear the distinctions among them.

4 kamaka models demo by Corey


5 Koaloha models demo by Corey


3 K brands tenor comparison

Another 3 K, with Kanile’a instead.


And 1 more by Aaron. 4 Ks comparison.

snowdenn said:

Sometimes I hear the opinion that a particular K brand is better than the others at making a particular size. So one excels at sopranos. Another at making concerts. And another makes better tenors.

For example, I've heard before the opinion that Kanile'a makes better tenors. KoAloha shines with concerts. And Kamaka's standard size is, well, the gold standard.

But that's just one example. Does anybody else have them ranked depending on the size? I'm curious if there's some general consensus.

I know some just think one is better than the rest regardless of size. And others (maybe the majority) think there's no real winner, and that the differences are just a matter of preference. But setting aside questions of subjectivity vs. objectivity, I'm wondering if there are common opinions in matching K brands to uke sizes.

I haven't played all three sizes by all the K brands, so I can't say.

Click to expand...

It's so subjective -- one person's perfectly silky smooth Kamaka soprano might be way too quiet and tinny for someone who prefers the volume and glassiness of tone that a Koaloha soprano typically gives.

In general, what I've surmised is Kamaka probably provides the most balanced, even tone across all four strings at any of their sizes, but I find that those characteristics really shine in a tenor ukulele from them. Kamaka sopranos are too quiet for me, and concerts are amazing but so similar to a tenor anyways.

Kanilea is very similar but maybe leans itself (to my ear at least) a bit more trebly than a Kamaka. I think you can probably dig in a little harder strumming on a Kanilea without it becoming overly muddy in the low range.

Koaloha excels at volume per inch. I find that to be amazing for their soprano, concert and Pineapple Sunday, but WAY too intense for the tenor to the degree that I actively disliked the Koaloha tenors for years because they didn't quite have the balance at that size that they do with a smaller body. I don't know why that is. The redesign in 2019 seems to have brought their tone a little more similar to Kamaka in the tenor size but I've only played about 3 of those models (they didn't have them ready during our factory tour in November).

Ko'olaus are really special but I would never buy one without falling in love with one. In my personal opinion they've tended to feel a bit heavier without feeling overbuilt, with a quiet volume comparatively and a tighter tonal range. The spruce and redwood models sound far better to my ear than their Koa models, although their koa is gorgeous. I'm a koa guy so I tend to overlook Ko'olau aside from their custom work, which is so far outside my price range. When I started playing they were about $1600 for a tenor, now I think they're closer to $5k and for that kind of money I'd probably just go for a Kamaka deluxe tenor or even a Jake Blue model.

Your mileage may vary! Try everything because everyone has their own ear and style. My main driver is my Kamaka, but I use my Koaloha all the time too and I just decide what to play on each based on fit and if I want to play reentrant or Low G. Besides that, they're koa and Hawaiian and they sound amazing and that's all that matters to me!

When were these videos made? Ko'Aloha & Kanile'a have changed their builds this year.

Depends upon your criteria. Volume, sustain, chime, bark, clarity, bass, mid-tone, brightness, warmth, strumming, picking, high-g, Low-G, Nylon, Fluorocarbon, comfort to play, neck shape, ease of play, bridge, nut, saddle, string separation, tuners, looks, bling, models, etc.

Kamaka, Ko'Aloha, Kanile'a, Ko'olau? You have to decide what's important to you and judge accordingly.

I don't want to be a wet blanket, but there seems to be too may variables to be able to have a cogent discussion.

I play a Kamaka tenor with a spruce sound board and worth strings. So does Brian Liu of Bliumusic. But our ukuleles don't sound the same. Well...they do because they're ukuleles and all ukuleles sound the same. However, there are nuances.

Therefore, if identical ukuleles cannot be said to be the same, how can we generalize about the Kamaka sound? And if we cannot postulate what is the Kamaka sound, how can we compare that putative generality with "the" Kanilea sound?

I realize if we don't talk about this, then we'd have nothing to do (except maybe go practice)...but I just am having a difficult time understanding how to go about this business

I own three tenors, a Kamaka, Kanilea and a Koaloha. Sound wise I would rank them in the order listed. I really like the Kanilea and Koaloha but absolutely love the Kamaka. I don't perform in public with the Koaloha, it doesn't have a pickup. For certain pieces the Kanilea works better. I use A tuning on the Kanilea. The action is also a bit lower and when my hands are tired it helps. That said, if I was stranded on an island and had to take one uke it would be the Kamaka.

Trying to address some of the comments:

One thing I like about HMS (compared to many other retailers) is that they provide quality sound samples. That said, I feel like you can get to know an instrument about as well as you can get to know a person only by watching videos. Videos might be able to give you some impressions, but what an instrument or person is really like you can only find out in person. That's me, maybe others have better luck with videos.

I'm not trying to figure out which K brand is best. I'm just curious if some are considered better than others for certain sizes. I could imagine a scenario where the most terrible lemon that Kamaka ever produced is a worse ukulele than the best Mitchell that was ever made. That doesn't mean I'd be uncertain as to which company produces better ukuleles. Even without nailing down specific criteria.

I was just wondering if there was a common sentiment, something like: KoAlohas tend to make better sopranos, whereas Kamakas excel at tenors (a couple comments seem to imply this). I'm not looking for someone to claim that every soprano made by KoAloha is superior. Or assuming that we are all in agreement about what superior would entail. But I think it would be safe to say something like: it's generally agreed that K brand ukuleles are better than entry-level Amazon brands. In the same vein, I was curious if there was some agreement about which K brands are better for specific sizes.

I'm just looking for opinions, and wondering if these opinions will tend to be more diverse or more similar on this particular question.

My interest was sparked when I read something where it was implied that common wisdom was that Kamakas were better in X size and KoAlohas were better in Y, and Kanile'a were better in Z. I can't remember what brands were supposedly better in which size, but I've since heard comments saying similar things and was wondering if this was a widely held view.

It's an interesting discussion, I hope the opinionated will give their opinions. I don't know enough to jump in.

My own personal and very subjective ranking would be Kamaka for Soprano (most traditional, long history), Kanilea for concert (huge sound due to the "dreadnought" body shape, preference for geared tuners and 14 frets to the body), and KoAloha for tenor (biggest sound, made for low g).