Do I really need this Rebel?

Dohle · May 17, 2020

I've been considering getting a Rebel Double Creme soprano but after doing some research on it I'm not sure if it would give me anything different that my other ukuleles wouldn't already. Particularly, the Rebel sopranos seem to be quite similar to KoAlohas (not surprising of course, since they're the same people who make the Opio line) and I already have a KSM-00, so I'm wondering if the Double Creme does something the KSM-00 does not. From what I can gather, the playability between them seems to be almost identical considering the specs and build. I would of course love to own a mango uke, but judging from sound samples I generally prefer the sound of koa to mango.

If anyone has experience with Rebel vs. KoAloha ukes I would very much appreciate your comments.

man0a · May 17, 2020

I have tried the Rebel. Like the Opio, it is great for the price, but a noticeable downgrade from a Hawaii-made Koaloha. I wouldn't buy it unless I was trying to reduce wear-and-tear on my Koaloha.

Dohle · May 18, 2020

I had a feeling this might be the case. I'm guessing the Rebel ukes are more comparable to the KoAloha Opio range, and since I have a Hawaiian-made KoAloha I don't think I can justify getting the Rebel. I'll probably look for something more high-end and different. Thanks for the comment.

Jerryc41 · May 18, 2020

I think your hesitation is justified. Unless you're really in love with a uke, keep looking.

Dohle · May 18, 2020

It's hard for me to love a uke before actually buying it because I rarely have the opportunity to try one before buying. Which I guess is the main reason I'm asking for opinions and experiences. I am very intrigued by the Rebel ukes but I'm suspecting they can't offer me much of anything that the ukes I own already offer, but I still wanted to ask for second opinions. Not a lot of responses so far but it seems I'll steer away from the Rebel ukes for now at least.

Luke Plays Uke · May 18, 2020

I think where Rebel shines is when they get weird - not necessarily when they have something so similar to Opio. They had a tenor, for instance, that had a small offset sound hole and that was AMAZING. Like an ukulele with the tone rolled off a bit. Very jazzy and very unique.

Dohle · May 18, 2020

LukuleleStrings said:
I think where Rebel shines is when they get weird - not necessarily when they have something so similar to Opio. They had a tenor, for instance, that had a small offset sound hole and that was AMAZING. Like an ukulele with the tone rolled off a bit. Very jazzy and very unique.

Oh absolutely. They have a tenor uke called The Particle which is astonishing to look at and has like four different woods used to build it. Even the fretboard is divided into two different woods. It's just a shame that the more quirky models they have are all tenors. If they made a soprano or concert in that same style I'd be all over that.

snowdenn · May 19, 2020

Though I've tried them out, I don't have a KoAloha soprano. I do have a Rebel soprano and one of Pops' UkeSA sopranos. I'll disagree with some of the opinions above and say, for me the Rebels are closer to the Hawaiian-made KoAlohas than the Opios, at least for build quality. Enough so that I don't see myself picking up a Hawaiian KoAloha soprano, at least anytime soon. I've never had the opportunity to play KoAloha's mango series from a few years back, but I've heard the mango Rebels are remarkably similar.

I love Rebel ukuleles, and I think they're somewhat underrated and overshadowed (at least in popularity) by the Opios. But if it were me, I don't think I would get a Rebel soprano if I already had a KoAloha one. Unless I really wanted it for the tonewood. So while I would put the Rebel closer to the KoAloha than the Opio, I would agree with others that maybe you should look elsewhere because of the similarities.

I would suggest maybe taking a look at Pops' UkeSA models. A website just went up for it. Having one, I'd say they seem (distantly) related to the KoAlohas, Opios, and Rebels, but different enough to bring something new to the table.

Dohle · May 19, 2020

snowdenn said:
Though I've tried them out, I don't have a KoAloha soprano. I do have a Rebel soprano and one of Pops' UkeSA sopranos. I'll disagree with some of the opinions above and say, for me the Rebels are closer to the Hawaiian-made KoAlohas than the Opios, at least for build quality. Enough so that I don't see myself picking up a Hawaiian KoAloha soprano, at least anytime soon. I've never had the opportunity to play KoAloha's mango series from a few years back, but I've heard the mango Rebels are remarkably similar.

Thanks for the comment! I don't actually doubt this at all. You can see the difference in pricing as well (although it's not always a clear indicator). The Rebels are slightly more expensive than the Opios and I can easily believe that there's a quality difference also. I was intrigued by the mango Rebel but, as I said earlier, judging from sound samples I don't believe it really brings anything that special compared to koa. Ultimately, I decided against getting the Rebel at least for now. In the future, who knows, maybe I'll get one as a beater soprano or something. For now, I may or may not have ordered something a bit different already...

Regarding UkeSA, I really like what they're doing (I'd probably like anything Pops is doing, to be honest

) but they don't have any distributors in Europe, meaning that import costs would increase the price for their ukes through the roof, so unfortunately I can't justify getting one.

snowdenn · May 20, 2020

Dohle said:
Regarding UkeSA, I really like what they're doing (I'd probably like anything Pops is doing, to be honest ) but they don't have any distributors in Europe, meaning that import costs would increase the price for their ukes through the roof, so unfortunately I can't justify getting one.

Oh, I didn't think about Europe. You have a number of reputable luthiers nearby for soprano options. I would imagine they would be qualitatively different from your KoAloha, and some for close to what a Rebel might cost. For a while, I had interest in Rob Collins, Kevin Mulcock, Paul Bernard, DJ Morgan, Ken Timms, and Liam Kirby. Although UK builders usually seem more Martin than Hawaiian in their builds. I was able to scratch that itch with a couple UK ukes, but though I love my Martin, I think I'm drawn a bit more to sweeter sopranos. I've still got Tinguitar (does anybody call it that?) and KM ukuleles on my radar, but recently my attention has turned to Japanese builders. I can sympathize with your predicament about import costs.

Something I forgot to consider: the Rebel sopranos come in both thinline and "double" versions. I love my Rebel double cheese, but I've considered replacing it with a thinline version. I got the double version thinking a fuller sized body would produce a better sound. But from what limited comparisons I could find online, the thinline versions don't really seem to suffer in sound quality. And though I prefer full-bodied ukes in general, I'm surprised to find the thickness of my Rebel is a little bit less comfortable for me than my UkeSa and other sopranos (all a little thinner). I wish there was a local shop where I could try out both sizes of Rebel's sopranos.

Anyway, while I still think the Rebel sopranos have quite a bit of overlap with KoAloha, if you went for a mango thinline, it would be another significant difference from your KSM-00.

Edit: Somehow I earlier missed and just now saw your comment about having (possibly) ordered something already. Congrats (possibly), looking forward to seeing your NUD!

Dohle · May 20, 2020

snowdenn said:
Oh, I didn't think about Europe. You have a number of reputable luthiers nearby for soprano options. I would imagine they would be qualitatively different from your KoAloha, and some for close to what a Rebel might cost. For a while, I had interest in Rob Collins, Kevin Mulcock, Paul Bernard, DJ Morgan, Ken Timms, and Liam Kirby. Although UK builders usually seem more Martin than Hawaiian in their builds. I was able to scratch that itch with a couple UK ukes, but though I love my Martin, I think I'm drawn a bit more to sweeter sopranos. I've still got Tinguitar (does anybody call it that?) and KM ukuleles on my radar, but recently my attention has turned to Japanese builders. I can sympathize with your predicament about import costs.

Something I forgot to consider: the Rebel sopranos come in both thinline and "double" versions. I love my Rebel double cheese, but I've considered replacing it with a thinline version. I got the double version thinking a fuller sized body would produce a better sound. But from what limited comparisons I could find online, the thinline versions don't really seem to suffer in sound quality. And though I prefer full-bodied ukes in general, I'm surprised to find the thickness of my Rebel is a little bit less comfortable for me than my UkeSa and other sopranos (all a little thinner). I wish there was a local shop where I could try out both sizes of Rebel's sopranos.

Anyway, while I still think the Rebel sopranos have quite a bit of overlap with KoAloha, if you went for a mango thinline, it would be another significant difference from your KSM-00.

Edit: Somehow I earlier missed and just now saw your comment about having (possibly) ordered something already. Congrats (possibly), looking forward to seeing your NUD!

I had actually been eyeing some of the UK builders, particularly Ken Timms and Liam Kirby, but ultimately I decided that I'm good on mahogany sopranos with my Kiwaya and Martin. I still wanted a custom uke though so instead I commissioned a soprano from a local luthier. That's a very special NUD coming indeed later in the year.

But that was earlier this year and doesn't have anything to do with this Rebel decision. So maybe another NUD coming, we shall see.

Regarding the thinline Rebels, I've been really impressed by how good they sound for a thinner instrument but the full size Rebels do just slightly have that fuller sound which I prefer. So even though it would a more similar to a KoAloha I would still go for the full sized ones if I was ever looking for a Rebel uke again.

Do I really need this Rebel?

Dohle

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man0a

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Dohle

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Jerryc41

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Dohle

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Luke Plays Uke

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Dohle

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snowdenn

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