FWIW, I have a KoAloha soprano. I have no hesitation in saying it is my best uke, but it's not necessarily the one I would save first if the house caught fire. I hope that's a choice I never have to make.
John Colter
John Colter
Opening Up is such an emotional issue. I always post that you should never buy an instrument hoping that it will open up, buy it for the way it sounds on the day you pay the purchase price. But once you have an instrument that you worked hard to fund and did a lot of research to pick out, do you just give up after a few days of owning it? Sure when it arrived it was disappointing, but is there any value in testing the Opening Up theories and spending some time working on learning the quirks of the instrument?
There are many threads and sales where a UU member has bought an instrument new and when it arrived it was not what they expected. Not knowing any better, or giving themselves a chance to learn, they sold it very quickly to a more experienced player who knew the real value of the instrument and how to play it well. What ever you do, give yourself a chance to get used to the instrument and work out how to make it sound good. Then make a decision on keeping it or selling it. Don't be a bunny for a more experienced buyer to get a bargain.
Hmmm interesting experience. Kinda wondering about which brandEdit: I just realized, I had sort of a similar experience. I bought a certain uke from a maker with a stellar reputation. I had researched as much as I could, and I had never found or heard a single negative thing about this uke brand. When it arrived, I was struggling not to be disappointed. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't anything special. I gave it a little time, but I couldn't connect with it. Because of a warranty issue, I was given the choice to keep or return it, so it went back.
Maybe you are just lucky to prefer the sound of budget ukes to higher end ukes
Congrats on your Koaloha! Glad that you are enjoying it.
May I ask how is the action on yours? I think mine is a little low which might contribute to the dullness