NUD: KoAloha Koa Concert. Unpopular opinion?

Puglele · Jun 4, 2020

I just received my most expensive Uke so far two days ago.
I have been playing with it for 2-3 days and have changed the strings twice. Currently it has Worth brown MB as shown.
First impression:
Very light, almost plastic feels
Flawless finish, no bubbles no scratches
It reminds me of the Rebel Mango soprano I have in terms of builds, looks and feels.

However, I might be the only person on this planet that’s not impressed with it.

I think the sound is quite one dimensional, and sustain is lacking. My mainland spruce top concert has better sustain.
The sound is similar to Famous FS-5/ Kiwaya KS-5 which is a Laminate.

I mean it’s a good ukulele, but not sure if it’s a good $1000 ukulele
I sold a Koaloha opio acacia soprano before because i wasn’t impressed either. I’m wondering if Koaloha is not for me lol.

BTW, the ukes I was very impressed upon receiving and until today are Rebel Mango slimline soprano, Martin Ox Bamboo(except for fingerboard being too wide for my small hand), and mainland spruce top concert. Maybe I’m just not a Koa/Acacia fan.

Pirate Jim · Jun 4, 2020

When I get a new instrument it takes around 2 weeks for it to adjust to the humidity, etc, of my house compared to the shop or warehouse it had been in before that. I never hear the best out of something in the first week at the very least.

You've also been changing strings repeatedly. Strings take several days to stretch in, you're not going to be getting the full potential of a string that's only been on a few hours.

Give it time, I suspect you'll find it starts to sound better and better once you let it acclimatise and let the strings stretch in.

Dohle · Jun 4, 2020

Lack of sustain sounds a bit weird. KoAlohas are of course loud and punchy, first and foremost, but I'd say my KSM-00 has good sustain as well. Not as good as, say, a Kanile'a but still decent. I also would suggest that you give the uke some time but obviously KoAlohas aren't for everyone.

ripock · Jun 4, 2020

Just out of curiosity, why would you buy a second one if the first one didn't impress you? Life is so short and there are so many ukuleles to buy.

man0a · Jun 4, 2020

I don't own a Koaloha, but I do know people who didn't like theirs because of the sound. They say they are very loud, but the sound is not as rich and warm as other solid koa ukuleles like Kamaka or Kanilea.

Puglele · Jun 4, 2020

ripock said:
Just out of curiosity, why would you buy a second one if the first one didn't impress you? Life is so short and there are so many ukuleles to buy.

I thought me not liking opio didn’t mean I won’t like a true Koaloha.

Puglele · Jun 4, 2020

Pirate Jim said:
When I get a new instrument it takes around 2 weeks for it to adjust to the humidity, etc, of my house compared to the shop or warehouse it had been in before that. I never hear the best out of something in the first week at the very least.

You've also been changing strings repeatedly. Strings take several days to stretch in, you're not going to be getting the full potential of a string that's only been on a few hours.

Give it time, I suspect you'll find it starts to sound better and better once you let it acclimatise and let the strings stretch in.

Yeah maybe this is something I need to report back after a few weeks.
But just compared to the ukes that I fell in love at first touch, this one is so much more expensive and more famous. There are cheaper ukes that I list that didn’t need settle in

Puglele · Jun 4, 2020

Dohle said:
Lack of sustain sounds a bit weird. KoAlohas are of course loud and punchy, first and foremost, but I'd say my KSM-00 has good sustain as well. Not as good as, say, a Kanile'a but still decent. I also would suggest that you give the uke some time but obviously KoAlohas aren't for everyone.

True! I am not to complain or cry about getting a lemon. I am simply giving my first impression on a highly demanded model by a big brand. Hope it will help some people. But I will patiently wait to let it settle and open up

snowdenn · Jun 4, 2020

I've definitely had new ukes that were disappointing. Fortunately, most eventually sound better, though some take longer than others. I had a Kamaka which came from overseas, and it took weeks before it improved, which stressed me out a little. Now, I don't think I'd ever part with it.

I usually leave the strings on for a while, even if they're not ones I prefer, partly because I figure the original strings are the sound the builders were going for, and I want to give the uke some time to acclimate until I think it's giving me the sound intended by the builders. Sort of a reference point.

You might want to give it more time to settle in. Especially as you've been changing the strings so quickly.

That said, I liked my Opio from the first, and even though I think their koa models sound better, I can't imagine liking a Hawaiian-made KoAloha if I didn't like their Opios; they're too similar. Then again, I also love Rebel's ukuleles and think they're similar as well.

Weird that you liked the Rebel but not the Opio and KoAloha as much. Quality-wise, I feel like the Rebels are closer to KoAloha, but like you said, maybe it's the difference in tonewoods that's putting you off. Acacia and koa are a lot more similar than mango. Was your Opio spruce-topped or all acacia?

UkeStuff · Jun 4, 2020

And the other thing to keep in mind is that it is okay not to like the sound of a KoAloha. I’m all about it—but there is a reason why there are other K brands. Sound is absolutely subjective to the listener.

I think I would encourage you to try a Kanile’a. It seems to me that if you’re not in the KoAloha “camp,” the other side of sound is on the Kanile’a.

Do you have any dealers that you can visit that might carry them?

Cluze · Jun 4, 2020

Choirguy said:
And the other thing to keep in mind is that it is okay not to like the sound of a KoAloha. I’m all about it—but there is a reason why there are other K brands. Sound is absolutely subjective to the listener.

I think I would encourage you to try a Kanile’a. It seems to me that if you’re not in the KoAloha “camp,” the other side of sound is on the Kanile’a.

Choirguy may be onto something here. Totally right, it is OK to not like KoAloha. I personally love them, and own several, but what I like doesn't have to be what you like. For instance, to add to Choirguy's thoughts, I just don't care for Kaniel'a. I think they are a great company, and I love some of the things they do (like their commitment to planting new trees) and their instruments are beautiful and very well made. I just don't care for how they sound. It isn't the sound *I* am looking for.

Give it a little time, and see if it settles in for you. If it doesn't, sell it and move on to another. There are lots of different instruments, and I am sure you will eventually find what you are looking for.

clear · Jun 4, 2020

I don't think you can say that just because something's more expensive then it must be goodr. This doesn't even apply to computers when the more expensive machine might have options that you don't care for and lack options you need.

merlin666 · Jun 4, 2020

Maybe you are just lucky to prefer the sound of budget ukes to higher end ukes

From my own experience with ownership of several very different guitars and ukes I find that each higher end instrument requires an individualized way to play it. It can take weeks to months to learn how to make a responsive high end instrument sing. We can not expect a new expensive uke to sound better than a beater uke if we keep on beating it the same way. Some people call it opening up to the instrument. Keep in mind that good instruments tend to magnify sloppy and poor playing, so that's how they can make one a better player.

Cadia · Jun 5, 2020

Choirguy said:
And the other thing to keep in mind is that it is okay not to like the sound of a KoAloha. I’m all about it—but there is a reason why there are other K brands. Sound is absolutely subjective to the listener.

I think I would encourage you to try a Kanile’a. It seems to me that if you’re not in the KoAloha “camp,” the other side of sound is on the Kanile’a.

Do you have any dealers that you can visit that might carry them?

I'm thinking this too, maybe you should try another K brand. I've had a similar experience. I've been spoiled by the sound and easy playability of my Rebel tenor, which I just loved from first strum. I recently got a Kanile'a tenor, and while it is absolutely gorgeous, it is not tremendously better in sound. The Kanile'a is very rich and even in tone, and has loads of sustain. But so does my Rebel, only to a slightly lesser degree. Ease of playing goes to the Rebel. The Kanile'a will require me to be more precise to bring out its best. I do love the tone of it, though (I will be changing the strings to a fluorocarbon, don't like the feel of Aquilas). So perhaps the Kanile'a sound would be more pleasing to you too, over the KoAloha. They are much fuller in sound than most videos make them sound.

Gary52 · Jun 5, 2020

I've had a KoAloha concert for 5 years. I recently put Worth browns on it as a experiment. It sounded terrible, dull and lifeless. Worth clears or PhDs sound far better.

Puglele · Jun 5, 2020

Choirguy said:
And the other thing to keep in mind is that it is okay not to like the sound of a KoAloha. I’m all about it—but there is a reason why there are other K brands. Sound is absolutely subjective to the listener.

I think I would encourage you to try a Kanile’a. It seems to me that if you’re not in the KoAloha “camp,” the other side of sound is on the Kanile’a.

Do you have any dealers that you can visit that might carry them?

I don’t have any shop near me. Funny thing is I did sample A LOT of YouTube videos and HMS videos to make my decision. Koaloha is the best sounding to me, than kamaka and Kanile’a. That’s why I bought it.

Steedy · Jun 5, 2020

I've never liked "warm" strings, especially on a Koa uke. Maybe try some Oasis Brights or Living Water strings. They'll make a KoAloha ukulele sing, after they've had a week or two to stretch out and settle in.

Puglele · Jun 5, 2020

Steedy said:
I've never liked "warm" strings, especially on a Koa uke. Maybe try some Oasis Brights or Living Water strings. They'll make a KoAloha ukulele sing, after they've had a week or two to stretch out and settle in.

Thanks! I was going to ask for string recommendations here

Puglele · Jun 5, 2020

Cadia said:
I'm thinking this too, maybe you should try another K brand. I've had a similar experience. I've been spoiled by the sound and easy playability of my Rebel tenor, which I just loved from first strum. I recently got a Kanile'a tenor, and while it is absolutely gorgeous, it is not tremendously better in sound. The Kanile'a is very rich and even in tone, and has loads of sustain. But so does my Rebel, only to a slightly lesser degree. Ease of playing goes to the Rebel. The Kanile'a will require me to be more precise to bring out its best. I do love the tone of it, though (I will be changing the strings to a fluorocarbon, don't like the feel of Aquilas). So perhaps the Kanile'a sound would be more pleasing to you too, over the KoAloha. They are much fuller in sound than most videos make them sound.

That’s a good strategy. I should ask what other ukes the Rebel owners like. Good to know Kanile’a has so many votes. I hesitated because I head they have larger fingerboard which I don’t like.

Dohle · Jun 5, 2020

Puglele said:
I don’t have any shop near me. Funny thing is I did sample A LOT of YouTube videos and HMS videos to make my decision. Koaloha is the best sounding to me, than kamaka and Kanile’a. That’s why I bought it.

Just a quick comment on the Kanile'a sound, especially when listening to video recordings of them. Very recently, I got a Kanile'a and was able to hear the uke in person. It completely blew me away. No video recording had made it justice, and in fact I was really puzzled why people even liked Kanile'a because they sounded so thin and weak on videos. In reality, the tone of a Kanile'a is so full and warm that I'm guessing you need a really good microphone to properly record the sound. And it's also the only uke brand that I know that suffers from this. You can usually get a far better idea of the tone of a uke for other brands by watching/listening to videos. So if you think the KoAloha sound is too one dimensional and you want something more complex and full, I highly recommenc Kanile'a. The fretboard is fairly wide, yes, but string spacing isn't that much wider relatively.

NUD: KoAloha Koa Concert. Unpopular opinion?

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