NUD: KoAloha Koa Concert. Unpopular opinion?

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

Bill1 said:

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.

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This resonates with me so much. When I was looking to get a Hawaiian koa ukulele, I spent almost 6 months to get one - saving money, listening and reading. It wasn't an easy desicion! And I had pure bad luck too, but that is another story. So when I finally was set to have a Kanile'a, I was loaded with expectations and emotions. When it arrived, I was very sad to find it a tad quiet. Thought that this is not what I wanted. But that was just my first impression. I played it a lot for a week or two, let it acclimatize some more and listened my husband playing it. And now I couldn't part with it. It is no longer quiet IMO (nor a cannon!), but it has exquisite sound. I'm happy that I didn't just pack it up and send it away, as now I adore my instrument.

It's hard not to trust online samples when that's all you have. But like Dohle, I've found they can sometimes be misleading.

I was talking with a UU member--a big fan of KoAloha--who was able to sample quite a few. He said some were definitely better than others, even within the same models. Although, I imagine that's true for just about any uke brand.

I would give it some time. And after the uke's had a chance to settle a bit, maybe a string change or two to see what sounds best.

But if you're already thinking about other ukes, I would be uncertain what to recommend, since I find it so curious that you like Rebel but not KoAloha/Opio. Not that you're not completely entitled to your preferences; it's just so different from my experience--to me KoAloha and its cousin brands sound so similar, that I would think one would like or dislike them all as a group. Unless maybe it was a tonewood preference.

Anyway, seems like you're getting pretty good advice from everybody. And if you don't like your uke, you're not alone. There are always people who don't like a product, and the ones who do should make the sale easy.

Edit: 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.

The opio I sold was all acacia.

snowdenn said:

Edit: 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.

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Hmmm interesting experience. Kinda wondering about which brand

I am not giving up on it yet so no selling for now
For something this expensive I gotta give it more chances.
So many people said the moment they played the Koaloha and decided to take it home. I had a different experience so I want to share. Not a FS thread hehe

I have no complaints about my KoAlohas. Best-sounding ukes I have. Either you got an odd one, or your tastes are different. It is sound, after all, and everyone has their own preferences. If you aren't happy with it, sell it. It will be an easy sale (depending on the price).

I've never owned a Hawaiian K Brand ukulele, but I have played several. A friend of ours owns a concert sized KoAloha and a tenor sized Kanilea. I much prefer the sound of the concert.
I played a tenor Kanilea and a LoPrinzi tenor, side by side. I was amazed, there was almost no difference in tone and sustain, so when I was ready to spend some real $$$ on an ukulele, I went for a LoPrinzi, the shop is right here in town.
Now, the other K brand, the Kamaka, my spouse owns two. She has a soprano and an 8 string tenor. I don't like the tenor at all, probably because the strings are on a very narrow nut fretboard, like a mandolin, and I hate playing with a pick. The soprano, I just adore.
I hope this uke grows on you, and if it doesn't I hope you can get your money back out of it.

Wow...this is just the opposite of my recent experience. I bought an opio acacia concert, didn't like the floppy strings so I put a set of worth brown BM's on it with freemont soloist low G. Made a big difference in sound to me. Much fuller and warmer. Had it for about 6 wks and got the urge for the koa version. I was able to trade in the opio and buy the koa concert. I put the same worth brown strings on and I think it sounds amazing! Bright, but not overly bright, at the same time with warmth and great sustain. I've read where some have said that the two sound pretty close, but for me the opio sounded a bit warmer; maybe it's just a bit more subdued, while the koa is warm but with more clarity/brightness, especially up the fret board. Both have good sustain, maybe a bit more with the koa. Again, this is with the worth brown mediums on both. Strings do make a difference, and the sound they produce is very subjective to what we think sounds good in a ukulele. Then again our taste's for what sounds good tend to change over time as we gain a better musical ear.

merlin666 said:

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

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I had two similar ukes: cedar and acacia tenors with slotted headstocks. I decided that I didn't need two near-identical ukes, so I decided to sell one of them. I examined the Pono and the Kala, and I played each. I preferred the Kala, so I sold the more expensive Pono.

As said, give the instrument a little time. And hey, if you don't like the sound, move it on and try another brand. I thought I wanted a high end metal resonator, I watched all kinds of videos on youtube, then I went and listen live to a talented player playing a high end resonator, the music was great and the resonator rang and chimed like a bell, not the sound I was looking for. Now I'm looking at wooden bodies resonators or perhaps a Beltona, more of the sound I'm looking for.

We are fortunate to be in an ukulele rich time..........

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

I don't like them either.

Shiny and boring.

Puglele said:

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

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I measure about .100-.110 at the 12th fret. You may want to check out more strings. If your looking for bright, the aquila sugars may be an option.