Koaloha KTM-00 or aNueNue UT200

Md99

Member
Joined
May 31, 2020
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Hey all, I've already spoken to a couple forum members about this, which has been incredibly helpful, so I decided to open the question to this broader group.

I'm fairly new to ukulele but loving it and decided to get an upgraded uke and go with a tenor size. I've narrowed it down to the 2 in the title after watching tons of youtube videos, searching the forums, etc.

Which would you purchase as your first big upgrade? I have an inexpensive kala soprano and a solid-top tenor cordoba.

I'm only a few months in so don't really have much of a style yet. I have large hands so generally prefer some spacing between strings. Besides that, I just want a great overall uke.
 
I'm only a few months in so don't really have much of a style yet. I have large hands so generally prefer some spacing between strings. Besides that, I just want a great overall uke.

Welcome aboard. Great choice in ukes. Both are ukes I have eyeballing hardcore for a while now. I personally don't have either of these but I believe the Koaloha has a 1.5 inch nut width and I think the Anuenue is slightly narrower at 1 3/8. So the Koaloha is slightly wider. But maybe a Anuenue owner can speak on this.

I think this will boil down to a personal preference of the sound and looks. I don't think you would wrong with either. Just an FYI mim's has a handful of the old KTM-00's (like from a few months ago before they redesigned it) for a little over a thousand. Killer deal for a brand new KTM-00.
 
Last edited:
Thanks! I started my desire to get a tenor thinking I'd spend around $100 but now research and reading forums like these have led me to justifying the $1000+ :) I'm excited to get one; whichever I choose.
 
Yes, the Koaloha has a wide 38mm nut, but has fingerboard binding, with frets starting inside that, so the string spread (a more important measurement, IMO) is only 27mm from G to A. 27mm is the same as many cheap import ukes with only 35mm nuts.

Touting a 38mm nut when you only get a 27mm string spread seems silly to me; the potential benefits of the wider nut are wasted. But that's just me, YMMV.

I believe the Moonbird has a 35mm nut, but I'm not sure on the string spread. If it's more than the Koaloha's 27mm, it may give you more of the room room you want.

Yes that's true. Although the nut width is wide for the Koaloha the string width isn't really. The couple people who I've talked to that play it and also prefer wider string spacing seem to not mind it, though. It'd be great to be able to play either first, but with covid it just isn't possible.
 
Speaking to the concert and soprano sizes...

The KoAloha has a brighter sound on the high end, the aNueNue is a little more balanced in tones and mellower. The aNueNue has a slightly radiused fretboard and the KoAloha is nonradiused. Both are joyful to own and play.
 
I think you should go with the KoAloha because they are made in Hawaii and it sounds sweet and LOUD. When upgrading, I would opt for the tone woods and the quality when I make an upgrade. I'm always keen about making a purchase. For example, not all expensive ukuleles sound good. I would recommend you to do these three steps when upgrading an instruments.

1. PRICE
2. SOUND
3. LOOK

Upgrading an ukulele is fairly easy. Just make sure you buy it at an appropriate time and don't spend too much money on something you don't like. For the first 2 months I play the ukulele, I purchased an Ohana SK - 10 and it was pretty good. A Yard Sale in my neighborhood had a Cordoba 10cm and that had scratches from the owner which I bought for a fair amount of money. It sounds very good for a Chinese made instrument. I later trade in my Ohana and bought a vintage ukulele which I add extra money in. I play on the Cordoba mostly and the vintage is for when I need to "show off". About a month ago, I fell in love with custom ukuleles and actually posted the vintage ukulele on the forum and still available as of now. I ordered an ukulele from a luthier that have more than 30 years experience in building ukulele. Well, check out my custom ukulele thread here.

https://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?145657-Brad-Donaldson-Ukuleles
Benjamin
 
Last edited:
Both are excellent choices, but very different in looks, sound, feel, and build. Actually, I'm tending to say that the two models would complement each other perfectly: one being "traditionallly" made in Hawaii from Koa, the other one having a very unusual design and more guitar-like tonewoods as well as additional features like that radiused fretboard. Therefore, it would be very interesting to own both. If that is not an option, then I'd go for sound. To me, that would be the KoAloha, even though I really like the unusual look of the Moon Bird.

Good luck with your purchase, let us know what you end up with.
 
I agree with a lot of the previous comments. Both ukes are really good quality so ultimately you can't go wrong with either. In my opinion, the quality aNueNue puts out does slightly eclipse the KoAlohas but only in the finish and little details. For example, the gloss finish is generally better on aNueNues, and the Moon Birds particularly have more work put on the looks (binding, soundhole rosette, ebony headplate, among others) of the uke if that matters to you at all. Since they are fairly similarly priced, I too believe that the choice should come to preference of the sound of the uke and possible whether you want a more traditional style uke or a modern feeling one. The KoAloha is brighter and punchier (probably more so than any other ukulele, to be honest) and the Moon Bird is more balanced excelling in all ranges, low, mid and high, but certainly has brightness and projection as well. Good luck on the decision.

A quick comment regarding the nut/neck width: As mentioned, since the KoAloha has frets that are sort of cut off before they reach the side of the fretboard, the string spacing is narrower, analogous to a 36mm nut if I recall correctly. The aNueNue is the exact opposite. The nut width and string spacing are both very similar to the KoAloha but the outermost strings are very close to the fretboard edges which means you need to fret the strings slightly more accurately in order to avoid pulling the string over the edge of the fretboard. I wouldn't say it's a major issue and it's something that you'll get used to fairly quickly, but taking that into account I'd say the KoAloha just edges (pun very much intended) the aNueNue in playability.
 
These are great thoughts. Thank you everyone. I've definitely had both in a cart for checkout recently, hah. Staying married is more important than owning both right now so will only be buying one at the moment. Still going back and forth a bit but will decide soon.
 
I believe the KTM has a nut width of 37mm and a string spacing of around 27mm. I like the extra space at the fretboard edges and the playability is great. The UT200 has a nut width of 36mm and a string spacing of 30mm. I have a UT200 and I have played a KTM. I like both and I think it is a difficult decision.The KTM that I tried sounded great, but did have a dead spot unfortunately which I was disappointed about, as I liked everything else about it. My Moonbird is louder and more balanced, but I love the sweet sound of the KTM also and I think as has been said, they would compliment each other.
 
Hey all, I've already spoken to a couple forum members about this, which has been incredibly helpful, so I decided to open the question to this broader group.

I'm fairly new to ukulele but loving it and decided to get an upgraded uke and go with a tenor size. I've narrowed it down to the 2 in the title after watching tons of youtube videos, searching the forums, etc.

Which would you purchase as your first big upgrade? I have an inexpensive kala soprano and a solid-top tenor cordoba.

I'm only a few months in so don't really have much of a style yet. I have large hands so generally prefer some spacing between strings. Besides that, I just want a great overall uke.

I own both I could put up a sound sample if you're interested or still looking.

Nut width is kind of a non-issue here. You'll be fine with both, if you were looking at soprano its more of a factor but tenors typically have wider necks to begin with.
 
I own both I could put up a sound sample if you're interested or still looking.

Nut width is kind of a non-issue here. You'll be fine with both, if you were looking at soprano its more of a factor but tenors typically have wider necks to begin with.

I think I'm decided and waiting for inventory but would love a sound sample if you're willing. I've just listened to Youtube videos and considered the opinions of people who have played both.
 
I don't think these two ukes are in the same class. Koaloha is an established family brand and their Koa ukes are noted for consistent great sound. A huge bonus is their warranty which basically means that KoAloha ukes increase in value as you can trade them in for a new model if there is a problem. The Anuenue is a new brand that we know almost nothing about, with the exception that they are represented in North America by two respected uke virtuosos. The wood combination of spruce top with EIR body is liked by many steel string guitar players, but rosewood is a very dense wood and I doubt that uke strings are able to be played hard enough to create resonance. It is likely that virtuosos are able to make it sound nice. Why would you want to chose between these two fundamentally different designs?
 
I think I'm decided and waiting for inventory but would love a sound sample if you're willing. I've just listened to Youtube videos and considered the opinions of people who have played both.

For sure I'll try to post one after work.

I think you cant go wrong with either one. It just comes down to personal sound preference and what you like to play.

The Moon Bird does have a wider nut and string spacing, but there is something really comfortable about edge bound necks. My fingers slip off the KTM much less but its super subjective and probably something I'd fix with more practice on it. I cant recall seeing anyone post here who got a ktm and had to sell it because the string spacing was uncomfortable. But could be wrong there, definitive been wrong before.

If you can afford it, I'd say go Moon Bird. They're very popular right now for good reason. I was skeptical about a Chinese made instrument at that price point but the sound is incredible. And if you decide you want out of the uke world, you'll be able to resell it close to what you paid and you'll sell it in less than a day.

The KTM is great but its more common because it's been around much longer. Also it seems like less people are willing to move on from their moon birds. KTMs don't really seem to increase in resale value, yeah you can trade it in but only if there is an actual problem with it that can't be fixed.

Koa is a great sounding wood but a lot of others have mastered it. You could get a Kanilea or Kamaka priced about the same as a KTM and yes they all have different sound qualities based on build but they all sound really nice. Conversely, there are not many similarly priced spruce/rosewood options. Much more expensive models seems to be common. Rebel does make some in their quark and neo lines in spruce/rosewood but those model looks aren't for everyone.

Also with Anuenue USA opening I'm not sure if they're going to be distributing to as many US based stores. Maybe they will, but it definitely seems like there have been less new ones for sale. But probably chop that up to whats going on in the world right now.
 
Here ya go. KTM has new oasis brights, moon bird has old black waters and a worth brown high g. The harmonics are there for both, i just struggled to hit those on the moon bird. Did this one take.

 
Here ya go. KTM has new oasis brights, moon bird has old black waters and a worth brown high g. The harmonics are there for both, i just struggled to hit those on the moon bird. Did this one take.



That's awesome. Thank you so much for doing that. I'm fairly new to ukulele, as I mentioned, but I've been blown away at how great the community is.

They both definitely sound great. Seems that people who have both generally recommend the aNueNue, which is what I'm currently planning on buying. They are quite different and have different strengths, but the aNueNue just barely edges out the KTM to me right now.

Thanks again.
 
No sweat glad to help! I'm biased but I would say buy both! But if you had to get one right now, I'm blown away by the moon bird. Granted I just got it but again I think the other koas are always available. These birds are hard to find these days!
 
Wow, great comparison vid. Both sound outstanding, but different. The Koaloha sounds woodier, with more mids, to my ears, while the Bird is crystal clear, with more high end shimmer and overtones. Both superb, great playing too.

Thanks so much! I tried to hit a bunch if scenarios like thumb strums, finger strums, single strings, high on the neck, etc.

I was kinda pissed at the harmonics in this video of the moon bird so here's a "full" lazy Sunday cover that shows it off a little better. Not bad for a lunch break ��

 
No sweat glad to help! I'm biased but I would say buy both! But if you had to get one right now, I'm blown away by the moon bird. Granted I just got it but again I think the other koas are always available. These birds are hard to find these days!

Hah, yeah. I told my wife the real consensus seemed to be to go with both, but she wasn't buying it.
 
Top Bottom