Nud

TQuest

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NUD Koaloha Opio Spruce concert

I have been looking forward to making my first NUD post, and here it is!

I consider this my first serious ukulele purchase as I have only been playing since June and all of my other ukes are from previously unknown sellers on internet shopping sites like FaceBook Marketplace, Craigs List, etc., in questionable condition, and usually under $100.

This beautiful ukulele arrived last Thursday. It has a build date of August 2018 and was originally purchased from Mims Ukes by UU member Cluze. After answering many questions that I asked about how his Ohana CK-35 (which I also own) compares to his other Opio concert ukuleles, Cluze graciously offered this one to me for sale. The price was more than reasonable for a ukulele set up by Mim and cared for by a trusted UU member. It was shipped securely and quickly, in Like New condition - not even a strum mark on it that I could see.

Every time I pick it up, I cannot believe how amazing this Koaloha Opio sounds, especially compared to all my other ukuleles! This ukulele was re-strung with Oasis Warm high G strings a few months ago, and they sound great. I love the sound of my Kumu tenor with Martin M620 and my Ohana CK-35s with Worth BM, but the sound of this Koaloha Spruce Opio… well maybe it’s just the early glow of owning a new ukulele but the sound of this Opio goes above and beyond anything else I own or have played at local music shops (limited due to COVID).

I’m equally amazed at both how light the body is, and how loud and resonant it is – so much sustain! This is my first experience with friction tuners, but I am learning to adjust to them. I know I’m not the only one who thinks the Koaloha headstock is one of the most attractive, but I think the five-point fretboard end is equally beautiful – I wish they brought this design element back for all of their ukuleles.

While I believe this ukulele has satisfied my UAS - for now - it has definitely shifted my UAS focus from a shotgun “Quantity” approach to a more selective “Quality” approach.

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Congratulations, Koalohas are special instruments. They have tons of volume, sustain, projection and resonance, it’s not your imagination. You have crossed a threshold where higher quality instruments show why they cost more but prove they are worth the added cost. Unfortunately you are now ruined :p
 
So strange that this thread title got cut off and would not allow me to edit it.

Also the attached photos are showing up rather small. I can't figure out how to upload better quality photos here on UU.
So here's a link to the Google Photos album of these pictures - I hope it works

https://photos.app.goo.gl/QN33eGi6xZvJ3nXB8
 
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It was a bittersweet parting; I was sad to see her go, but I am happy that she is now seeing more play time than I was able to give. :) I was just spread too thin with too many nice ukes for the scant few hours I have in the day...

I do love that KoAloha sound!
 
Congrats! Now you have an ukulele to be proud of! Enjoy!
 
Awesome. I hope you enjoy it greatly! :)
 
Congratulations!

Nice upgrade uke. I really like the Amber tuner buttons. That's a nice touch. Other versions had black tuners and buttons and I don't think it worked as well as the ones on yours.

Enjoy it. The neck is very comfortable to play. Mim's setups are the best.
 
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TQuest,
Welcome to the KoAloha Ohana!
Joe
 
Nice, congratulations! Those KoAloha Opios are reportedly excellent. I have a Hawaiian-made KoAloha but I'm still intrigued by the spruce top Opios since that's a configuration you can't get otherwise unless you pay silly amounts of money.

I think the five-point fretboard end is equally beautiful – I wish they brought this design element back for all of their ukuleles.

Couldn't agree more on this. It's actually bizarre that they only do that fretboard shape for the spruce top Opios.

Also, you mentioned that the build date is 2018 but I thought KoAloha stopped putting the Opio label on the headstock only last year. Am I mistaken or was that something they did only occasionally? Anyone know?
 
Nice, congratulations! Those KoAloha Opios are reportedly excellent. I have a Hawaiian-made KoAloha but I'm still intrigued by the spruce top Opios since that's a configuration you can't get otherwise unless you pay silly amounts of money.



Couldn't agree more on this. It's actually bizarre that they only do that fretboard shape for the spruce top Opios.

Also, you mentioned that the build date is 2018 but I thought KoAloha stopped putting the Opio label on the headstock only last year. Am I mistaken or was that something they did only occasionally? Anyone know?

My KoAloha soprano from 2015 has that crown shape at the end of the fretboard, and so do the Scepters. The acacia Opio tenor has the straight-cut fretboard, though.
 
Also the attached photos are showing up rather small. I can't figure out how to upload better quality photos here on UU.

Make sure your camera is set to for Large and Fine. You should find that in the Menu. If not, then just work with what you have. There is a very good free editing program called Irfanview, and that will let you easily resize a photo. With the picture on your monitor, press Ctrl-R. Then you can specify a size. I use 1500 pixels on the long side for posting online. If you camera has given you a very small file to work with, then enlarging it will not give you good results.

https://www.irfanview.com/
 
My KoAloha soprano from 2015 has that crown shape at the end of the fretboard, and so do the Scepters. The acacia Opio tenor has the straight-cut fretboard, though.

Yeah, I know some of the older models have that crown shaped fretboard. It's really weird why their more expensive models don't have that. To me, that's the definition of a luxury feature.
 
Congrats on the Opio. I tried a few of them in the KoAloha showroom and found them very likeable for sure. The crown fretboard is a great design feature and one of the reasons I have a 2000 KoAloha concert.
 
Yeah, I know some of the older models have that crown shaped fretboard. It's really weird why their more expensive models don't have that. To me, that's the definition of a luxury feature.

Absolutely agree. You would think that Koaloha would put the crown shaped fretboard on the Red Label, Black Label, Special Issue and Custom Build models to denote how "special" they were.

I've seen photos of Hawaiian Koalohas from 2014/2015 with the crown shaped fretboard and Koaloha embossed saddle here on UU Marketplace, so I'm keeping my eye out for one produced at that time.

As for the "Opio" logo on the headstock and soundhole label - I believe I read somewhere (probably here on UU) that the branding was phased out during 2018. My Opio is an August 2018 build so it must have been just before that.
 
As for the "Opio" logo on the headstock and soundhole label - I believe I read somewhere (probably here on UU) that the branding was phased out during 2018. My Opio is an August 2018 build so it must have been just before that.

That would make sense. I guess there are quite a few older Opio models still in circulation then. I've even seen them new in some stores.
 
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