Kanelia Oha Series

I had an Oha Tenor. A very nice Kanilea build regardless of woods used or which finish applied. One thing I have not seen mentioned is that the Oha series has MODIFIED TRU-R bracing. This is different from the TRU-R bracing in the more expensive Kanilea models.

One major principle of the Total Resonating Ukulele (TRU) bracing is that the braces don’t touch each other when they cross paths. Please see attached pics. One is of the original TRU bracing with round holes in the cross braces. The other pic is of the newer TRU Redesigned braces with triangles cut out of the cross braces. You can see how the vertical braces in both photos run through sort of a channel path at the bottom of the cross braces. Because the braces don’t intersect/touch, the idea is that the whole ukulele can resonate freely.

Unfortunately I didn’t take any soundhole pics from my OHA when I had it. Not that I have a camera for that. And I can’t find any pics of the MODIFIED TRU-R bracing online. But when I looked with a mirror inside my OHA, I discovered that the braces intersected/touched each other as they do in traditional bracing patterns.

The modified TRU-R bracing for the OHA series does have triangles (but if you look closely these triangles are smaller than the non-modified TRU-R bracing triangles) cut out of the cross braces, but there is no channel path so that the braces can be free from touching each other. So this modified type of TRU-R bracing is sort of a hybrid type of bracing for Kanilea.

I can see how this bracing difference changes the sound of the OHA series compared to the rest of the Kanilea line. Maybe part of the reason for that “lighter, brighter” sound some talk about. And then the additional factor of the mahogany back and sides and it’s effect on tone.
 
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