new h-end uke

[Final_form]

Hi, first of all i have to admit that im not native speaker so this topic might contains some errors :P, sorry for that,ts hard to find good uke forum in my language.

Im consider buying new uke in tenor size, my budget is +- 900-1000$,
I did research and i found very nice sounding uke, called koaloha opio-spruce, i also found oha-st (supertenor).

i want my new uke to be loud, bassy sounding and high ended.

koaloha has spruce top but it seems to be very thin (i mean body depth), some website says that depth is 2inches other says 3.... Is there any owner who can tell me the real dimensions(lower/upper bout)?

On the other hand: kanilea the K brand, oha-st has much bigger body but its koa, from my knowledge koa is not as loud as spruce.

i also think about k-1, more expensive uke than those mentioned above

so i cant decide :P what to choose bigger body koa and mahogany/all koa/smaller body spruce.

[chris667]

You really should play them both.

For that sort of money I would always rather have exactly what I want built than something mass-produced.

Not that I want any more ukes!

[mjh42]

No expert here but if you want loud and bassy a tenor KoAloha in Koa with a low g will get you there. I know I have one. Not sure how the spruce will effect all that. I do have another uke that is a solid spruce top. It is bright sounding. It's a concert with reentrant tuning so hard to compare the two ukes one to one.

[rainbow21]

Not sure of your location, but if you have access to "The Ukulele Site", I would contact them via phone. First, listen to their sound samples to see if you have a preference over their build and sound, then phone them and see if you can discuss it with one of their talented people. Besides this, they will do a set up to your specifications and have a one week return policy where you pay shipping.

[Cadia]

Not sure of your location, but if you have access to "The Ukulele Site", I would contact them via phone. First, listen to their sound samples to see if you have a preference over their build and sound, then phone them and see if you can discuss it with one of their talented people. Besides this, they will do a set up to your specifications and have a one week return policy where you pay shipping.

This ^^^. I would not pay $900 plus for an Opio. It is not high end, but mid. A true KoAloha, yes, that's worth $900 plus. I have a KoAloha KTM-00 and it's a beautiful instrument. You might want to also consider a Rebel Double Cheese tenor. It's spruce and mahogany. A Romero Creations tenor could fit your bill also.

[Final_form]

opio costs 750$ + shipment. about romero 1 guy said sth like this:
"The one oddity with the Replica (and most other RC ukulele designs) is the reverse fan braces on the back. I suppose it acts like a secondary soundboard but is very sensitive to pressure against the back. Thus, if you hold it free and clean of your belly, volume and progression are excellent. If it touches you gut, volume is significantly reduced! Move it off your belly during a sustaining chord or note and it suddenly gets louder. So RC designs work best for players with slim waistlines, albeit placing a small towel between instrument and belly helps reduce gut muffling". (topic: https://forum.ukuleleunderground.com...omero-question). on this image: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/00...g?v=1612548931 you can clearly see bottom wood do not have "transverse beams" like every uke do.
-

ive noticed there is not so many spruce ukes for lets say 800$ that are high/"semi"-high ended: opio, rebel (rebel body i thik is even smaler than opios), maybe kala elite spruce/roswood. thats all.
ive seen k-1 st satin version on ukulelesite for 1000$, but its sold out, cheapest available models costs 1300-1400, damn what happend..


@Cadia if u have koaloha ktm/rebel d-cheese could you please let me know whats thier body depth? each website gives different dimensions.

[merlin666]

Ukulele by its nature is not a bassy instrument and even with low G has the lowest note where the high notes of a guitar start. In the late 20th century the bass part was played by baritone. ukulele and for the last several years there are now also excellent ukulele basses available to provide that part of the sound. As for Opio this is the KoAloha budget line and not high end at all, though the spruce top models are a pleasure to play and sound very nice. For tenor size I would prefer Kamaka or Kanile'a over KoAloha as they tend to have more depth to their sound.

[Cadia]

@Cadia if u have koaloha ktm/rebel d-cheese could you please let me know whats thier body depth? each website gives different dimensions.

Certainly, I will measure tomorrow. Also, shipping is free at The Ukulele Site for ukes over $400. Set up is free too. I've never received anything from them that disappointed me. Every uke has been perfect.

[Cadia]

Here is a nice Pono Pro Classic, spruce and mahogany. Give the sound sample a listen: https://theukulelesite.com/pono-mtc-...026.html?qty=1

[Final_form]

Certainly, I will measure tomorrow. Also, shipping is free at The Ukulele Site for ukes over $400. Set up is free too. I've never received anything from them that disappointed me. Every uke has been perfect.

thanks, im not sure if they ship to europe for free , im from Poland.
yeah.. "FREE SHIPPING: All orders within the USA with a total over $500 will qualify for free FedEx 2-day air shipping." copied from thier website.