Koaloha vs. kanilea

uke philly said:
Yeah I have heard that about the nice sound of the PS, but right now it's not in my price range, but the concert sceptre in your showroom is. Is that a large enough of a uke and body to be a concert, not a supersoprano.
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yes, the concert sceptre is a concert sized body and neck.
 
Thanks, do you have any string suggestions to balance out the sound of the concert sceptre, to add some warmth, and take out some twang. Such as d'adario or worth brown or worth clear.
 
uke philly wrote:
do you have any string suggestions to balance out the sound of the concert sceptre, to add some warmth, and take out some twang. Such as d'adario or worth brown or worth clear.
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I do have a concert sceptre and after changing and trying lots of strings on it, I think the Worth Brown is what make the uke sound best. The mellowness of the Brown really balance well the brighness of the Sceptre.
 
After checking out the kanilea ukulele's I'm pretty impressed. They were pretty cool and the sound is a nice rich buttery sound. the wood and even the finish was astounding, have not tried the koalohas but they a good competition. the kamaka concert i tried had some ugly koa and it didn't impress me. It made me think of a uke that fender would make. I want to love kamaka but the concert i tried was not impressive, I honestly am pretty confused now. It's either kanilea and koaloha, let the thread live on.
 
KoAloha is very well known for their customer service and awesome warranty!!! Plus their ukes sound amazing!!!
 
uke philly said:
After checking out the kanilea ukulele's I'm pretty impressed. They were pretty cool and the sound is a nice rich buttery sound. the wood and even the finish was astounding, have not tried the koalohas but they a good competition. the kamaka concert i tried had some ugly koa and it didn't impress me. It made me think of a uke that fender would make. I want to love kamaka but the concert i tried was not impressive, I honestly am pretty confused now. It's either kanilea and koaloha, let the thread live on.
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I think you might get richer low tones out of the Kanile'a, so if you like rich low notes, the Kanile'a might have the edge over the KoAloha, which excels in bright sparkly high end tones. If you can try out the Kanile'a, or have someone with a good ear select one for you, that would be best.
–Lori
 
Lori wrote:
I think you might get richer low tones out of the Kanile'a, so if you like rich low notes, the Kanile'a might have the edge over the KoAloha, which excels in bright sparkly high end tones. If you can try out the Kanile'a, or have someone with a good ear select one for you, that would be best.
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I agree with Lori, specially if you try their super tenor!!!! The sound coming from this uke is sooo rich and deep!!!! I think the body shape has to do something with that low bottom end sound!!!

Give it a try, it really worth!!!
 
uke philly said:
the kamaka concert i tried had some ugly koa and it didn't impress me. It made me think of a uke that fender would make. I want to love kamaka but the concert i tried was not impressive, I honestly am pretty confused now. It's either kanilea and koaloha, let the thread live on.
Click to expand...

I know you are deciding between KoAloha and Kanile'a right now but I just wanted to address the point you made about Kamaka. I have one of each of these manufacturers (a Kamaka tenor, a Kanile'a K2 tenor, and a KoAloha pineapple sunday). Between KoAloha and Kanile'a, for me anyway, there is no contest...it would be KoAloha all the way. I find that I don't even enjoy playing my Kanile'a anymore as it pales in comparison tonally to the KoAloha or the Kamaka. So if you are down to those two, especially sight and sound unseen, I think KoAloha is the way to go.

As for the comment that you were unimpressed by the sound of the Kamaka, and thought the koa was ugly...I think that is not a reason to completely discount Kamaka -- just that particular uke. In fact, of the three ukuleles I have, the koa wood on my Kamaka is head and shoulders above the other two in terms of beauty and grain. And I firmly believe one reason a lot of people are unimpressed with Kamakas off the shelf is their strings. Listen to some Jake Shimbakuro, or some of Aldrine's older UU videos, and you can see what a Kamaka is capable of. If I could have only one of my ukes, it would be my Kamaka, not my Kanile'a or KoAloha. (That being said, if I had bought a KoAloha tenor, I would probably choose that over a Kamaka one). I still regret not getting a KoAloha tenor with a crown bridge when they were available, but I love my Kamaka dearly. There is a reason they have been in business for 100 years...they make quality ukuleles. Okay off my soapbox, I just wanted to defend them a bit.

But for you, for your decision, between Kanile'a and KoAloha, go KoAloha.
 
I think the most logical thing for me to do is to buy the kanilea then next summer get a koaloha, and in two years if im not satisfied will pick up a kamaka. The kanilea just had a great sound and it was perfect. In my opinion. but even the other kanileas were awsome, I tried a tenor a concert and k2 tenor. i was impressed by each, the abalone inlay was beautiful, Just a work of art. I do want to get a koaloha but it will have to wait till next year when i see a few more of the masterpieces from koaloha till i can get one. None of the masterpieces have really been exactly what I wanted but I'm sure with 4 more atleast one can be a keeper.
 
wickedwahine11 said:
I know you are deciding between KoAloha and Kanile'a right now but I just wanted to address the point you made about Kamaka. I have one of each of these manufacturers (a Kamaka tenor, a Kanile'a K2 tenor, and a KoAloha pineapple sunday). Between KoAloha and Kanile'a, for me anyway, there is no contest...it would be KoAloha all the way. I find that I don't even enjoy playing my Kanile'a anymore as it pales in comparison tonally to the KoAloha or the Kamaka. So if you are down to those two, especially sight and sound unseen, I think KoAloha is the way to go.

As for the comment that you were unimpressed by the sound of the Kamaka, and thought the koa was ugly...I think that is not a reason to completely discount Kamaka -- just that particular uke. In fact, of the three ukuleles I have, the koa wood on my Kamaka is head and shoulders above the other two in terms of beauty and grain. And I firmly believe one reason a lot of people are unimpressed with Kamakas off the shelf is their strings. Listen to some Jake Shimbakuro, or some of Aldrine's older UU videos, and you can see what a Kamaka is capable of. If I could have only one of my ukes, it would be my Kamaka, not my Kanile'a or KoAloha. (That being said, if I had bought a KoAloha tenor, I would probably choose that over a Kamaka one). I still regret not getting a KoAloha tenor with a crown bridge when they were available, but I love my Kamaka dearly. There is a reason they have been in business for 100 years...they make quality ukuleles. Okay off my soapbox, I just wanted to defend them a bit.

But for you, for your decision, between Kanile'a and KoAloha, go KoAloha.
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Same here. I've had a Kanile'a concert that was nice (and beautiful) but the sound didn't do much for me. I much perfer both my KoAloha tenor and Kamaka tenor (though I'm hard pressed to choose which I like more between the two). I love the look of my KoAloha (I bought a used crown bridge) but the koa on my Kamaka definitely looks nicer.
 
I also love the sound and looks of my Kamaka soprano. Before changing strings on the Kamaka, the KoAlohas were definitely my favorite. Now I would be hard pressed to choose.
 
Aloha Uke Philly,

If you're looking for sound quality, I'd reccomend that you go in a play each instrument. As mentioned above each instrument
is as individual as we are. Each may have their own sound, no matter if it was built by the same builder, sold by the same com-
pany or is the same model. Due to the building process and many factors of it not very often you will come across two with the
same tone. Consistancy comes with a high price tag of the best luthiers and builders. Good luck in your search for your baby.
I hope this helps you out...."Keep them strings vibrating" Uke On!!!! MM Stan....
P.S> there very good music stores on the east coast..Google them....
 
Ditto to everything mm stan said. And, yes, we do have some great music stores on the east coast! My KoAlohas and Kamaka came from Hawaii though. :) Fortunate that the music store in my small town will soon be carrying Kamakas and the music store I frequent in NC now has KoAlohas and G-String! Nothing like being able to play before buying.
 
Honestly, you cant go wrong with either one. But for me, I went Koaloha when looking for my tenor last year. I played the Kanilea K2 at a local shop and fell in love with it instantly but did not buy because I wanted to also try a Koaloha. Found a Koaloha 100 miles away so I took an afternoon off work and drove to try it out. Also fell instantly in love with it but wasnt sure. I think I went back and forth twice from each store before deciding on the Koaloha. The Kanilea was better looking but the Koaloha sounded better to my ears.

Just my 2cents

Good luck. Im sure you will be happy either way
 
I've played on Kamaka's, Koaloha's, and Kanile'a ukuleles. I initially purchased a Kanile'a concert in 2007 in da hi-gloss "UV" finish. Still going strong in da high desert of Las Vegas! (It' stays cased wit a humidifier) Just picked up a tenor in satin finish and da sound is mesmerizing! Unlike da gloss finish, you can clearly see da wood grain on da tenor. Where did i get my ukes from? Straight from inside Joe Souza's office! (Good excuse to go back to da aina!) Having made personal visits to da Kanile'a factory and witnessing da builds, a lot of aloha and mana goes into each instrument. Handcraftmanship at it's finest! And fo Joe Souza, da guy is da epitomy of da aloha spirit! Da crew at Kanile'a is top notch!
 
I have a KoAloha tenor sceptre with ebony back and sides, ebony fret board, sitka spruce top, and a crown bridge and I have a KoAloha super concert with a crown bridge and all I can say is WOW and WOW!!! I also have a Kamaka concert and a white label pineapple and they are great, but those KoAlohas are in a class all by themselves!
 
wickedwahine11 said:
I have one of each. My Kamaka is a tenor strung with low g (Fremont blacklines). My Kanile'a is a K2 tenor strung high g with Worth CT strings, and my KoAloha is a Pineapple Sunday currently strung with Worth BL strings.

It is not a straight comparison for me because the Pineapple Sunday is not like a regular tenor (it has a brighter tone and actually I find the body shape a lot less easy to play). But I have played a KoAloha tenor in the past so I will try to give you my advice based on that ukulele.

Each has its strengths and weaknesses.

I think the KoAloha probably has the best tone of the three. It has great volume, and their ukuleles sound amazing. If their strengths are in design, where I would consider it lacking is perhaps in the visual arena. This is just my opinion, and mine alone, but aesthetically I'm not crazy about some of their bridge styles. I don't care for the bowtie bridge currently being used on their tenors, and that has been a huge factor in keeping my from buying one. But if you can find one with the old crown bridge styling, snap it up. It will sound the best of the bunch. And their customer service is the best, hands down. All three have great families running the companies, but I think the Okamis are just that little bit nicer and have the better warranty over the Kamakas and the Souzas.

For aesthetics, I think the Kanile'as are the best. They use a unique UV finish that is simply stunning. They also have a bit of bling in a lot of their ukes. Major downside (at least for me) of the Kanile'a is the bridge pins. While I like the clean look of them, they make it a pain in the behind to change out your strings. And for someone like me, who is constantly trying out new sounds of strings, it is a major downside. Plus, as much as I love the Souzas, I think the KoAloha and the Kamaka's tone are better. But I think that might be my ukes. I hear that a lot of Kanile'as are touch and go...some sound amazing, others less so.

Finally, there is the Kamaka. For name and history, they can't be beat. There is a reason why they have been making ukuleles for almost 100 years. If you want a historical collector's piece of Hawaiian tradition, I think they are the one to choose. One downside of that many of their ukes being out there though is that they have a huge waitlist for repairs. Think about it, if Kamaka has 100 years of purchases, KoAloha 15 and Kanile'a less than 10, it makes sense there are more people in line for repairs. Another major downside is the crappy strings they put on their ukes. So when you try them side by side in a store, they will fail by comparison. I think you really need to hear a Kamaka with upgraded strings in order to really get the true tonal capabilities of their instruments.

In the end, you can't go wrong with any of them. Good luck and keep us posted on what you choose.
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Stewart Mcdonald sells a great pin puller for 1.99. Works great.
 
I don't have either a kanilea or a koaloha but I have researched into both of these name brands. I tend to lean toward kanilea. The look and sound appeals much more to me than koaloha. Koalohas tend to sound twangy to me and they don't have that warm sound that i like. Buts its all up to opinion I guess ^.^
 
chappyware said:
Stewart Mcdonald sells a great pin puller for 1.99. Works great.
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Thanks but getting the bridge pins out is not the problem...I hate tuning the A string because (on mine at least) it often snaps out, sends the bridge pin flying and the string slices my hand- I have gotten two bad cuts that way.
 
wickedwahine11 said:
Thanks but getting the bridge pins out is not the problem...I hate tuning the A string because (on mine at least) it often snaps out, sends the bridge pin flying and the string slices my hand- I have gotten two bad cuts that way.
Click to expand...

I have one of the strange KoAlohas with bridge pins and I've had that problem once before. But I have to say that rubbing the bridge pins with a little surfboard wax really helps them stay in there without actually sticking. It just creates a little more grip. Plus it usually smells good. ;)
 
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