Do you have a favorite soprano uke?

Ryan<3Ukes

Ryan<3Ukes

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I have been itching to play soprano ukes recently because I've been watching a lot of youtube videos with martin ukuleles... And roy smeck. My favorite soprano so far has probably been this spruce top, vintage style Kamoa soprano with the style 3 look and a wound low g. It was really light and sounded pretty awesome. It's pretty cool that Kamoa has the diamond logo now because I think old style 3 martins had the same thing but you can correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Some of the earliest Martin Style 3s had a "kite," or diamond as you say, celluloid inlay in the headstock. So do a lot of Lyon & Healys. The Martins, for a bit longer than they had the kite also had a parend at the bottom. The Kamoa ukuleles you are looking into are derived from the Martins.
 
I am a big fan of the Kamoa diamond. Simple, vintage, and just slick.

As for my favorite soprano... I am a goofis, but I totally love playing my Ohana Blue SK-10. And I am a soprano girl (concert too, but I think I favor the soprano) and it is the only one I own other than some vintage harmonies and stuff. It has a good sound for such a cheap uke and I dont have to baby it, and it is blue, and it makes me happy, and Ken Middleton gave it to me, so it has good mojo!
 
OHANA SK-38 is my favorite "standard" Soprano. The KoAloha is my favorite "concert neck" Soprano, but would probably become my second favorite if OHANA had a "concert neck" version of the SK-38 (solid mahogany).

Added: I'm just drawn to the sound of solid mahogany over that of KOA for some reason.
 
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I love all my sopranos but my very favorite for sound and playability is my kamaka
 
I have played my Rob Collins Soprano every day since I got it!
I play my others from time to time, but always end up with the
Rob C one,because it's magnificent!
 
I have an absolutely stunning Larravee 10K koa soprano which, at least to my modest ears, is the best sounding soprano I've ever heard. I don't play the soprano much as I prefer a tenor strung in low G, so the Larravee may have to find a new home since I'm having a Hornet built by Jake at Hive Ukuleles.

http://www.laguitarsales.com/pages/4376/Larrivee_10K_Ukulele.htm

Cheers,
Mark
 
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I love my KPK I just got, but my favorite soprano I've owned was a KoAloha. Fantastic Koa tone, just too much money wrapped up in a size I can't use as well as a tenor.

The best I've ever played was a vintage Martin 5k...man if I had the money....
 
I've played a few Kamaka standards and vintage Martins. These are the apples and oranges of "best soprano ukulele" for me. (Luckily, one of those Kamaka ukes lives at my house.)

Also on the short list of great sopranos (that I've played): a KoAloha pineapple, a vintage Kumalae, and a couple of Brad Donaldson's ukes.
 
My fav is My Kamaka gold label pineapple. If you are patient, you can nab one for $300-$400 on eBay. Mine is pretty busted up looking but it plays like a dream. Brilliant tone.
 
markallen said:
I have an absolutely stunning Larravee 10K koa soprano which, at least to my modest ears, is the best sounding soprano I've ever heard. I don't play the soprano much as I prefer a tenor strung in low G, so the Larravee may have to find a new home since I'm having a Hornet built by Jake at Hive Ukuleles.

http://www.laguitarsales.com/pages/4376/Larrivee_10K_Ukulele.htm

Cheers,
Mark
Click to expand...

I could have written this comment. While I prefer tenors, my Larrivee is a great sounding/playing soprano.
 
Speaking of Smeck

I'm not really comfortable with sopranos but I am comfortable with my Ohana Vita which has a soprano neck. so, I'd say it's the nicest and easiest to play soprano I've run across. There's just more room to move. I keep it with high G for mostly picking and Renaissance and Baroque music.
 
Speaking of Smeck

I'm not really comfortable with sopranos but I am comfortable with my Ohana Vita which has a soprano neck. So, I'd say it's the nicest and easiest to play soprano I've run across. There's just more room to move. I keep it with high G for mostly picking and Renaissance and Baroque music.
 
I like mine a lot as well. by the way I just changed the tuners on it to friction tuners the ones that come with a fluke. and I like it even better... more traditional looking. I like friction tuners better for sopranos in general. took all of 15 min to change.

Kimosabe said:
I'm not really comfortable with sopranos but I am comfortable with my Ohana Vita which has a soprano neck. So, I'd say it's the nicest and easiest to play soprano I've run across. There's just more room to move. I keep it with high G for mostly picking and Renaissance and Baroque music.
Click to expand...
 
I don't play sopranos too often and own two right now. Both are pretty good, but I probably like the Kiwaya KTS-7 a little more overall. The DaSilva Santos reproduction might be the coolest looking uke I own though.
DSC_7877.JPG
 
My current favorite soprano I own is my Martin S1. It does everything I expect of an ukulele and I love the sound and how it feels. My #2 is my Applause. They both have very different sounds one being spruce top and the other solid mahogany so they both get played a lot. I also really like my Bad Aax solid mahogany for a beater. As for instruments I've played but don't own I think my favorite has been an old Martin 0 style I saw in a store once. It was one of those instruments that made me sound better when I played it. Loved it. It was out of my price range and sold in just a few days :(
 
hmgberg said:
Some of the earliest Martin Style 3s had a "kite," or diamond as you say, celluloid inlay in the headstock. So do a lot of Lyon & Healys. The Martins, for a bit longer than they had the kite also had a parend at the bottom. The Kamoa ukuleles you are looking into are derived from the Martins.
Click to expand...

I played the Kamoa prototype of the martin style 3 when they were trying different strings, it had a deep rich sound......haven't tried yet that production model yet though...
 
Hands down my best sounding and playing soprano is my mahogany Favilla Teardrop. They are hard to find.....but I highly recommend them!

I have a Gibson that is just a sound monster.....bright, loud, good low end too....just a great soprano ukulele.

I love my Kamaka ukuleles, but the two I have don't stack up to Martin, Favilla, and Gibson IMHO.
 
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