Sep 22
Why’s this koa ukulele so cheap?
I did a post a couple of days ago about how expensive koa ukuleles are, yet there are many ukuleles around calling themselves koa that sell for less than $200 (such as the Oscar Schmidt OU5).
This is most likely because they are laminated. The expensive koas are made from solid koa wood. The cheap koa ukuleles will almost certainly be made from cheap wood with a thin covering of koa wood (i.e. laminated).
When you buy a laminated ukulele, the koa wood is almost solely to improve the look of the instrument. It won’t make any noticable difference to the sound. That’s not to say you shouldn’t buy a laminated koa ukulele. I have one myself and I love it.
How can you tell if it’s laminated or solid koa when you’re buying on the internet?
That can be tricky. General practice is to say the ukulele is to use the term ’solid koa’ or ’solid wood’ when it is solid, but to keep quiet if it’s laminated. It’s a bit sneaky if you ask me. If you’re unsure whether a uke is solid or laminated and the description doesn’t say, it’s best to assume it’s laminated.
January 4th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
Also you have to take into consideration where they are manufactured. Oscar Schmidt is made in China as is Ohana, Bushman and many others. Cordoba also makes an ukulele that they call koa, but isn’t made with Hawaiian koa wood. It’s acacea, the same family as Koa
January 8th, 2010 at 10:29 pm
There is a lot of snobbery in the ukulele world. If you have a laminated uke, the instument is immediately dismissed as having little merit musically. Even ukes with a solid wood soundboard like mine, are disparaged by those who swear (despite no evidence, and even some to the contrary) that all solid ukes have a much better tone. It would be interesting if someone were to produce an all laminated uke which sounded so superb that they couldn`t ignore it.