5 x Hawaiian Koa Concert Ukuleles - Kamaka, KoAloha, Kanile’a & Martin

Alex runs through 5 Hawaiian Koa Concert Ukuleles... Which is your favourite??
MARTIN C1K
www.southernuk...
KOALOHA KCM-00C
www.southernuk...
KAMAKA HF-2
www.southernuk...
KANILE'A K-1CE NATURAL
www.southernuk...
KANILE'A K-1CE GLOSS
www.southernuk...
#koa #hawaiiankoaconcerts

[@bumblebee5926]

I have the Martin and KoAloha concerts. I love them both.

[@rapmamori4136]

Love the sound of Koaloha and Kamaka. Hopefully i can afford them one day..

[@NicholasANappiNick]

Can’t go wrong with any of them!

[@Teeum5]

Thank you for sharing this video. It was a pleasure to listen to what you have to tell about the instruments and the sound samples. Personally I prefer the Kanilea gloss but I tested a Koaloha Opio here at my local dealer and found the sound to be really nice. When I listened to your sound sample of the Koaloha it reminded me of the Opio, so perhaps the Koaloho would be my second choice... though I liked every single instrument.

[@doodica193]

One each, please! 😁 Thanks so much for a great comparison. Just love your videos!!!

[@SouthernUkuleleStore]

doodica thank you!

[@wschield608]

As always thanks for posting. Personally I prefer the mellow sound of the Kanile’a K1 gloss but that sound may be attributed at least in part to the strings. Great song selection too. “Oh yeah!”

[@jaxguy1930]

I like the concerts best also. I have the Martin and I like its simple sweet sound. The other more expensive ukuleles sound more complex. I sort of liked the one 2nd to the last that had the geared friction tuners. It sounded very nice in your hands.

[@jaydunning7134]

KoAloha for me every time.

[@clivegilbert8211]

I like the look of the Kanilea gloss. I would probably go with the Kamaka from this lineup though, just because. I have an all Hawaiian KOA aNueNue UC3K which looks, sounds and feels wonderful and would be hard to beat. Thanks for posting another great comparison.

[@michaeldavidson2765]

Thanks Alex ! You only gave the price for the Martin ! They all sounded good ! Even played upside down ! Kamakas get my vote ! But Martin for sheer value

[@susank6267]

Concerts are my preferred size. Thank you for doing this. I have a solid Acacia and Mahogany. Now I'm dreaming of a Koa! I really like the Kanile'a is just more than I can pay even if I saved up for it! I would feel guilty lol. I do hope to someday get a KoAloha. I would love to find one with the Koa fretboard instead of ebony.

[@CarlitoGio]

The Martin is just a beauty. I was looking for electro acoustic ukelele but hard to find. I want this uke

[@SouthernUkuleleStore]

You can always have a pickup fitted. After you get past £450-£500 it’s much more common we fit pickups to Instruments for customers. Not a week goes by where we don’t fit 2-3 pickups. It’s only my advice so take it or leave it by all means but find the instrument you want rather than the one that has a pickup already - it will open up your options soooo much! Most factory pickups are not great anyway. Best of luck on your journey

[@CarlitoGio]

@@SouthernUkuleleStore I have found a beautiful looking ukulele, concert sized. Yes, its not electric lol so I would need to get a pick up installed. If im going into music stores to get the pick up installed How much would this service cost? Thanks

[@SouthernUkuleleStore]

From us about £120 for a Fishman passive pickup (pickup and install) or £170 for a Misi and installation

[@aramriley7062]

I love my Martin C1K.....it sounds so sweet and graceful ..... however my eyes are on the Koaloah now......forget it ......I want em all

[@andynew2]

They are all beautiful.

[@catburn3]

Lovely video, thankyou

[@Kwood10]

I liked the Koaloha

[@st.elizabethchoirsf5988]

This is my favorite ukulele comparison.

[@ericburd]

Martin sounds best to me

[@stevenml5748]

Great video thank you. You're description of the neck on the Kanile K1C Natural E4 Ebony as modern, meaty, guitar like, has me curious as to what the dimensions would be? What would the measurements at the Nut and possibly the radius of the neck be? I looked at the Kanile website and they do not list the dimensions for the neck. I am looking for a Ukulele with a neck that matches this description.

[@nsmy808]

No company can beat Kamaka. Trust me.

[@SouthernUkuleleStore]

😄

[@tinahughes2227]

the last one was fav what was it called may visit your shop

[@SouthernUkuleleStore]

Kanile'a K-1CE

[@leslie2361]

I like the Kanile'a K1-CE GLOSS

[@bumblebee5926]

I love the Kamaka. But it’s too pricey for me. My 2nd choice is KoAloha. But the Kamaka though...beautiful.

[@CarlitoGio]

Deffo the first one. Really beautiful tone

[@russk8091]

The uke that immediately followed the Martin sounded much sweeter.

[@scottnathanphoto]

One mans opinion. I'm a lifelong guitarist and vintage collector. About a year ago, I became smitten w uke, I had a friend who worked at Fender and got me his employee deal on a Rincon. Fantastic neck (But hey, it's a Fender.) The instrument was quiet and rather dull sounding, It became time for an upgrade. I obsessively shopped and played until it came down to the choice above. My takeaways. Kamaka: The one I had planned to buy before playing and seeing in person. The least impressive wood of the bunch. Factory setup wasn't even close. The giant Schaaller tuners looked like they were for a guitar and were out of place. The tone lacked dynamic range, but did have a sweet, albeit compressed Hawaiian tone. If money is no object, I love the sound, feel and play of the Jake Blue model and a couple of other high-end Kamakas, but not the entry level ones. Martin: I wanted to love them, but the only ones that lit me up were very old, high end and very expensive mahogany instruments. The new ones left me cold. I'll get a vintage one someday. Koaloah: The loudest and with the best projection. If I were blind, this would've been a buy. But alas, I am not blind. The different colored headstock wood came off as lazy. I didn't love the neck profile. It was the most guitar like in tone. Impressive, but maybe lacked some of the quaintness I wanted in a Uke. Kanile'a: I ultimately went with the K1-T in gloss. Why? None of these were perfect, but this one had 1) By far the most beautiful Koa (and there was no second place.) 2) I liked the attention to detail. The ebony fretboard, gold tuners with ebony buttons and ebony bridge were well thought out. 3) The tone is balanced and well articulated. Feel free to laugh, but the Music Area case it came with, is the perfect Uke case. I preferred the narrower nut width, but am getting used to this one. I wish the neck profile had more of a v shape for my thumb to better grip and a touch of radius on the fretboard too. I also like that this brand plants a Koa tree for every instrument they make.

[@SouthernUkuleleStore]

I really like this comment. I share much of the same opinions... After 12+ years of selling Ukes I find myself going back and forth between KoAloha and Kanile'a ukuleles in my own collection. Thanks for sharing

[@jaydunning7134]

Although I love the KoAlohas I am saving for a Martin; you can't go past luxury. I've got $1000 so far and can't wait for it to get to $2000 - then I will strike!!

[@pierrepaulbinachon1425]

Hello thank u for the vidéo! I like them all but May Be less the Martin one! A Little bit more metalic i guess! Anyway, it is also the best value for money and i could try it in France! Clearly the best i tried! So i think I'm going to buy myself a good compromise koa ukulele with the martin one and why not the ténor one from Martin which is at the same price!

[@wuxiaoqiang1993]

Is C1K good enough? What would be the difference between the C1K with the American made ones like martin 2K? Is it justified the price to go step up for K-Ukulele from C1K?

[@wuxiaoqiang1993]

By the way, very good video!

[@SouthernUkuleleStore]

Thanks, I get asked this question quite a bit so I was surprised it hadn’t already come up in the comments on this video... this is my take on it from my long term personal experiences. The C1K/T1K’s are great - for their price they more than satisfy a lot of people’s urges to own a solid Koa Ukulele with a good name on the headstock. I think they sound great and the bag they come with is a HUGE bonus for the price. but the negatives are for me that the Martin lacks some dynamics that the Hawaiian Ukes have - no matter what you string it with or how I play it, it sounds bright and just the tiniest bit unrefined. Also, the Martins feel like they were built quickly with a slightly rough cheaper feeling neck and fingerboard. I find it hard to fret C1K/T1K’s - it’s like the frets are too tall. Maybe just me. All of the Hawaiian K brands have nicer feeling and more complex sounding Concert and Tenor Ukuleles to my ears and hands. Kanile’a have the biggest focus on modern building technology whereas KoAloha and Kamaka do tradition really well and would probably most appeal to a potential Martin customer looking for the next step up. Finally, the Martin 2K’s are lovely and more than fix the shortcomings of the C1K/T1K but they are now more expensive than the Hawaiian K1 brands for a Uke that just competes with them and doesn’t offer anything unique. I have played several Martin style 2’s and the owners are always very happy with them - I think people that really associate and love having the Martin brand based on reputation and possibly Guitar history can justify the premium price of the Martin. Players that identify more with the Hawaiian K brands often don’t even look at the Martin 2K - they don’t really make many and customers don’t ask for it. If I were to buy a special Martin Ukulele - it would be a Soprano as that is where Martin really made a name for them selves with the Ukulele. I own a KoAloha KCM-00 and have owned half a dozen other Koa concerts in my life to get to where I am opinion wise. Hope that helps?

[@BalenaBianca100]

@@SouthernUkuleleStore I take advantage of your kindness: which soprano Martin do you recommend? S1 is mahogany, not koa, while K2 and k3 are much more expensive.

[@davescheer5038]

It would have been a bit more interesting if they all had the same strings , it gives them an more equal playing field , it would have shown which has the best tone do to sound box thicknesses,and build quality .

[@SouthernUkuleleStore]

I agree although being a shop; our hands are a bit tied. If you were to walk into a shop and compare these Ukes - this is what you would find and I don’t want to create a situation where I am misrepresenting the product that we sell by modifying them before the customer has even played them. Please Don’t think I don’t agree with your suggestion though - the Aquila’s don’t do much for a Kanile’a and the Kamaka strings don’t feel like the best fit for a Kamaka either🤦‍♂️ in my opinion.

[@davescheer5038]

Southern Ukulele Store , I thought that Kamaka was suppose to be top of the line and have been around the longest wouldn't they have done a strings test to find out what makes their product sound the best ? I'm sure it might be personal preference on certain models and size of the ukulele as as your not going to use the same strings on a tenor as you would a baritone ,but if the customer asked they might accommodate them.

[@SouthernUkuleleStore]

Dave Scheer The Black Nylon strings are the traditional sounding option and Kamaka are very much the traditional brand so I think that’s the logic behind it. Certain models like the Ohta San we had recently used different strings...

[@gailcosby1882]

I prefer the KoAloha.

[@queentatonka]

What kind of strings are they all strung with?

[@SouthernUkuleleStore]

That will always be in the listings... Kamaka use their own black nylon strings KoAloha use Worth Clears Kanile'a use Aquila super nylgut Martin use their own M620 Fluorocarbon strings

[@phenixreturns]

the MARTIN C1K SEEMS TO BE A NEW ONE TO BUY

[@SouthernUkuleleStore]

They have been making it for about 20 years my friend. Glad you like it

[@phenixreturns]

@@SouthernUkuleleStore ok !

[@liannejohnson5491]

I just noticed in this one that you are a lefty...amazing that you can play upside down lol. Do you do always play that way, or change it up on your own instruments? Great comparison! Some day, a solid koa for me... lol

[@SouthernUkuleleStore]

I only play upside down to demonstrate them. I usually play left handed with the strings switched to accommodate my playing. Get saving for that solid Koa. I can’t imagine you will regret it!

[@dwnthk]

For a beginner like me, they all sounds the same. What song were you playing?

[@SouthernUkuleleStore]

What a wonderful world.

[@drbolz]

i´m going to get myself a martin as soon as i have the money. there is something like an inner voice telling me to do so.

[@christinamarcet1780]

I hate to say it but the way you played them, none of them stood out to me as distinctive or special compared to the others. Maybe it would be better to do a comparison by playing arpeggios? Less chording? Maybe throw in $150 ukulele to compare that sound as well so you can see how the high-end prices are justified?

[@SouthernUkuleleStore]

Fair enough I guess - when I strum people comment I should pick and when I pick people comment I should strum. I'd be willing to bet each of these Ukuleles feature elsewhere on the channel being played a different way each time in an effort to please every kind of enquiry we get. If you look at our channel there are over 60 other comparison videos that don't look specifically at Hawaiian Koa and these almost always cover prices starting at the beginners end. I see where you are coming from but this video specifically looks at solid Hawaiian Koa so a $150 option doesn't exist.

[@dapencilshinobi]

Yuka-lelee. LoL yikes. UKU LE LE

[@SouthernUkuleleStore]

In other videos I talk about how I pronounce it wrong even after 10 years... Let's all just try and laugh about it 😂 then move on.

[@startreker8591]

In the hand of a crappy player each one sounded badly. Fire him! lol

[@SouthernUkuleleStore]

Israel Antonio um, yeh thanks for that Israel!