UKULELE REVIEW SK-350G Ohana Soprano Solid Hawaiian Koa Wood Uke

OHANA SK-350G SOPRANO UKULELE LIMITED EDITION.

Sadly the Ship Has Sailed on this Limited Edition Ohana .. no more are left in Australia.

The top of the range Ohana SK-350G is from Ohana Ukuleles 'Limited Edition' range of ukuleles, and what a truly awesome instrument it is.

SPECIFICATIONS
Solid koa top, back & sides
Abalone inlay, top, rosette & head
Rosewood fingerboard & bridge
Mahogany binding / headstock overlay
Premium geared tuners
Aquila strings
Bone nut & saddle
Gloss finish

Construction.
Beautiful hand-detailing makes it a knock-out  looker, and as with all Ohana ukuleles they are hand-crafted. All solid Top, back and sides of select Hawaiian Islands Koa wood with a 15 fret rosewood fingerboard and rosewood bridge.   Mahogany neck with koa headstock overlay. Abalone inlay, bound body, glossy finish, deluxetuners and Aquila strings.

The Abalone Inlays and Rosette wont improve the sound, but it does give it that 'Wow Factor' when you take the ukulele out of its case.  It looks the business and a bit of bling never fails to impress your friends.

The Clear gloss finish has that "dipped in glass' quality, very shiny and quite hard to photograph.  Obviously lots of sanding and spraying involved to get such a high gloss finish.

This Ukulele looks so good with its wonderful honey hued figured Hawaiian koa wood that you could hang it on the wall as a piece of art. Too good looking to hide in a case.


Woods.
Hawaiian Koa Back Sides and Top
This very beautiful wood comes exclusively from The Big Island of Hawaii, making supply very limited. Its weight varies somewhat from medium to heavy.  A tropical hardwood, koa's tone blends the midrange of mahogany with the top end of maple. Due to its density, a new koa instrument tends to start out sounding a little bright and tight, somewhat like maple. But the more a koa ukulele is played, the more the sound opens up, expanding the midrange and rewarding the player with a richer, sweeter, more resonant tone.

Anyone who has ever seen a nice piece of koa would be hard-pressed to deny its' stunning good-looks. Highly sought after because of its' beauty and tonal characteristics.

Rosewood Fingerboard
The most popular fingerboard wood!  Rosewood has the warm "rock-n-roll" tonality.  The warm tone is also a favourite amongst blues players. The feel is smooth and fast.

Neck Wood.
Mahogany is the neck wood most associated with Gibson guitars. Mahogany is known to provide the warmest, fattest tones. An open grain wood requiring more work in finishing to fill the open pores. The neck is very nicely shaped and fits in the left hand well.

Fretwork and Fingerboard feel.
Fretwork and fingerboard workmanship is immaculate and it plays smooth as butter.  The dark coloured rosewood board is smooth and tight grained and coupled with the smooth highly polished frets, make bending notes a breeze.  This Ukulele is as good for finger-style picking and lead work as it is for comping rhythm chords.

This one goes to 15 (frets)
Most Soprano ukuleles are fitted with just 12 frets (a one octave neck) or you can get 'long neck" Sopranos, but the long neck means larger fret spacing and the body to neck weight balance is drastically altered.  Long neck sopranos are an acquired taste.

This ukulele falls in-between these two types.  The OhanaSK-350G is fitted with an extended fretboard with 15 frets. Not a 'long neck" soprano as such, so the feel and balance of the instrument is still that 'small familiar soprano'. Its great to have the extra frets, when you are playing lead you need those extra frets!

Nut / Saddle material and workmanship.
The Nut and Bridge Saddle are of very traditional material, bone.  Bone is a hard material to work with, but it has that funky vintage look.  But bone must be cut cleanly to keep strings from binding in slots. Bone gives a sound that is bright, clear, and detailed. Not an easy material to work with, but well worth the effort, 'props' to the person who shaped and cut the nut.

Intonation.
I checked the intonation at the 12th fret and it is spot on. A pleasant surprise as proper intonation on the short scale soprano ukuleles can be problematic. Being such a small scale instrument any misplacement of nut/bridge/fret by even fractions of a millimetre can have a large effect on intonation.  Lets imagine the worker has a bad day and the bridge is glued on with a half a millimetre misplacement fault, this will have much less of an effect on a larger scale length tenor or Baritone Ukulele.  On a soprano the results are disastrous. The nut, bridge and frets are obviously all exactly in proper position.

A small detail to specify good quality tuners but very welcome.
Tuners are of a ratio that tuning is fast when restringing, but still smooth and accurate in fine tuning. Often a penny or two is saved in specifying cheaper tuners that are either too stiff or too slack.  Poor tuners are frustrating as they seem to jump from being either too flat or sharp.  The tuners fitted to the Ohana glide up to proper tune well, no fiddling back and forth. They are also of an interesting shape, very oval in length but not very wide, with gold coloured screws and metal enclosed body. From the rear they look modern, from the front the black buttons and gold grub screw look proper vintage.

Summary The SK-350G Soprano Ukulele:
A well-appointed 15 Fret Koa Soprano, nice sounding uke of fine craftsmanship, one to play, enjoy, and show off.  Plays as nice as it looks, sure to have the "Ahh and Drool" factor at your local Ukulele Club or on-stage at a gig.



ABOUT OHANA UKULELES
"Ohana translated from Hawaiian means "Family" and their ukuleles do embody that comfortable homely feel.  Ohana Ukuleles offer many models - from soprano to baritone, mahogany to selected koa from the islands of Hawaii, conventional to vintage models, plus unique ones for those who are looking for something different.

At Ohana Ukuleles their goal is to provide the highest quality hand-crafted ukulele at a reasonable price. Every ukulele that leaves the Ohana warehouse is carefully inspected and set up for maximum playability.

Yes that's right — EVERY UKULELE, regardless of model and price. Should musicians compromise on quality just because they need an entry-level ukulele? Ohana don't think they should.

Ohana Ukuleles believe in the basic concepts of QUALITY, PLAYABILITY, and VALUE. As a player you deserve each of these when you purchase a musical instrument.

Meanwhile, have fun, share the Aloha spirit with your loved ones, and Happy Strumming!"




Cheers CC.

Christopher Carr 

The Ukulele Trading Co Australia

Purveyors of Ukulele Workshops & Private Lessons + Fine New and Used Ukuleles.

Want the Mobile "Popup" Music Store at your Business, Corporate or Community Event?

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Phone 0432 306 920

Is a Factory Ukulele Set-up Good enough? WHAT... Don't you want an easy playing Ukulele?

People buy ukuleles and often don't realise that their ukulele could be so much easier and more enjoyable to play.

Mass produced ukuleles come with "factory settings".
Factory built Ukuleles (all instruments really) are set-up to get out the factory door quickly.  Time is money in production and they just don't have the time to invest in making every ukulele play to its best, or set it up to suit each player individual buyer.

So Factories err on the side of high-action (strings are high over the fretboard) to get as many units out the door as possible.

Good Brand Vs Poor Brand

Some factories do take more care and attention to developing a good set of factory settings, instating several Quality Checking stages along the process.  This is what separates the Good Brands from the Poor Brands. To me a Good Brand  takes pride in its reputation, and strives to produce the best product it can.

Factory Set-up Vs Final Set-up.
General rule of thumb for the Musical Instruments Industry is that it's expected that the final check, and if required, set-up will be performed by the shop that sells the instrument.

This actually makes sense, the ukulele has to travel internationally long distances and humidity, temperature changes and shipping handling takes its toll.  Plus it is the retailer who is dealing with the customer and they get the final say.  Some players like low actions for easy play and can put up with a little rattle and buzz, some want higher actions for maximum volume, some players like low G strings, some are left-handed.  So yes it makes sense that the retailer does the final set-up.

Time is Money for the Retailer too, and profit margins are Thin.
The problem for the retailer is that Time is Money too!  Sometimes they sell a ukulele straight out of the box with no set-up, other retailers will do a personalised set-up if you ask them politely  (don't be a demanding dick, retailers have feelings too OK), some will charge you for the set-up, especially for the cheaper end ukuleles.

All Ukuleles can benefit, but you must understand the retailers position, they just cannot afford to spend an hour of set-up time on a $40 ukulele.

Play Testing and Checking Before Sale.
Pre Sale at minimum all Ukuleles should be tuned up and checked for playability, intonation, buzz and rattles. If the ukulele is found to be substandard and fails this basic test, then the unit should go back to the wholesaler for a replacement.

No Check = Problems
Problems occur where this checking/rectification step is skipped and a box is simply plucked off a shelf and sold, who would like to open a box to find a lemon? Not me and Not you!

The Set-Up Process.
You can feel the difference between a non-set up uke and a uke that has been through a Set -Up Process. Tuners are checked and adjusted, the Nut and Bridge is checked and adjusted if required. Neck, Fingerboard and Frets are checked with a straight edge and play tested for low / high frets that give 'Buzz".

Where required frets are levelled, re-crowned and polished. The fingerboard is given a protective conditioning with lemon oil.  You ukulele is strung up the way you want it and play checked again.

If you need a uke set-up Low G, or Lefty, let me know.
Cheers CC

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MANY MORE Ukuleles, Strings, Tuners, Cases, Capos & Accessories in-stock.

I Carry a Huge Range of Kala & Ohana Ukuleles, Aquila & Worth Ukulele Strings.

Fancy Something Else?

Please Contact me and I can arrange to make it happen.
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The Kala Resonators are in-stock at The Ukulele Trading Co Australia.

The Kala Resonators are in-stock at The Ukulele Trading Co Australia.

The Tenor Resos are $425 with Hardcase, and the Concert is $395 with Hardcase.

Of Course tell me you belong to a Ukulele club, any club, and Claim Your 10% Discount Off The Rec Retails.

Plus Every Ukulele is Setup by me prior to delivery.

I ship Australia Wide too ;-)

Cheers CC

Kala Resonator Ukuleles from The Ukulele Trading Co Australia