Hawaiian Koa Grading with Kanileʻa Master Luthier, Joe Souza
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- Опубліковано 28 лип 2024
- The grading of Hawaiian Koa is a unique and specific task that we at Kanileʻa are very proud of keeping simple while ensuring that every grade we offer is of the highest quality.
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Aloha! Excellent explanation....
I have a kanile'a premium tenor that has so much curl it must have just missed being master grade by a hair. Truly beautiful.
Awesome video. Thank you for this
Thank you for all the information. Beautiful wood! beautiful ukuleles!
Nice video 🎶❤️
I love this presentation so much. Thank you for talking about Koa!!!
Proud to be a Kanile'a ukulele owner. It's inspiring to buy from a company that is environmentally conscious.
Great lesson
Nice video & so wonderfully explained! One question, how does curl grain and structural integrity translate to tonal quality? Can a piece with few curl but from an old tree have better tone than a master grade piece that is lesser in age?
I am glad you enjoyed the video. I want to first mention that correlating the aesthetic and integrity of wood to its sound is never always one certain way. While there are variants typically we see the tonal qualities differ the most when dealing with grain and color which are correlated with the soil and elevation. This leads to whether the piece of wood has greater elasticity, and with greater elasticity you can achieve a wider sound profile.
Great video. Thanks for your detailed explanation. It is good to understand Koa wood more. Much appreciated. I'm happy to hear Kanile'a plants a new Koa tree for each ukulele made.
I still have moms koa wood bowls from early 50's, still beautiful
That was really cool!
What a wonderful video. Thank you so much for the educational opportunity. Each point you made answered a question in my mind that I've had for years. The quality and SOUND of your Ukes is exactly what I love. I now own (blush) 5 Kanilea Ukes. Please keep up the great work!
Wow! 5?! That is incredible. Thank you so much for the amazing support!
Mahalo. Very nice.
It’s a shame people just stripped the land of that beautiful wood. I’m getting my koa guitar soon and will help it sing as best I can and treat it with the upmost respect. Thanks for the video!❤️
My new 5-string tenor premium K-3 is arriving next week. I'm quite restlessly waiting for it.
Awesome stuff Joe.
Mahalo!
Aloha Joe and great job on the video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
👌
Aloha!!!
Aloha!
You mention that you plant a Koa tree for each ukulele you build, and since I purchased one from you, a tree is being planted on my behalf! My question is, how long before that new plant can be harvested? And generally, how many ukuleles can be built from one adult tree?
Joe, Do you find that there is a difference in tone that correlates to the amount of curl in the Koa - one way or the other? Builders who use Spruce for guitar and 'ukulele tops always seem to want the straightest grained wood. Is there a particular Koa that makes the best top or does the hardness of Koa put it in a class of it's own? Would a 'ukulele with a straight grained Koa top actually have a purer tone? Have you ever combined a softer top like Redwood or Cedar with the harder back and sides of Koa?
Diane K.
Interesting I am wondering how long it takes for your new plantings to reach maturity
Koa trees maturity is typically around 80 years.
How many ukuleles can be built from one koa tree?
Do you note the grade of the Koa on your inside label? I have a Tenor with the the abalone island inlays that's really beautiful. I've noticed that the inside label says Model: ISL T MASTER. Does this mean it is Master grade Koa? It sure has a lot of curl. It was listed as Premium when I bought it. I really love it, plays, sounds, and looks amazing. It's my favorite uke.
Aloha, yes you are correct. The wood grade is denoted on the label... so you have a Master Grade set of Koa on your Islands Tenor model!
So to sum it up, Kanile'a has defined 4 tonewood grades, from plainest looking to most figured (and expensive) ones :
- select
- deluxe
- premium
- master grade
I suppose that this is mainly a cosmetic definition that has no influence on the acoustic qualities of a tonewood. We could even suspect that a plain regular "uninterestingly looking" wood would have better acoustic qualities due to its homogeneity, wouldn't it ? Just being mean with the master graders... lol.
Less than 50% planted Koa survive to maturity… Yu Beta Plant Mo den 1 Fo 1…!
Our planting has a 95% survival rate which is what sets us apart. Traditional methods were 50% or less. And in fact, we do more than 1 for 1. We have planted 31,025 trees in the past 5 years but only built about 12,500 ʻukuleles in that time. :)
@@KanileaUkuleleGood job! Would have loved to see what Hawaii looked like before all the development. Again, my congrats!