Low G strings seem in generall dull compared to other strings. Apart from possibly being overbearing. If perhaps string makers spent more effort, I dunno, balancing the sound.
re: the low G thing, I think one of the best things about having multiple instruments in your collection is you can keep one with a low G or even keep some in different tunings (canadian D tuning or half step down). when I'm in the mood for low G, it's nice to be able to pick one up. quite the surprise from Ohana on this one. wow.
Thanks for doing this review. After watching Alex’s video i thought it was something special. This review really confirms it. Who would have thought Ohana would made anything that stunning to both look at and hear? It’s now on my wish list. And I know it’s probably not popular but I like the headstock. Hop you enjoyed the cricket or is it continued until tomorrow? Some day I’ll try to understand the rules. Lol.
It's not the colour as the bridge and fretboard is also black anyway but the shape of it for me. +1 to the clip on tuner resemblance. Not fully sold on the soundhole rosette either. For an instrument of that price, hypothetically, I could not buy it when the aesthetics don't work for me. At nearly 4k Australian dollars, no way.
new subscriber! I've built a few instruments and moving into Ukulele territory for my next project. Your reviews are amazing, man! I've skimmed your play testing and found SO MUCH helpful information about how the designs play into the sound. I can barely wait to see how everything turns out, and I'm only just starting the template drawings this evening haha :) but for real, your reviews are a treasure trove of information for someone who wants to make his best chance going into a project like making a ukulele
Well, if you had told me that Ohana was going to make a 2,000 quid ukulele, I would think you were pulling my leg. I also would have thought no way can they make one that is even close to be worth that much. Colour me impressed for sure! Great review, Baz!
I Baz- loved this review. When I was in the UK last week got to visit our friends at SUS. Great visit! In any event I ending up purchasing the Ohana . What a wonderful instrument. I confess I love the low g. Thanks for all you do.
What a stunner! I too am glad to see Ohana stepping up with this one. I agree it is not a strumming instrument. When you started your sound demo I felt assaulted by a barrage of mids, that I attributed to UA-cam compression that another UA-camr said affected certain guitar demos she did. The picking sounded very good. Expensive, perhaps, but I believe very good value for money.
What a beauty. Like everything except the sound hole decorations but that wouldn't prevent me from purchasing if I had the funds lying around. Love the head stock stopper and unique Ohana branding. Sounds great and the prive for a hand made instrument isn't to expensive for this quality made in the USA. Thanks for showing it. Love to see Ohana making great instruments.
Like most people I'm not a fan of that black area on the headstock but the rest of the instrument looks amazing, and seems to play and sound amazing as well.
Lordy, Thanks to Alex for sending for review. Looks a stunning Uke, sounds gorgeous. I do like the headstock, just something different. Well done for dipping their toe into top end. I agree with low G, great to have a low G but I wouldn’t play it as much as a high g. Lovely review.👍, have a great week.
I absolutely love this❤! I am not a low G person, but it does sound beautiful. I do like the logo a lot, and the bridge and fingerboard are also ebony. I know the Ohana logo looks darker, but I really like it. Way to go Ohana! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
I love Ohana Ukulele’s. I play a Ohana 35 Soprano and love it. That is a beautiful ukulele and worth every penny. I may never afford one lol but we can dream can’t we😂…. Great sound … excellent ukulele and review…. Thanks… DOC
Stunning and I like the logo it balances out with the ebony. Will never own one 😂due to price only.... I would love it. I own 2 Ohana ukes atm and I'm big fan as they never fail to impress me
I just LOVE your reviews. This is certainly a beautiful instrument but I agree that the logo is too much of an attention grabber. However, perhaps Ohana wants to “scream” out its name because it’s such a fabulous departure from their usual line and they want people to know immediately that it’s Ohana? Thanks for all your reviews.
All the features are top quality and a very fine build indeed. Beautiful wood. Would prefer if the logo was more traditional. Thought it had a nice resonant tone. Superb and very desirable instrument.
Indeed - I just prefer unwound strings - find the wound strings dominate the tone. Admittedly my clumsy playing doesn't help, but then I never play wound low G at home myself
@@GotAUkulele I agree on wound low G. I recently fitted Worth Brown low unwound G. Best tonal balance I've found so far. Great review, keep up the good work.
Great review. Really interesting this coming from Ohana. I like your idea of carrying these spec to their more inexpensive ukuleles. I love my cedar top Ohana !
It's a very nice instrument and worthy of the price I suppose but it's a big ask...ours instead of a Kanilea premium. I'm with you Baz on the more choices the better but that's a big hill to climb. Ohana might be better served to scale back on a few appointments and build something in that 1000.00 to 1500.00 price point. I'm sure they have taken a close look at Kala Elite so it must make sense from a business standpoint.
They have made some other customs at that price point too. This is far nicer than the Elites in my book which are more just regular Kala specs in nice woods made in USA. This is easily as good as anything I have played from Kanile'a
It sounds super, including the low G. I'm also with you: the logo area would be better if it was the same brown wood as the rosette. I am not sure about the market for an aspirational instrument made by a working-class brand like Ohana (and I mean that in a good way: theirs are working instruments meant to be played rather than admired). One last thing, and I hope you don't mind: I think you should take off your wedding ring when reviewing such nice ukes. Every time I hear it crash against the side (as it happens in most videos, including this one) it makes me shudder thinking it might scratch the finish.
hey! ive been watching a ton of your videos and i'm looking to learn the ukulele however there's so many options it's so difficult to choose! i was thinking about the vtab el-55d concert due to its affordable price and quality, however the Uma UK-05SC on worldofukes describes it as being incredibly good for someone starting new. what do you reckon would be the better option? are there any other ukuleles you'd recommend? thanks!
All my recommendations can be judged by the scores on the full review list. Anything above 8 out of 10 is worth looking at in some way. 8.5 and above are recommended. 9 or above are highly recommended
@@GotAUkulele thanks for getting back to me, ur review list is incredible, sadly didnt see anything for the uma uk-05sc so i think ill stick with the safer option and go for the vtab! :)
I have been wondering what the actual differences are between these companies. They look virtually identical and sound so very the same. I get confused. Good to watch your reviews.
@@GotAUkuleleAs a very beginner, I have not even been able to nail down a “grail” instrument. I appreciate art and quality and yet have not seen a “this is the one!”
The low G gives a guitar-oid sound--to match the guitar-oid price! My birthday is in about a month, just sayin'. Beautiful uke, though the black plate on the headstock made me think you'd already clipped on your tuner.
Flippin' ,eck, Paul. I haven't been tempted to buy a new uke for six or seven years and I didn't think that an Ohana would the brand that would lure me off the wagon. I have owned several Ohana's over the last fifteen or so years and they have all, eventually, fallen out of favour with me. This looks lie it could become an investment. One that people will not want to sell on but will increase in value eventually, although I suspect that the Ohana brand will hold it back - there's no snob like a music snob and there's no music snob like a ukulele snob. As for the low G, I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that this is a finger picking instrument and, for non Hawaiian style players, the low G is more intuitive. I can see why they have done it. I agree with you about the ebony backed logo on the headstock. It looks like the store sticker was left on and it jars with the overall look of the thing. I am not a fan of the Ohana and Mainland style hyper gloss finishes on ukuleles (I prefer a satin or matt finish) but that is a personal preference. Would it put me off buying this instrument if I had the disposable income to buy it? Not in the least. The sound is amazing and the entire build is worth the price tag, in my opinion. Thanks for the review, though. I really enjoyed it.
The Ohana logo in abalone looks like a satellite photo of a hurricane. You know me, I think tenors should be linear, and concerts and below should be re-entrant. I like it very much and shall admire it from afar.
I'm starting to save up. Was thinking of a Koaloha but now I don't know. Love it.
Also think of Kiwaya
I love the sound of the low-G. I think it's lovely, soulful but bright with the higher tones; a lovely combo.
Glad you like it!
Low G strings seem in generall dull compared to other strings. Apart from possibly being overbearing. If perhaps string makers spent more effort, I dunno, balancing the sound.
re: the low G thing, I think one of the best things about having multiple instruments in your collection is you can keep one with a low G or even keep some in different tunings (canadian D tuning or half step down). when I'm in the mood for low G, it's nice to be able to pick one up. quite the surprise from Ohana on this one. wow.
True enough - keep all mine high G though!
@@GotAUkulele true enough - keep all mine in low G though! 😅😅
Thanks for doing this review. After watching Alex’s video i thought it was something special. This review really confirms it. Who would have thought Ohana would made anything that stunning to both look at and hear? It’s now on my wish list. And I know it’s probably not popular but I like the headstock. Hop you enjoyed the cricket or is it continued until tomorrow? Some day I’ll try to understand the rules. Lol.
Cricket finished that day - could have been another day, but the innings were concluded
Sometimes I like to see wood like this in a matt finish, in the right setting it really enhances the grain. nice one as always sir
Thank you! Cheers!
Unpopular opinion, but I actually really like the black logo. 🤷🏻♂️
As I said in the vid - VERY subjective view from me - totally understand how others would like it
I don't hate it but I definitely thought it was a clip on tuner.
I personally dislike it
@@rehamkcirtap You're not the first to say that!
It's not the colour as the bridge and fretboard is also black anyway but the shape of it for me. +1 to the clip on tuner resemblance. Not fully sold on the soundhole rosette either. For an instrument of that price, hypothetically, I could not buy it when the aesthetics don't work for me. At nearly 4k Australian dollars, no way.
When I see a smile on your face when the video starts, I know it's going to be good :)
Ha ha - is it that obvious?
new subscriber! I've built a few instruments and moving into Ukulele territory for my next project. Your reviews are amazing, man! I've skimmed your play testing and found SO MUCH helpful information about how the designs play into the sound. I can barely wait to see how everything turns out, and I'm only just starting the template drawings this evening haha :) but for real, your reviews are a treasure trove of information for someone who wants to make his best chance going into a project like making a ukulele
Thank you!
Well, if you had told me that Ohana was going to make a 2,000 quid ukulele, I would think you were pulling my leg. I also would have thought no way can they make one that is even close to be worth that much. Colour me impressed for sure! Great review, Baz!
When SUS told me, I couldn't quite believe it myself!
That tone is like butter.
It is - very laid back yet rich
I Baz- loved this review. When I was in the UK last week got to visit our friends at SUS. Great visit! In any event I ending up purchasing the Ohana . What a wonderful instrument. I confess I love the low g. Thanks for all you do.
Thanks Denise!!
I love Ohana. This looks awesome 🤩
Very!
Thanks!
Thanks so much!
I am stunned, but not surprised. I mean, an Ohana is an Ohana, and that says it all.
Thanks a lot for the review!! ❤️
Oh, and I LOVE the headstock!
What a stunner! I too am glad to see Ohana stepping up with this one. I agree it is not a strumming instrument. When you started your sound demo I felt assaulted by a barrage of mids, that I attributed to UA-cam compression that another UA-camr said affected certain guitar demos she did. The picking sounded very good. Expensive, perhaps, but I believe very good value for money.
What a beauty. Like everything except the sound hole decorations but that wouldn't prevent me from purchasing if I had the funds lying around. Love the head stock stopper and unique Ohana branding. Sounds great and the prive for a hand made instrument isn't to expensive for this quality made in the USA. Thanks for showing it. Love to see Ohana making great instruments.
It really does have that wow factor both in looks and sound.
Indeed
Lovely sound thanks Barry wonderful.
Glad you enjoyed it
Nice to see an Ohana again. Used to have one many moons ago. Used to see them around a lot more many moons ago.
Been around me all my uke life - have owned several myself. Then got a bit bored with them. Hard to be bored with this though!
Wow 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 they killed it😊😊😊
I love this although I always want a baritone. Imo Ohana‘s last WOW moment was their awesome “bass ukulele”. I’m glad they have their mojo back. ❤
Me too.
Like most people I'm not a fan of that black area on the headstock but the rest of the instrument looks amazing, and seems to play and sound amazing as well.
it's a dream!
Stunning instrument. Well done, Baz!
Glad you like it!
Beautiful Ukulele, and I really like the logo detail.
Thank you very much!
Lordy, Thanks to Alex for sending for review. Looks a stunning Uke, sounds gorgeous. I do like the headstock, just something different. Well done for dipping their toe into top end. I agree with low G, great to have a low G but I wouldn’t play it as much as a high g. Lovely review.👍, have a great week.
My pleasure!
Always enjoy your reviews. Very unique looking instrument! Totally agree with you on the low G thing...
Thanks!
I absolutely love this❤! I am not a low G person, but it does sound beautiful. I do like the logo a lot, and the bridge and fingerboard are also ebony. I know the Ohana logo looks darker, but I really like it. Way to go Ohana! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
You watch cricket, we watch baseball ⚾️. Enjoy!
Glad you like it!
I love Ohana Ukulele’s. I play a Ohana 35 Soprano and love it. That is a beautiful ukulele and worth every penny. I may never afford one lol but we can dream can’t we😂…. Great sound … excellent ukulele and review…. Thanks… DOC
I totally agree!
WOW! magnificent instrument ✨
the black corner on the headstöck doesn‘t fly w\ me either. pricing is fair game!
Yup..
Good see a brand do something out of their comfort level time will tell
Agreed - I think they have invested a lot into this concept so hope to see more.
Stunning and I like the logo it balances out with the ebony. Will never own one 😂due to price only.... I would love it. I own 2 Ohana ukes atm and I'm big fan as they never fail to impress me
Fair enough!
I just LOVE your reviews. This is certainly a beautiful instrument but I agree that the logo is too much of an attention grabber. However, perhaps Ohana wants to “scream” out its name because it’s such a fabulous departure from their usual line and they want people to know immediately that it’s Ohana? Thanks for all your reviews.
Perhaps - thanks for kind words!
Beautiful though I dont know about the headstock. It looks like an afterthought. The wood looks fantastic and the finish matches it. Beautiful
Agreed!
All the features are top quality and a very fine build indeed. Beautiful wood. Would prefer if the logo was more traditional. Thought it had a nice resonant tone. Superb and very desirable instrument.
Agree on all fronts!
Low G, great for finger picking melodies.
Indeed - I just prefer unwound strings - find the wound strings dominate the tone. Admittedly my clumsy playing doesn't help, but then I never play wound low G at home myself
@@GotAUkulele I agree on wound low G. I recently fitted Worth Brown low unwound G. Best tonal balance I've found so far. Great review, keep up the good work.
@@gerrydavies8034 Thanks Gerry
Great review. Really interesting this coming from Ohana. I like your idea of carrying these spec to their more inexpensive ukuleles. I love my cedar top Ohana !
It's a very nice instrument and worthy of the price I suppose but it's a big ask...ours instead of a Kanilea premium. I'm with you Baz on the more choices the better but that's a big hill to climb. Ohana might be better served to scale back on a few appointments and build something in that 1000.00 to 1500.00 price point. I'm sure they have taken a close look at Kala Elite so it must make sense from a business standpoint.
They have made some other customs at that price point too. This is far nicer than the Elites in my book which are more just regular Kala specs in nice woods made in USA.
This is easily as good as anything I have played from Kanile'a
@@GotAUkulele Great reply...thank you!
Wow! That's saying something.
It sounds super, including the low G. I'm also with you: the logo area would be better if it was the same brown wood as the rosette.
I am not sure about the market for an aspirational instrument made by a working-class brand like Ohana (and I mean that in a good way: theirs are working instruments meant to be played rather than admired).
One last thing, and I hope you don't mind: I think you should take off your wedding ring when reviewing such nice ukes. Every time I hear it crash against the side (as it happens in most videos, including this one) it makes me shudder thinking it might scratch the finish.
Never scratched a loan instrument in 15 years of doing this
hey! ive been watching a ton of your videos and i'm looking to learn the ukulele however there's so many options it's so difficult to choose! i was thinking about the vtab el-55d concert due to its affordable price and quality, however the Uma UK-05SC on worldofukes describes it as being incredibly good for someone starting new. what do you reckon would be the better option? are there any other ukuleles you'd recommend? thanks!
All my recommendations can be judged by the scores on the full review list. Anything above 8 out of 10 is worth looking at in some way. 8.5 and above are recommended. 9 or above are highly recommended
@@GotAUkulele thanks for getting back to me, ur review list is incredible, sadly didnt see anything for the uma uk-05sc so i think ill stick with the safer option and go for the vtab! :)
I have been wondering what the actual differences are between these companies. They look virtually identical and sound so very the same. I get confused. Good to watch your reviews.
I've said the same - this one though - could not be more different for Ohana!
@@GotAUkuleleAs a very beginner, I have not even been able to nail down a “grail” instrument. I appreciate art and quality and yet have not seen a “this is the one!”
The low G gives a guitar-oid sound--to match the guitar-oid price! My birthday is in about a month, just sayin'. Beautiful uke, though the black plate on the headstock made me think you'd already clipped on your tuner.
Nice depth to the tone, you need to keep that one for yourself LOL
I wish!
Flippin' ,eck, Paul. I haven't been tempted to buy a new uke for six or seven years and I didn't think that an Ohana would the brand that would lure me off the wagon. I have owned several Ohana's over the last fifteen or so years and they have all, eventually, fallen out of favour with me. This looks lie it could become an investment. One that people will not want to sell on but will increase in value eventually, although I suspect that the Ohana brand will hold it back - there's no snob like a music snob and there's no music snob like a ukulele snob.
As for the low G, I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that this is a finger picking instrument and, for non Hawaiian style players, the low G is more intuitive. I can see why they have done it.
I agree with you about the ebony backed logo on the headstock. It looks like the store sticker was left on and it jars with the overall look of the thing. I am not a fan of the Ohana and Mainland style hyper gloss finishes on ukuleles (I prefer a satin or matt finish) but that is a personal preference. Would it put me off buying this instrument if I had the disposable income to buy it? Not in the least. The sound is amazing and the entire build is worth the price tag, in my opinion.
Thanks for the review, though. I really enjoyed it.
When SUS told me about this one I couldn't quite believe it myself. Very clever move from Louis!
Hope you are well!
The Ohana logo in abalone looks like a satellite photo of a hurricane. You know me, I think tenors should be linear, and concerts and below should be re-entrant. I like it very much and shall admire it from afar.
Mim is getting these in I believe!
Do not like the black logo. It is ugly. The audience would think it is a tuner on the headstock. Oh, well. From : Tucson Ukulele Lady. 🌵
I get that