[Paraclete]

Honestly, when it comes to Koa, or any wood for that matter, it depends on the quality of the wood and the luthier. I’ve played Koa ukes that were very ordinary and paled in comparison to a Moore Bettah in 4A master grade Koa. I had a solid acacia uke that was horrible in comparison to a basic laminate Kala. You really have to sit down and play. I prefer all solid Koa. Mahogany is decent too, depending on the make.

And strings do make a difference. For example, nylgut Aquilas were horribly bright and loud and kind of mushy sounding on my soprano Keli’i. Brown tenor Worths gave it a crisper, woodier sound...that particular uke, by the way is solid koa top, mahogany back and sides.

One more thing.... beware of ukes advertised as “Koa acacia” as many of them particularly if they are coming out of anywhere but Hawai’i are actually not Koa but a different type of acacia. Botanically close, but not the same.