Since 1995 when my wife and I started KoAloha Ukulele, it was general knowledge that
koa wood was very expensive because it was regarded as a hardwood that wasn’t
readily available and plentiful. Even knowing this fact, I went ahead and started the prototyping process because I loved the beautiful grain and endless variety of wood
colors that made Koa so attractive and desirable as furniture and other products. I
n fact, the premier ukulele company used only koa wood to establish itself as
Hawaii’s oldest and most reputable ukulele-producing company with a rich history of
over one hundred years. So without any hesitation, I jumped in and started to make
some prototypes. To my absolute delight, the sound that koa wood produced was so
beautiful that I was hypnotized. I loved koa wood so much that in searching for a company name, I was determined to have the name of the wood as part of the name.
In short, my love ( aloha) for koa wood was put together to form one word which became the name of our ukulele company called KoAloha.
Because I was always aware of the scarcity of koa, I made the decision to experiment
and seek out another more plentifully available wood and came across the combination
of Engelman spruce and select Pine. I was surprised to find that this combination produced such an excellent sound that pleased my oboist ears ( retired as a professional oboist) and could produce this in plentiful quantity because of its lower
price per board foot. However, since KoAloha had built its reputation on utilizing koa
wood, I made the decision to start another ukulele company called UkeSA Hawaii.
With Ukesa Hawaii, I was free to introduce original ukulele designs and utilize hardwoods
that were readily available and economical. Thus the concept for the Wow ukulele was
born. In addition this model, another spinoff version equipped with a cutaway was introduced called the H.U.I. ( Hawaii’s Ukulele Islands ).
This new ukulele company has already been actively busy since 2015 and is keeping this ole’ ukulele maker very busy
and most of all, enjoy the absolute freedom to experiment with original designs along
with discovering new acoustic wonders.
So please stay tuned because you never know
what new and exciting ukulele Pops will be introducing in the future.
So much for a brief history and mahalo for your continued interest in staying abreast
of what Pops will be introducing as fresh ideas just pop into Pop’s creative mind.
All my Aloha,
Pops KoAloha
J.M. Paterno (verified owner) –
Another absolute winner from Pops!
Super-light build, extremely resonant, with a wonderful, clear tone. A cannon if you really get after it, or a delicate, sweet-sounding gem for those softly strummed jazz tunes.
The comfort and playability of this one is like no other ukulele I’ve owned — feels like you could play for hours and hours and hours.
A side sound port and Gotoh UPT tuners are great additions, and are the icing on the cake of what is just a wonderful ukulele…
Ed Fiscella –
Mahalo for the great review, Jonas. You pretty much captured what Pops has discovered with his Wow ukulele creation, that he calls his “Stradivarius,” even though it sells for a relatively low price. Pops and I were talking about the exceptional quality of the Wow and he responded in email saying, “…my endless quest is to continue to maintain the highest standard of acoustic qualities that my ears can perceive with each and every ukulele I handcraft. It does not matter whether it’s a “cheap” or custom model because acoustic excellence is a must. In this regard, every ukulele must be acoustically sound.” Your review backs up that impression. We are happy that you are enjoying this Wow Ukulele. Have a happy holiiday.