Twisted Wood Koa Concert Ukulele KO-1000C

The Twisted Wood Koa ukulele, like other Twisted Wood instruments, is designed and developed in Sturgeon County Alberta Canada, just north of Edmonton. Twisted Wood was founded in 2011 and focuses on Hawaiian style instruments – both Ukulele and Weissenborn guitars. The Twisted Wood Custom Shop and design efforts are located in Alberta, while the larger actual production is in China.

Here we have a Twisted Wood Koa Concert Ukulele. Built using solid Hawaiian Koa for the top, back and sides, the neck is Mahogany with Ebony used for the fingerboard and bridge. In a departure from traditional Ukulele construction, a pin-style bridge as found on steel string guitars is used. This type of bridge is much easier to restring than the tie-block type found on traditional Ukes, and on Classical and Flamenco nylon string guitars. You can either use ball-end nylon strings, or simply tie knots in an end of standard Nylon (Classical Guitar) strings. Tuners are quality open-gear models, installed to a slotted peghead. This style of head is used to decrease the actual angle of the head stock – which also reduces the stress on the wood at the nut. However, because the tuner posts are farther ‘down’ than on a solid peghead, downbearing at the nut is increased, with a corresponding increase in clarity, separation and sustain on the open strings.

This is a straightforward Ukulele, well built and the wood choices provide a full, rich tone with a RIchlite fingerboard and ebony bridge adding to clarity, separation and sustain.

Koa has been a common wood for Ukuleles since the early part of the 20th century. Based on instruments carried by Portuguese sailors (such as the Machete, cavaquinho and timple), the Ukulele first appeared in its current form around 1879. Immediately popular in Hawaii, native woods particularly Koa were the most common materials used for Hawaiian production. As production spread to other areas – such as California and the C F Martin shop in Nazareth, Pennsylvania – woods such as Mahogany became common.

A premium Gig Bag is included.