The Ohana TK-370G is a tenor ukulele made from all solid koa from Hawaii. It’s also, for a uke made from this material, impressively priced - particularly a the koa used is very attractive. When you factor in the fact it has a hard case too, the deal keeps getting better.

I have to admit when this first came in it took me a while to try it. I thought it would be nice, don’t get me wrong, but with a busy schedule it didn’t make it to the top of my to-do list for a few weeks. I figured it would be worthwhile as a relatively affordable koa uke (in a field that’s quite expensive, hence the ‘relatively’ in that sentence). When I DID try it, I wished I’d done it sooner. Had I known how nice it was I’d have been waiting on the street outside the store waiting to accost the delivery driver as soon as his van came into view.

The TK-370G from Ohana is not simply an affordable all solid koa option. It is an excellent instrument with a really lovely sound that stacks up well with alternatives as significantly higher prices. The wood used is nice and thin, making the sound vibrant and lively. Koa is dense, and takes quite a bit of energy to make the top vibrate, so that lightness is a key factor in this impressive tone. It shines and shimmers, carries melodies well, produces nice clear tones when picked and a harmonically rich shimmer when strummed. It is very impressive.

I have asked Ohana from time to time if they’ll swap the regular Aquila strings for fluorocarbon, and they’ve done that hear, and that aids the brightness and sustain.

Wow, I’ve gone on and on about the sound and not mentioned the looks yet, with abalone inlaid details, and pretty songbird inlays in place of traditional position markers on the neck. It has a standard 35mm nut width and a good quality Ohana hard case, as well as premium geared tuners with a smooth action and nice petite black buttons.

I know full well this is still a lot of money, so when I use terms like ‘affordable’, I very much mean in the context of the Hawaiian koa tenor ukulele market. Koa is nice, but not magic, so you don’t have to have one in your collection on an aspirational level. But simply put, if you got one of these you’d have a uke that looks good, sounds great and happens to be made of an attractive tonewood from the ukulele’s spiritual home.

For common accessories and customisations (like strap buttons / low G fitting) scroll down to the bottom of the page where you'll be able to add these common items to your basket.

For a video demo of the Ohana TK-370G tenor ukulele, click additional info below.