UkeSA Masterpiece Solid Koa Concert Sceptre Ukulele in Gigbag

Pops, founder of KoAloha, began making ukuleles in the early 90s by producing miniature ukuleles for Japanese tourists and this sceptre concert ukulele is one of his recent designs. His spirit for the unique and wonderful continues in the work his sons Paul and Alan do today at KoAloha and in his retirement years, we are absolutely delighted to be the first European dealer to stock his Pops Custom Ukuleles, also known as UkeSA.

Pops produces these ukuleles by himself from his home workshop in Hawaii and although some of them have arrived with minor cosmetic issues, it is a real treat to have a ukulele from the Grandfather of KoAloha. He is a true Hawaiian music legend and spiritually one of the people that truly embodies Aloha spirit. I found playing these ukuleles that they share the DNA of the current crop of Hawaiian made KoAlohas. The sound and look beautiful and unlike anything else on the planet and it's just extra special to be able to try these ukuleles and trace KoAloha back to the companies roots.

The sceptre concert ukulele model came about after a dream Pops had in 2006-2007. He produced the early sceptre prototypes in an attempt to recreate the ukulele that he had imagined and the model briefly became a custom order model with KoAloha in 2010-2013. The sceptre itself mirrors the famous 5 point crown on the KoAloha headstocks and although these ukuleles bear Pop's new custom label and spec; it is just lovely to see him making this model again after such a long period of them being out of production. Pops actually sold off his original mid 2000's prototypes back in 2018 when KoAloha completed their factory move to Kona street and this batch are among the only others to be produced since 2013.

These masterpiece ukuleles are fabulous and use especially gorgeous koa wood from Pop's private stash but they are not immune to small cosmetic flaws. Pops is producing them in a home workshop so they have a similar workshop rustic vibe to instruments like Ana'Ole, Sumi, Naturel or smaller custom shop builders. A certain element of Wabi-Sabi (loving them in part because of their imperfections) is advised if you are considering becoming a Pops Sceptre player.

Pictures show actual instrument.

Specification:
Solid Koa top, back and sides
382mm scale length
37mm nut width
Mahogany neck
Flamed maple headplate
Ebony fretboard and bridge
Maple fretboard inlays
Planetary geared tuners
Uke-Reka high G clear fluorocarbon strings
52mm body depth
28mm G to A string spacing
Satin finish
NuBone nut and saddle