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Anyone familiar with the Ohana catalog will notice that we offer a number of all solid mahogany and premium mahogany models. Some folks might even think we have a little too much mahogany— but they’d be wrong! Mahogany is a beautiful and responsive wood, prized for its unique and wondrous attributes as a material for building acoustic instruments.
Mahogany is described by most builders as having a warm, dark, and defined tone with a ‘woody’ sound. Good mid-range tones with plenty of punch and excellent balance are part and parcel of instruments built from this species. The smaller body and scale length of a ukulele provide an inherently lighter and brighter sound— it can be tough to get dramatic, moodier dark tones out of these resolutely happy instruments. As mahogany instruments mature, they open up and allow for more colorful, overtone-rich sound, aging like a fine wine and developing more character as they are played.
It is one of the only wood types appropriate for making every part of the uke. Bracing, soundboards, necks— marvelous mahogany can do it all! Part of mahogany’s magic lies in its grain. Dense mahogany has less space in its grain than cedar or spruce, lending a clarity to its sound. It bends without breaking for side treatments and bracings. Mahogany is suitable for inlays and binding, body and neck - one of the easiest woods to work with in building.
At Ohana, you’ll find 3 differentiations to the mahogany we use. 1) Laminate, in our entry and student models, and as the back and sides in several of our Solid Top Series. 2) Solid Mahogany, doing the heavy lifting in our core -35/35G line, as well as our more unique models— like the SK-30M/L and SKB-35. 3) Premium Mahogany is used in our Vintage Line; this specialty preparation allows the wood (and instrument being built) to be lighter and more resonant.
Whether you pick a student model, something inspired by ukuleles of yore, or one of our specialty models, rest assured that each and every instrument we ship from Ohana HQ is first set up by a trained technician. Our goal is to provide quality instruments that encourage everyone to create and enjoy music. Try an Ohana uke today, and find out why our fans all say “I love my Ohana!”
