66 – Is It The Shape?

In this post: Ohana Vita CKP-70

Note: If you are new to the ukulele, I suggest you read the posts in the order in which they are numbered.

I have to admit I love the vita (aka teardrop or pear) ukulele shape. I’ve been tempted to get a vita uke for quite awhile and recently decided to go for it. I bought the Ohana CKP-70 concert vita with solid spruce top and mahogany sides and back. It’s every bit as good sounding as advertised. To be fair, I don’t have much to compare it with other than my standard shape concert by Oscar Schmidt and a banjo uke by Waverly Street Design. It’s impossible to compare a banjo uke with any standard uke, so that leaves me with my Oscar Schmidt OU2 concert and the various instruments I’ve plucked at the local music store. Still, for me the Ohana is a definite winner by it’s clear, pleasant, strong sound. It also has a great finish, though I worry less about that than I do sound quality. Mine has a slight blemish in the spruce coloration, which led to a nice discount.




What intrigues me is the shape. It was first made famous by legendary guitar/uke player Roy Smeck, whose name appears on the design marketed by Wonder. Is there something inherent in the vita shape that produces these great sound qualities? If so, why aren’t all ukes shaped this way? Also, why doesn’t Ohana make them in anything but concert size? If anyone out there has answers or even theories, I’d be interested to know them.

Before any sharp-eyed observer asks, the Ohana vita is listed and model-numbered as a concert instrument (i.e., the C in the model number makes it a concert instrument), but it only has 12 frets like a soprano instrument. I don’t know why the discrepancy, although it may be the shape gives the body a concert size sound while limiting the length of the fret board to that of a soprano. I don’t really know, but the fret board length does explain why some sellers like Elderly Instruments list it as a soprano.

Later,
-- Al