Anuenue Comparisons - Moon Birds and Koa Birds

[bbednarek]

December 2023, Matt from World of Ukes did a comparison of 5 aNueNue tenors

Sitka Spruce / Mahogany - UT100 Sitka Bird
South American Mahogany - UT110 Green Bird
Cedar / Rosewood - UT214 Cedar Bird
Moon Spruce / Rosewwod - UT200 Moon Bird
5A Grade Hawaiian Koa - UT5K Koa Bird

This is a great comparison - thanks for letting me know about it. I just wish I knew how the UT3K fits in sound wise. What did you think about the various models in the video?

 

[bbednarek]

I own both the Moon Bird and the Koa Bird, and both are great instruments. I've said multiple times on this forum that everything from this series punches above its price point.

The Moon Bird is louder and more "scooped" in sound. The highs are brilliant and the lows are boomy. the Koa Bird is a little quieter, but more balanced and "sweet" sounding.

Thanks! Between the two, which do you tend to gravitate to more?

 

[Arik]

I have the cedar bird (UT214) and the koa bird (UT3K). Both are strung with uke logic high tension with low g. I would say the cedar bird is a lot warmer with more low-end. The koa bird is more pronounced in the mids and has more clarity on the high end. Both are loud and have wonderful tones but very different sounds. I would say the UT3K sounds more balanced than the cedar bird. But I was looking for a lot of warmth and boomy low-end when I got the cedar bird.

I love both of them. They are 2 of my favorite ukes ever.

 

[KaminTheWeaver]

Thanks! Between the two, which do you tend to gravitate to more?

That's a tough call because both are different. I really like the Moon Bird when fingerpicking or when playing alongside an acoustic guitar because it punches through ever so slightly more. But all around, I'd probably gravitate towards Koa Bird. It has a full and balanced tone that I've really appreciated.

 

[wy_uke]

TUS did a comparison of the aNueNue tenors in the latest podcast. Starts at 36:40.

UT100 Sitka Spruce Mahogany tenor
UT200 Moon Spruce Rosewood tenor
UT214 Cedar Rosewood tenor
UT3K Koa tenor

 

[RafterGirl]

And to make things even more exciting, they now have the Lion Bird (LOUT) with a western red cedar top/koa back and sides. Not sure what I think about the orange pearl color of the top, but it sounds great.

aNueNue Cedar Koa "Lion" Bird Tenor (LOUT 1579)

This is a new bird model from aNueNue with a cedar top koa tenor! It sounds amazing and feels wonderful as well. Kalei gives us a sound sample and review. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe...

theukulelesite.com

 

[Contrails]

And to make things even more exciting, they now have the Lion Bird (LOUT) with a western red cedar top/koa back and sides. Not sure what I think about the orange pearl color of the top, but it sounds great.

aNueNue Cedar Koa "Lion" Bird Tenor (LOUT 1579)

This is a new bird model from aNueNue with a cedar top koa tenor! It sounds amazing and feels wonderful as well. Kalei gives us a sound sample and review. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe...

theukulelesite.com

I was at the ukulelesite the other day and tried out the LOUT. I think it’s the best of the lot imo. Not as bright as the moon birds. Cedar and Koa seems to pair very well. But it’s pricey. More pricey than some of the K brand models.

 

[bbednarek]

TUS did a comparison of the aNueNue tenors in the latest podcast. Starts at 36:40.

UT100 Sitka Spruce Mahogany tenor
UT200 Moon Spruce Rosewood tenor
UT214 Cedar Rosewood tenor
UT3K Koa tenor

Thank you very much for letting me know about this!

 

[bbednarek]

And to make things even more exciting, they now have the Lion Bird (LOUT) with a western red cedar top/koa back and sides. Not sure what I think about the orange pearl color of the top, but it sounds great.

aNueNue Cedar Koa "Lion" Bird Tenor (LOUT 1579)

This is a new bird model from aNueNue with a cedar top koa tenor! It sounds amazing and feels wonderful as well. Kalei gives us a sound sample and review. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe...

theukulelesite.com

I would have a difficult time buying one with that color, but if someone would give me one to play for a while, then definitely.

 

[RafterGirl]

I was at the ukulelesite the other day and tried out the LOUT. I think it’s the best of the lot imo. Not as bright as the moon birds. Cedar and Koa seems to pair very well. But it’s pricey. More pricey than some of the K brand models.

So you saw & played it in person? What did you think of the orange color? Subtle, acceptable, or too much? Their online info says it has a little sparkle in the finish.

 

[Veritas99]

So you saw & played it in person? What did you think of the orange color? Subtle, acceptable, or too much? Their online info says it has a little sparkle in the finish.

I've never played a Koa bird, but I have a Lion and the newer Black Whale and recently sold my wife's Moon bird tenor (which was replaced with a Hummingbird concert), so I've played quite a few of the aNueNue models.

As I've commented elsewhere, the Lion's color is not for everyone. Depending on the light, there are flecks under the gloss that will sparkle but they are generally not obvious when just hanging in my room under regular light. In terms of sound, I preferred the Lion to the Moon bird, which is why the Moon bird was the odd man out. Like Contrails said, the Lion is not as bright/punchy, but I prefer the well-rounded sound of the cedar/koa combo. I posted on the slight neck differences here: NUD: Anuenue LOUT Lion. My wife did a comparison of the Moon bird to Lion here, although I don't think the Lion's sound is completely accurate b/c she struggled to hold it without a strap while her Moon bird had one: Lion vs Moon bird

The Black Whale was a recent addition, and I owe the forum a NUD but haven't had the chance to play it enough. I will say that the whales on the fretboard throw me off slightly b/c they start at the 3rd fret and go to the 5th but the bulk of the body is in the 4th. There are side dots, but when moving back quickly from higher frets, I find myself sometimes on 4 instead of what I meant to go to b/c of the visual cue of the whale body. That's more on me than an indictment of the uke, but if you bounce between different ukes alot it can be an adjustment. Soundwise, it's a tougher comparison between the Lion and the Whale. In addition to having them strung differently right now (Lion is currently low G for an arrangement I'm working on), they sound somewhat similar to me. Perhaps a little more overtones and sound coming from the Whale, likely b/c its wood is stiffer (both have Uke Logic soft tension for A-C), but I need to play them both more.

Overall, I think the feel and sound of the Lion is better than more expensive ukes I own, and I always recommend it if a person can get past the color.

 

[Contrails]

So you saw & played it in person? What did you think of the orange color? Subtle, acceptable, or too much? Their online info says it has a little sparkle in the finish.

I don’t mind the orange colour. The bright sparkles are quite spaced out. I was expecting glitter types of bling but it wasn’t. When I held it to play a gentleman next to me commented that you won’t loose that uke when he saw the colour! . I prefer the slotted headstock. The moonbirds/cedar birds have gotoh UPTs and they are placed so closed together when you tune them your fingers tend to knock on the other ones.

 

[RafterGirl]

Thanks for the info and observations. I've always been a concert size player, but lately have been toying with the idea of a tenor. I tried a tenor years ago, when I first started playing, and found the reach a little hard for my fingers. Over the last couple years I've been playing up the neck more, and writing original chord melody pieces with more movement up the neck. Once I'm beyond the 7th fret, my fingering gets a little tight. I love my Moonbird concert, but I also love my Cocobolo concert with its 16 inch scale. It has the feel of a 15 inch concert scale with that extra inch of space for fingering. Just right. Thus my wondering if I should experiment with a tenor again????? In a perfect world, I'd get another custom 16 inch scale concert. There's an Ono on TUS right now, but the price is too steep for me. I'm super picky about neck shape (Pono to chunky, Loprinzi too flat). I don't like gloss necks, prefer a radius fret board, and want top and side fret markers. The Lion fits all those requirements...... but still a steep price for an "experiment."

 

[goldiver]

aNueNue's Koa line is interesting - I've tried the AKK3 (slightly thin sound), UTK1 (a little trebly) and UTK3 (lovely uke for sure, yet so many other options in this price-range have a little more projection / depth perhaps?) I love aNueNue as a brand but personally I favour their spruce, cedar, mahogany models, which I think work well with the brand's typical design- and build-style.

 

[simerix]

Does anyone have any experience with the UT100s? They seem like a better bang for your buck than the Moon Birds. I really with they had the standard aNueNue head stock and not the slotted one

 

[jopatm]

I also own a UT3K Koa Bird and a UT200 Moon Bird. UT3 low G and UT200 reentrant.
I just purchased an AKK3 from a woman whose husband unfortunately passed away. I'm anxiously awaiting its arrival from the West Coast.
Made in 2020, does anybody have opinions on the AKK3 as opposed to the AMM?

 

[Chadgillis]

The bird series and at least the AMM3 (not sure about the concert version) are basically boutique instruments made by a small luthier group within aNueNue production. I currently own the AMM3 and a sk3 (koa soprano) bird.

Both instruments are simply unmitigated pleasure; the AMM3 is warm and "moody" in low g tuning while the koa soprano bird is full and warmly rich, buttery smooth in sound and feel.

I’ve had both those ukes and loved the us3k. The sustain is incredible. Have a UT214 now and I love it. It’s different than a Big K Koa ukulele. More dynamic, I think but less overall sustain. Haven’t played a 200 though. I thought it would be too bright and went with cedar top. And I’ve grown used to the radius fretboard. Big aNueNue fan here.

 

[SkeeterAB]

And to make things even more exciting, they now have the Lion Bird (LOUT) with a western red cedar top/koa back and sides. Not sure what I think about the orange pearl color of the top, but it sounds great.

aNueNue Cedar Koa "Lion" Bird Tenor (LOUT 1579)

This is a new bird model from aNueNue with a cedar top koa tenor! It sounds amazing and feels wonderful as well. Kalei gives us a sound sample and review. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe...

theukulelesite.com

The orange color on the top totally hiding the wood grain is really going to be a turn off for many people. The rest of the ukulele looks great. It is a shame.

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

The orange color on the top totally hiding the wood grain is really going to be a turn off for many people. The rest of the ukulele looks great. It is a shame.

The lion was probably the first aNueNue instrument I'd ever seen, watching @bazmaz reviewing it a couple years ago. I was really taken by it's loud "pure" orange tone #ffa500. Not only bold in color but in shape and sound.

The lion has been a destination uke for me!

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

I've never played a Koa bird, but I have a Lion and the newer Black Whale and recently sold my wife's Moon bird tenor (which was replaced with a Hummingbird concert), so I've played quite a few of the aNueNue models.

As I've commented elsewhere, the Lion's color is not for everyone. Depending on the light, there are flecks under the gloss that will sparkle but they are generally not obvious when just hanging in my room under regular light. In terms of sound, I preferred the Lion to the Moon bird, which is why the Moon bird was the odd man out. Like Contrails said, the Lion is not as bright/punchy, but I prefer the well-rounded sound of the cedar/koa combo. I posted on the slight neck differences here: NUD: Anuenue LOUT Lion. My wife did a comparison of the Moon bird to Lion here, although I don't think the Lion's sound is completely accurate b/c she struggled to hold it without a strap while her Moon bird had one: Lion vs Moon bird

The Black Whale was a recent addition, and I owe the forum a NUD but haven't had the chance to play it enough. I will say that the whales on the fretboard throw me off slightly b/c they start at the 3rd fret and go to the 5th but the bulk of the body is in the 4th. There are side dots, but when moving back quickly from higher frets, I find myself sometimes on 4 instead of what I meant to go to b/c of the visual cue of the whale body. That's more on me than an indictment of the uke, but if you bounce between different ukes alot it can be an adjustment. Soundwise, it's a tougher comparison between the Lion and the Whale. In addition to having them strung differently right now (Lion is currently low G for an arrangement I'm working on), they sound somewhat similar to me. Perhaps a little more overtones and sound coming from the Whale, likely b/c its wood is stiffer (both have Uke Logic soft tension for A-C), but I need to play them both more.

Overall, I think the feel and sound of the Lion is better than more expensive ukes I own, and I always recommend it if a person can get past the color.

Black whale...definitely a beauty of a uke.