Lapyang
Well-known member
Hi UU friends,
I am relatively new to the UU forum, I have posted a few topics and have been amazed by the wealth of info and knowledges the members provided. I am really not too good with the technical stuff but I do have some opinions about how an uke sounds and feels. So here is my contribution to the forum.
I bought a Kala Waterman Concert Green, KA-CWB-GN, from Elderly's about 3 months ago. Elderly's has been doing a good job with their set-up, although I wonder if there is any set-up to be done on a plastic ukulele...
Right out the box, this uke felt heavy and solid. It seemed to be able to take some beatings. (I have no plan to abuse it.) I believe it comes with Aquila strings. The sound of it was duller than I expect, having heard the soprano counterpart. I know it is a polycarbonate (plastic) uke, so it should not "open up" with time, but I was thinking, "Heck, lets give it some time and see if it changes." After 6 weeks, it was still pretty dull and muffed, so I decided to change the strings to fluorocarbon (Martin strings, cheap enough for a plastic uke). Wow, it made a significant difference. It sounded much brighter and decent enough that I have been picking it up more often. It could also be a personal preference. I have always like the brighter tone of fluorocarbon strings.
The uke has a pretty big body, similar in size to my Kanile'a concert. Much bigger than my LoPrinzi Concert. The nut width is just a hair less than 1 3/8 in. Then scale length is little less than 15 1/4 in. Action is nicely low, not quite but almost causing buzzing, only if you really go crazy when you pluck. Decent sustain. The most impressive part is the intonation, it is spot on accurate all the way to the 18th fret! Amazing! Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about some of my other more expensive ukes...
The best part of this (or any other plastic) uke is that it is care free. Not that I want to be a slob when it comes to my ukes, but I am pretty anal about not scratching or dinging them and I believe it takes away some of the joy of ukulele playing in general. I sometimes would like to lay on the couch and play and sip wine and fall asleep right there. With my other ukes, I alway have to drag my sleepy bottom off the couch and carefully put them back in the cases, with the humidifiers, then back in the room where all the other uses are stored... It is just plain tedious. With this waterman, I just let it lay on my chest or put it down on the floor and close my eyes...relax...nice...
I have traveled with it once and did not get paranoid with it being it the car with the heat or being stolen.
All in all, I am pleased with this Waterman Concert.
I am relatively new to the UU forum, I have posted a few topics and have been amazed by the wealth of info and knowledges the members provided. I am really not too good with the technical stuff but I do have some opinions about how an uke sounds and feels. So here is my contribution to the forum.
I bought a Kala Waterman Concert Green, KA-CWB-GN, from Elderly's about 3 months ago. Elderly's has been doing a good job with their set-up, although I wonder if there is any set-up to be done on a plastic ukulele...
Right out the box, this uke felt heavy and solid. It seemed to be able to take some beatings. (I have no plan to abuse it.) I believe it comes with Aquila strings. The sound of it was duller than I expect, having heard the soprano counterpart. I know it is a polycarbonate (plastic) uke, so it should not "open up" with time, but I was thinking, "Heck, lets give it some time and see if it changes." After 6 weeks, it was still pretty dull and muffed, so I decided to change the strings to fluorocarbon (Martin strings, cheap enough for a plastic uke). Wow, it made a significant difference. It sounded much brighter and decent enough that I have been picking it up more often. It could also be a personal preference. I have always like the brighter tone of fluorocarbon strings.
The uke has a pretty big body, similar in size to my Kanile'a concert. Much bigger than my LoPrinzi Concert. The nut width is just a hair less than 1 3/8 in. Then scale length is little less than 15 1/4 in. Action is nicely low, not quite but almost causing buzzing, only if you really go crazy when you pluck. Decent sustain. The most impressive part is the intonation, it is spot on accurate all the way to the 18th fret! Amazing! Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about some of my other more expensive ukes...
The best part of this (or any other plastic) uke is that it is care free. Not that I want to be a slob when it comes to my ukes, but I am pretty anal about not scratching or dinging them and I believe it takes away some of the joy of ukulele playing in general. I sometimes would like to lay on the couch and play and sip wine and fall asleep right there. With my other ukes, I alway have to drag my sleepy bottom off the couch and carefully put them back in the cases, with the humidifiers, then back in the room where all the other uses are stored... It is just plain tedious. With this waterman, I just let it lay on my chest or put it down on the floor and close my eyes...relax...nice...
I have traveled with it once and did not get paranoid with it being it the car with the heat or being stolen.
All in all, I am pleased with this Waterman Concert.
