Baritone question

RafterGirl

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I have a friend who is just starting out with ukuleles. His wife bought my Islander spruce/maple tenor for him for Christmas and now he’s looking for a baritone. He loves playing ukes and him dad plays a baritone. I’m trying to give him recommendations but i’m not a baritone person. $300-$400 price range. I think the Kala KA-ABP-CTG would be a good choice. He might want a pick-up also. Mim or HMS could set him up nicely. What do the baritone folks suggest? Are Cordoba baritones a good choice? Pono?
Thanks
 
I’ve had my eye on the cedar Kala for a long time myself.
 
For myself at that price, I would look used or vintage Giannini or Favillia. I'm not too familiar with new at that price range so probably Mainland, Kala, O hana etc.
 
I have a cedar topped Kala, it's got a great tone, especially fitted with Living Water fluorocarbon strings.
I just find it too much of a stretch to use often, unfortunately, as I do like how it sounds.
 
I have an really nice Cordoba 24B for an excellent price. I love it, but it just isn't getting played. See my post in the marketplace
 
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I have the Kala solid cedar top acacia baritone and really like it a lot. Lovely deep tone with plenty of clarity.
 
Whatever Vic is selling (or Olphart too) is probably a good bet, even though he forgot his link. Ohana from Mim can't go wrong or Kala - as long as you're ok with the modern 20+" scale length. If you prefer 19", your options are very limited - probably have to go vintage as Patrick said or Bruko (might be a tad higher than your range) or maybe Bonanza.
 
Here is a link to a baritone I bought here a few months ago. It has been sitting as I am playing mostly soprano now.

It has a new set of worth browns on it. Excellent condition and the Misi pickup sounds great.

$325 Shipped. I accept PayPal friends and family. Comes with a Uke Crazy case.

http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com...kulele-W-Mi-Si-Pickup&highlight=Kala+Baritone
So let me get it straight....you bought it from the person in the link and are looking to sell it for $325 shipped with the Uke Crazy case, and it has a MiSi pick-up.
I will definitely let him know about this Vic. I will send his wife a text message and talk to her about it at work on Tuesday. Thanks.
 
Yes. Played it for a video, put different strings on it and put it in the case. Strung DGBE now.
 
Thanks Vic. I’ve passed on the info and I’ll see what he thinks.
 
I had the cedar topped Kala and traded it for the Cordoba 24B. For me, the Cordoba was worlds better. Between the two, I found it lighter and, having a thinner neck, easier to play. The person a I traded with liked the Kala better. He liked the thicker neck. So, bottom line is they are both great ukes with personal preference being the differentiating factor. As a note, I only sold the Cordoba because I received the LoPrinzi baritone I had ordered. The Cordoba was so good that if I had not already ordered the LoPrinzi, I probably wouldn't have.
 
I played an Ohana bk70R in the shop and was really impressed. At just under $300, it seems like a great value too. fig
 
I had the cedar topped Kala and traded it for the Cordoba 24B. For me, the Cordoba was worlds better. Between the two, I found it lighter and, having a thinner neck, easier to play. The person a I traded with liked the Kala better. He liked the thicker neck. So, bottom line is they are both great ukes with personal preference being the differentiating factor. As a note, I only sold the Cordoba because I received the LoPrinzi baritone I had ordered. The Cordoba was so good that if I had not already ordered the LoPrinzi, I probably wouldn't have.

So far the only uke my friend has played is the Islander tenor that I sold him. How would you compare the Kala neck to the Islander with it's 1.5 inch nut? He really wants one with a pick-up, so the Kala with MiSi pick-up seems like a nice choice in his price range. He would have to buy new and get the pick-up installed or buy a used one with a pick-up as we don't have options in our area for having one installed.
 
So far the only uke my friend has played is the Islander tenor that I sold him. How would you compare the Kala neck to the Islander with it's 1.5 inch nut? He really wants one with a pick-up, so the Kala with MiSi pick-up seems like a nice choice in his price range. He would have to buy new and get the pick-up installed or buy a used one with a pick-up as we don't have options in our area for having one installed.

Both the Kala and Cordoba have a 1 1/2" nut width, so either would be same there. I used to have an Islander and I would say that it is closer to the shape and feel of the Cordoba. That said, the Kala is quite nice and I didn't have any issues playing it. If the Cordoba and Islander have a thin neck, the Kala is middle of the road. In my opinion, they are close enough that if a pickup is necessary, the used Kala would be a great choice. If he was going new, I personally, would go with a Cordoba. In fact, I have been thinking of adding one again to use for playing open tuning/slack key.
 
I just posted to another discussion that I believe a Pono baritone is the best dollar for dollar value of any baritone.
 
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