Kala Thunderdome: Two Ukes Enter, One Uke Leaves

Which Kala Concert Uke?

  • Solid Cedar Top, Spalted Maple Laminate Body

    Votes: 4 25.0%
  • Solid Acacia

    Votes: 12 75.0%

  • Total voters
    16

arrScott

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So I've decided to use a bag full o' Amazon gift cards various in-laws sent for Christmas to buy a new uke. It'll be my second uke; I've got a concert-necked Tiki King flea that I absolutely adore. Great clarity, huge sound, holds its tuning forever. But lately I've been coveting a uke with a more classic look. (Actually, I've been wanting a Mainland, but I can't use Amazon gift certs for that. Soon!) All wood, guitar shape. When I search Amazon with my criteria -- all-wood body, solid wood on at least the top, concert size, geared tuners, reputable manufacturer, price under $250 -- I come away with really only two choices, both Kala:

- Spalted maple laminate with solid spruce top for $220 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B001734F2I/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=AQYMJD8D7CJZ3&v=glance

- Solid acacia for $250 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B002PEB59Y/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=AQYMJD8D7CJZ3&v=glance

Which of those two would you choose, and why?
 
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Are you sure that the second amazon is all solid acacia ? You ought to contact Kala with the model no. and make sure.

Also, take a look at this Kala model, which is surely all solid:

http://elderly.com/new_instruments/names/kala-ka-asac-c-solid-acacia-concert-ukulele--KACC.htm

And you should check into the model that Kala sells which is all solid Koa. I don't
know how much they have in stock, but there are some for sale, right now. Do a search on

stores.ebay.com/Musicguymics-Room

or something like that.
 
The model # checks out -- it's all solid acacia. Always good to double-check, so thanks!

Again, the point of the exercise is buying one of these two ukes from Amazon, because I have Amazon gift certs to use that make it almost free. I'm aware that other ukes exist in the world from other sellers. Right now, today, I'm not going to buy any of those ukes from any of those sellers. I need help choosing between these two.

(But I guarantee that my third uke will come from either Mainland directly or from MusicGuyMic. I torture myself by visiting his ebay shop at least once a week. I bought my Flea through him, and his setup work was superb. Would have taken me months to get the Flea to sound as "right" on my own as it did straight from the box after MGM did his thing.)
 
That is cool that the amazon model is solid acacia - I would have gotten that, though I am still real happy with my Spalted model.
 
The acacia uke is a beaut. That gets my vote!
 
Acacia! will sound betta...looks betta...

Oh! and entfred; good looking out. I was thinking the same thing about the Amazon model. Support your fellow ukers!!
 
I have a Kala solid acacia tenor and a Kala travel tenor, both from MGM The travel tenor is different from the spalted maple ukulele you're considering (the travel tenor has a thin body), but they both have solid Stitka spruce tops. My experience is that the solid spruce top produces a "brighter" (more treble-y) sound than solid acacia does. The travel tenor is apparently a marvel of engineering (it's loud, even with a thin body). I prefer the look of the acacia, but both ukes play great and I'm happy with them both. I think what you ought to get depends on the sound you like. If you prefer a brighter sound, the spruce top might be a better fit. Still, you won't regret getting either one.
 
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Fellow Kala acacia owner throwing my vote that direction (though I have no idea how the other one sounds.) I have the tenor. One thing I'd say if you haven't had a solid wood uke yet (this is my first) is that it really does change in sound from the day you get it. I wasn't at all sure I liked it when I got it, and now it sounds so nice.

If you have any $ left on a gift card, make sure you get a humidifier.
 
If you have any $ left on a gift card, make sure you get a humidifier.

:agree:

I've got nothing but great things to say about my Acacia tenor! And when I finally put a humidifier in the case with it, not only did the sound improve, but it became more consistent.

~Michael
 
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