Review Blue Star Konablaster baritone (solid body steel string)

iamesperambient

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I received my konablaster baritone uke today which only took 4 days to arrive. First off I will say elderly instruments is amazing in terms of quality and customer service they were a real pleasure to deal with. Very helpful and kind people.

Anyway on to the uke itself:
first how it feels/looks
Its so sterdy!
the neck feels so solid.
Its such a unique instrument
the body is really pretty too look at !
(i have the blue one).

The carpet back is actually nice
when im playing with out a strap it holds up
securely and doesnt feel like its going to slip (although
i did request strap pegs to be added but haven't used a strap yet).

So over all its a really unique looking ukulele i could stare at the thing all day and basically drool over it :p

As for sound well
it sounds bright, even and beautiful!
The intonation is spot on, the frets are perfect
no buzz, perfect action etc.

I played it for about an hour messing around with various
effects (even played some metal type stuff on it for a laugh
with the distortion cranked up).

With a simple reverb or chorus (just a tad)
on clean channel this has to be one of the nicest
instruments I have ever played. Over all i was on the search
for a middle ground between an electric guitar and a ukulele (since im a much better uke player than guitarist but need electronics to make the ambient music i make) and i have to say this is the perfect instrument for me. 10/10 I recommend anyone who is looking for a solid body baritone ukulele this is THE ONE to get.

I'm considering buying the soprano model just for fun in the future and i would imagine its the same level of quality i have experienced with this uke. amazing!:cool:
 
Thanks. I've considered a Konablaster for a while now. Hard to find them in Canada and shipping is expensive (Elderly is not a Canada-friendly shipper and in my experience, gave such bad customer service when I inquired, I won't use them). Have to keep looking.
 
Thanks for posting this review. I would consider getting one if I had an extra $300 to throw around
 
Thanks. I've considered a Konablaster for a while now. Hard to find them in Canada and shipping is expensive (Elderly is not a Canada-friendly shipper and in my experience, gave such bad customer service when I inquired, I won't use them). Have to keep looking.

:( thats a shame. actually for me the customer service was outstanding. the guy really helped out out answered all my annoying questions and gave me 35 dollars off my purchase which was very nice of him and he also put on strap pegs free of charge which was also nice. the shipping arrived so fast i ordered it on friday and had it on tuesday.

I know there is a dealer on here who does carry them I would ask around the 'uke talk' forum im sure someone else would help you get one if you don't want to buy from elderly. But it seems elderly is pretty much the main distributer of the konablaster and other blue star instruments.

I haven't played the soprano version but I would like to get one in the future. for now I wanted something with more bass range and over all more fret room. Since getting this i have really grown fond of the baritone ukulele and now i want to get an acoustic one too and save up (a cordoba looks really nice).

Anyway this uke plays amazingly sounds perfect looks interesting and really pretty. It has amazing sustain the neck is solid it feels great sounds great perfect intonation and action totally recommend it. Honestly i have seen the risa instruments and the late jupiter creek ones, but i have to say i think the konablaster is the ultimate electric uke :)
 
Thanks for posting this review. I would consider getting one if I had an extra $300 to throw around


Totally a great instrument. I have not played the soprano but i have heard them and they sound excellent. I think the baritone version is really good
if your looking for an 'electric guitar' sound but the playability of a ukulele. If you want a more ukey sound i think the soprano version will totally give you that
I just like having more fretroom. I def saving up for the soprano one in the future. they also make the deluxe models which are much more expensive (like 700 +) their made a little more like classic guitar styles (les paul style) and seem to be a little more workman ship on them but the standard pineapple is great too totally save up for one!
 
I received my konablaster baritone uke today which only took 4 days to arrive. First off I will say elderly instruments is amazing in terms of quality and customer service they were a real pleasure to deal with. Very helpful and kind people.

Anyway on to the uke itself:
first how it feels/looks
Its so sterdy!
the neck feels so solid.
Its such a unique instrument
the body is really pretty too look at !
(i have the blue one).

The carpet back is actually nice
when im playing with out a strap it holds up
securely and doesnt feel like its going to slip (although
i did request strap pegs to be added but haven't used a strap yet).

So over all its a really unique looking ukulele i could stare at the thing all day and basically drool over it :p

As for sound well
it sounds bright, even and beautiful!
The intonation is spot on, the frets are perfect
no buzz, perfect action etc.

I played it for about an hour messing around with various
effects (even played some metal type stuff on it for a laugh
with the distortion cranked up).

With a simple reverb or chorus (just a tad)
on clean channel this has to be one of the nicest
instruments I have ever played. Over all i was on the search
for a middle ground between an electric guitar and a ukulele (since im a much better uke player than guitarist but need electronics to make the ambient music i make) and i have to say this is the perfect instrument for me. 10/10 I recommend anyone who is looking for a solid body baritone ukulele this is THE ONE to get.

I'm considering buying the soprano model just for fun in the future and i would imagine its the same level of quality i have experienced with this uke. amazing!:cool:

1383623_10151727612298302_1625514044_n.jpg

going to try to get a video up of me playing it clean and than with effects to really show how it sounds this week.
 
Thanks so much for the detailed review. It's so easy to get on to these forums when you're thinking about a purchase and then neglect them ('cause you're so busy playing!) once you've made a purchase. So I appreciate your time.
 
Thanks so much for the detailed review. It's so easy to get on to these forums when you're thinking about a purchase and then neglect them ('cause you're so busy playing!) once you've made a purchase. So I appreciate your time.

no problem. its a really nice instrument with a unique look and sound. At first i thought 'this is the next best thing to risa" than i realized as high quality as the risas are they over all either look silly (like something from oingo boingo/flock of seagulls with no headstock) or just a les paul copy ( i dont like copies as much as the real deal). After playing my konablaster for almost a month now I have to say im just as impressed with it now as the day i got it, and compared to the risa its unique original and still doesn't try to look like a 'little guitar' and has a unique look to it which still screams ukulele. Its a shame no one has reviewed it or done any press on it their quality american made instruments from a guitar little indie company. I'll continue to tell everyone about them until they receive more press.
 
no problem. its a really nice instrument with a unique look and sound. At first i thought 'this is the next best thing to risa" than i realized as high quality as the risas are they over all either look silly (like something from oingo boingo/flock of seagulls with no headstock) or just a les paul copy ( i dont like copies as much as the real deal). After playing my konablaster for almost a month now I have to say im just as impressed with it now as the day i got it, and compared to the risa its unique original and still doesn't try to look like a 'little guitar' and has a unique look to it which still screams ukulele. Its a shame no one has reviewed it or done any press on it their quality american made instruments from a guitar little indie company. I'll continue to tell everyone about them until they receive more press.


a little bit of minimalist ambient music i made with my konablaster
http://iamesper.bandcamp.com/album/a-dream-of-someplace-else-ep (prob not the kind of thing any of you guys would like....but who knows)
 
a little bit of minimalist ambient music i made with my konablaster
http://iamesper.bandcamp.com/album/a-dream-of-someplace-else-ep (prob not the kind of thing any of you guys would like....but who knows)

http://humblebaritonics.blogspot.com/2013/11/justin-p-konablaster-electric-baritone.html posted on humble baritonics. Hopefully more people now will find out about
this great instrument. I really think it deserves more press than it gets over those factory made eleukes.
 
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