dr_mitch
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 4, 2021
- Messages
- 256
- Reaction score
- 953
Both an impulse buy and a bargain, I recently purchased a Kamaka gold label soprano from the 1950s. I was immediately taken with the tone, but the strings it arrived with were some sort of thick nylon — too thick to fit properly into the saddle or nut slots — and a mismatched fluorocarbon high G. So I changed the strings, and it still didn’t quite ring out until I tuned it up to ADF#B. Now it’s quite beautiful, with a tone that’s got both a koa sweetness, and a vintage thunk.
It’s incredibly comfortable to play, really light, and the wood grain is quite beautiful. It’s also in really nice condition for something around 70 years old. It must be said that the intonation isn’t too precise near the nut (perhaps the nut could be lowered or maybe my touch is too heavy) but it’s not intrusively bad.
There’s no fretboard as such, with the frets set into the neck - not something I’ve come across before. It means I probably wouldn’t want to go higher than fret 10 or so, but I seldom do that anyway.
It sounds like I’m complaining, but it’s a wonderful and unexpected addition to my range. I’m honestly thrilled! Oh, and it came with the original canvas bag - how cool is that?
Here’s me playing it.
It’s incredibly comfortable to play, really light, and the wood grain is quite beautiful. It’s also in really nice condition for something around 70 years old. It must be said that the intonation isn’t too precise near the nut (perhaps the nut could be lowered or maybe my touch is too heavy) but it’s not intrusively bad.
There’s no fretboard as such, with the frets set into the neck - not something I’ve come across before. It means I probably wouldn’t want to go higher than fret 10 or so, but I seldom do that anyway.
It sounds like I’m complaining, but it’s a wonderful and unexpected addition to my range. I’m honestly thrilled! Oh, and it came with the original canvas bag - how cool is that?
Here’s me playing it.
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